Was Jesus Copied From Zoroaster?

Nowadays, the media is full of claims that Christianity is a religion modeled after prior pagan ones. This series, The Bible Is Not Pagan, is focused on debunking many of these false claims, and yes, all of them are false. Despite the massive amount of evidence that scholars have supporting the originality and reliability of the Christian documents, critics claim that early Christians modeled Jesus after the religious figure Zoroaster.

Zoroaster was probably an actual person, with about 300 total manuscripts being attributed to him, who lived anywhere from 1500 BC to 1200 BC in Eastern Iran or Central Asia, possibly near modern-day Afghanistan, yet all that we know about him comes from the Avesta. The Avesta was composed in the 4th century AD, with no prior manuscripts available before the 13th century AD. In fact, the completion of the Avesta actually post-dates the birth, ministry, and crucifixion of Jesus by hundreds of years. And the section of the Avesta that is best attested to Zoroaster is the Gathas, which only contain theological reflection and zero biography, like the Gospels do. The documents connected to Zoroaster are thus not written in the style of a historical narrative that claims to record events that actually happened. We know nothing more about the childhood and general life of Zoroaster than where and when he may have lived. Nonetheless, historians do attest that Zoroaster was most likely an actual person.

This raises a question for the reader. If Zoroaster, who has 300 manuscripts dated to about 900 years after the composition of a document that was completed millennia after he lived attributed to him and not written in a historical narrative, is affirmed to have actually existed by secular scholars, then why can't they affirm the existence of Jesus who has 5,800 Greek manuscripts (and over 20,000 total manuscripts in other languages with fragments dated within the 2nd century AD) who has much more historical documentation than Zoroaster? Anyhow, Zoroaster would face a lot of rejection of his teaching, until a king named Vishtaspa found favor in him and allowed and promoted the religion to spread. We also know very little about Vishtaspa, with one of the only mentions of him being in Yasna 53.2, which just briefly mentions his family in connection with Zoroaster. Evidence from him being called "Kavi" in the Gathas does suggest he was likely a chief of an Iranian tribe and not an actual king, as Kavi likely refers to a tribal ruler rather than a national ruler. The mentions of him being a king come from later Persian literature, like the Shahnameh, which most scholars interpret as fabricating later embellishments into legend.

As you can see, there is a lot of historical fog covering what we can know about the historical Zoroaster himself, yet scholars and historians dare not deny that he was an actual human being. Regardless, there are still those who deny the historicity of Jesus Christ. To continue, the Gathas (the main source for information about Zoroaster) is a collection of poetic hymns attributed to Zoroaster himself but not written down until hundreds of years after he lived. This lapse of recording is far too long for any of the stories to be trusted as historically reliable to Zoroaster himself, yet the Gospels were written in a much shorter time frame, before the eyewitnesses and companions of Jesus died, and are seen as historically reliable to the events of Jesus' life. Thus far, we are not off to a good start for the borrowing claims.

The majority of scholars say that the stories of Zoroaster were actually updated over time,

"The incorporation of certain motifs into the Zoroasterian tradition in the ninth century CE could indicate the conscious attempt of the priesthood to exalt their prophets in the eyes of the faithful who may have been tempted to turn to other religions.”^{1, 2}

Much like the date of Saturnalia being changed to December 25th in the 4th century AD to counter the falling Roman temple attendance, so too were Christian-like elements incorporated into the Avesta in the 9th century AD.

“...different parts of the Zend Avesta were composed at different times, providing a series of snapshots of the religion that allow historians to see how it changed over time.”^{1, 3}

"Many alleged similarities between Christianity and the mysteries are either greatly exaggerated or fabricated.”⁴

It is therefore most likely that Zoroasterianism was updated hundreds of years after Christianity, which indicates that they borrowed from Christians. We will now turn our attention to examining the acclaimed similarities between Zoroaster and Jesus.

