How were the texts connected to other developments of the Iron Age? What surprised you most about the texts? Why?
Kevin Reilly, The Human Journey, Chapter 2
Website: Zoroastrianism: History, Beliefs, and Practices –
https://www.theosophical.org/publications/1231
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Order Paper NowPrimary Sources:
Website: The Iranian Afterlife (read “The Soul’s Destination”) – http://www.sacred-texts.com/zor/toz/toz05.htm
Website: Cyrus as Liberator (Isaiah 45) – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=ISA+45&version=NIV
Website: Hebrew Afterlife (Isaiah 56) – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=IS+56&version=NIV
Videos:
After reading Chapter 2 and the material at the websites, and viewing the videos, please make a 250-word initial post that answers the following discussion prompt about the primary sources:
Historians treat religious texts as primary sources, that is, as sources written by people at the time being studied that express their beliefs, ideals, and practices. To interpret religious texts as historical documents, historians have to put their own religious beliefs on hold and approach religious texts for what they tell us about the people who created them. Historians are not concerned about whether the religious beliefs were correct or not; that is a theological rather than a historical concern. So, with that in mind and putting your own religious beliefs aside, please answer the following questions: What is the tone of the Zoroastrian and Hebrew texts? Who do you think were their audiences? Did the texts represent a new form of inclusiveness as Kevin Reilly argues? Why or why not? How were the texts connected to other developments of the Iron Age? What surprised you most about the texts? Why?
