13. Once again, reflecting the underlying influence of Zoroastrianism in the Judeo-Christian canon, the biblical narrative existence of angels, demons, and a struggle between good and evil can be read as highly derivative of existing belief systems
Although angels, demons, and the eternal struggle between good and evil form a central component of the Christian religious canon, one should not automatically assume that these doctrinal concepts originated with the religion itself. Instead, these supernatural elements, once again, were borrowed from an already existing philosophy – in this instance Zoroastrianism – and transposed into the Christian narrative. Predating Judeo-Christianity by many hundreds of years, Zoroastrianism is widely believed to have been the first organized religion to construct a detailed account of these religious concepts and coalesce them into a single history.
According to the Zoroastrian creation myth, Ahura Mazda resided in light above whilst Angra Mainyu dwelled in darkness below. Creating seven heavenly beings to support him in his good works, Ahura Mazda brought into creation the “Amesha Spentas” along with countless “yazads” to serve as lesser angels. Filling the space between light and darkness with perfection, Angra Mainyu responded by creating an equal number of negative opposites. Trapping humanity in a world of two halves – of day and night – this assault upon creation rendered the world an imperfect place where good must always struggle against evil. Overall, a similar story to the biblical creation narrative albeit one which separates good and evil into two personages rather than a single monotheistic omnipotent entity.