Debunking The Claims

With what we have already discussed, it is blatantly obvious that Jesus was not modeled after Zoroaster. But we must go on and debunk each claim made by modern-day critics. In doing so, we will once again see that Christianity did not originate from any prior pagan religion.

Zoroaster Was Born Of A Virgin From A Ray Of Divine Reason

Long story short, he was not born of a virgin. Some texts that post-date Jesus speak of a kingly glory residing over his mother, but nothing about her becoming pregnant without intercourse. The commonly cited line about Zoroaster being conceived from a ray of divine reason comes from a book written in the 19th century, where the author says he was "born of an immaculate conception by a ray from the divine reason." ⁵ So the first appearance of someone saying Zoroaster was born from a ray of divine reason comes from the 1810's. Did the disciples acquire a time machine and travel to 1815 to then read a book, go back to the first-century, and import what it says into the New Testament?

He Was Baptized In A River With Water, Fire, And Holy Wind

This claim is false aswell. There are no mentions in any parts of the Avesta of Zoroaster being baptized; the only thing mentioned is that he received revelation near a river. Dipping in water is a tradition held in Zoroasterianism, but it does not have the same meaning as in Christianity. Baptism in Zoroasterianism is not a symbolic action to inform the world who you belong to, but rather a ceremony to celebrate a child's maturation into Zoroastrianism between the ages of 7 and 12 to cleanse them from impurity. Moreover, water baptism is a very common method of purification or celebration across many religions. Egyptians would submerge babies to purify them after birth, Greeks would purify themselves in the sea, and some Hindus use water for purification rituals. But unlike Christianity, they are often repetitive and not a one-and-done situation.

Baptism is a similar element that is just far too general, because by that same logic, any ancient religion with a form of baptism copied from Zoroastrianism. And not even the dimmest of us on a good day would suggest that. Now, as for the claim that he was baptized with water, fire, and holy wind, there are zero sources. This simply comes from made-up similarities by random folks on the internet, or TikTok University graduates.

Zoroaster Impressed Priests With His Wisdom In His Youth

If someone is telling a good lie, they usually throw a little bit of truth into it, while perverting it to mean something else. This claim represents such a lie with a kernel of truth. Zoroaster does have an instance of wisdom in his youth, but it's a story that has no parallels to that of Jesus (Luke 2:41-52). Zoroaster would be put under the care of a wiseman. During his time with the wiseman, Zoroaster would often leave and find himself in heated debates with a group of sorcerers and necromancers. One instance caused the necromancers to make a plan to throw him in prison, but while in prison, he would heal the king's favorite horse and be released as his reward.^{1, 6} This story has no parallels to Jesus that would indicate borrowing. Moreover, the late date of the Avesta implies that if any borrowing was done, it was most likely the other way around.

He Was Tempted For 40 Days

Zoroaster was not tempted by the head demon; it was a lesser being named Buiti (Vendīdād Fargard 19, sections 1-3). Buiti was sent to kill Zoroaster, but he resisted the demon by chanting. He was also not tempted for 40 days, but suffered periodic spiritual visions over 10 years with absolutely no parallels to the Gospels (Matthew 4:1-11, Luke 4:1-13).^{1, 7}

He Started When He Was 30, Casted Out Demons, And Healed A Blind Man

All sources that list an age for Zoroaster post-date the life of Jesus and the Gospels by about 800 years, from Pahlavi Literature composed in the 9th century AD. He also never casts out demons; instead, he drove out pestilence from a group of sorcerers, and the source for the healing of the blind man is dated to the 10th century AD. ^1,8,9 Once again, the late dates for the sources for Zoroaster indicate elements from Christianity were copied into Zoroastrianism post-Jesus.

Zoroaster Was The First To Establish The Eucharist

There is zero evidence that he held a Eucharist-type ritual, a final supper, or a special cup that he held, becoming a legend. This claim is simply made-up with no supporting evidence to confirm it. Therefore, it is false.

His Titles Include The Word Made Flesh, The Way, The Truth, And The Life

There is no instance in the Avesta where Zoroaster is called any name that parallels those which Jesus was called. The titles attributed to Zoroaster actually include Zarathustra Spitama, Zartosht (Persian), Ashu (holy) Zarathustra, The Prophet, Messenger, Great Sage, or just plain Ashu. None of these titles come close to what Jesus called (I.E. Son of God, The Word, Messiah/Christ, Son of Man, Lamb of God, Immanuel, Alpha and Omega, Wonderful Counselor, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace, the Bread of Life, The Redeemer, the Living Stone. Etc). Zoroaster's titles parallel Muhammad's titles more than Jesus (The Trustworthy, The Chosen One, The Prophet, The Seal of the Prophets, Allah's Messenger, Etc). The similarities are much more visible between Muhammad and Zoroaster than between Jesus.

His Teaching Included Judgement, Morality, Heaven, Hell, Resurrection, Salvation, And An Apocolypse

Zoroaster's teachings did use these terms, but they contain different meanings than those in Christianity. Besides, these are common concepts in all religions, but Christianity was the only one to radically redefine what these really meant. Salvation through Jesus is achieved by putting your faith in the death and resurrection work of Jesus Christ, and is thus received by Grace. Salvation in Zoroastrianism must be worked for.¹⁰ Zoroaster's concept of heaven and hell is very general, and is not as specified as in Christianity.¹¹ Jesus Christ Himself is the one who enacts the final judgement of all humans. Judgment is enacted by lesser heavenly beings rather than Zoroaster himself.¹² With the only parallel being a resurrection for all dead saints at the end of times, but it originates from a very late manuscript (Yasht 19), with no mention of a Messiah resurrecting in the middle of history. ^{1, 13}

Zoroaster Will Return In A Second Coming To Bring Upon the Golden Age

There is a suspected "return" in 2341 AD, but it is very unclear if Zoroaster himself is returning, or if another being or spirit will establish the golden age. The details for the eschatology (that part of theology focused on death, judgment, and the fate of mankind) were not introduced into Zoroasterianism until the 9th century AD.¹⁴ There just isn't enough information for one to draw reliable parallels, and all the manuscript dates are after the life of Jesus, the writing of the Gospels, the persecution of the Church under the Roman Empire, and the legalization and spread of Christianity. It is very clear that Jesus was not copied from Zoroaster.

Jesus Was Not Copied

With what we have discovered about Zoroasterianism, it is very clear that claims about copying from the media and movies are simply false. They are either misunderstandings, ignorance, or blatant fabrication. All the dates for the writings of Zoroastrianism post-date Christianity by hundreds of years, with most of the supposed parallels being made up by people online. It is therefore clear as day that, if anything, Zoroastrianism copied from Christianity in the later eras of history. May Jesus Christ touch your heart and mind to be open to the evidence He has laid down for each of us to examine. We just have to make the move and take a look.

(1) (Michael Jones, Inspiring Philosophy, Jesus vs. Zoroaster, https://youtu.be/3x6aOBqc9d0?si=JaT7h1ikvMer6J5l)

(2) (Jenny Rose, The Image of Zoroaster, Pg 17)

(3) (Michael Burger, The Shaping of Western Civilization: From Antiquity to the Present, Pg 20)

(4) (Ronald H. Nash, The Gospel and the Greeks)

(5) (Sir John Malcom, History of Persia, 1815) 

(6) (A. V. W. Jackson, Zoroaster, The Prophet of Ancient Iran, Pgs 29-31, 61-62)

(7) (Ibid, pg 91)

(8) (Ibid, Pgs 51-55)

(9) (Shahrastani of Khorassan, 1086-1153 AD)

(10) (Mary Boyce, A History of Zoroastrianism: The Early Period, Pg 246)

(11) (Ibid, Pg 116)

(12) (Ibid, Pgs 27, 57-59)

(13) (R.C. Zaehner, The Dawn and Twilight of Zoroastrianism, Pg 57)

(14) (John Waterhouse, Zoroastrianism, Pgs 94-95)