Christianity borrowed the idea of a virgin birth of a savior from Zoroastrianism, as demonstrated by the Denkard Book 7 Chapter 10 v. 15-19. Response?
Editor’s Note: This is a follow-up from an earlier question in which the questioner made claims of Christian borrowing from Zoroastrian sources, and I respectfully asked for actual quotes from which the borrowing occurred. Thankfully, the questioner responded to the request.
Question:
The NT authors copied elements of Zoroastrianism from the Jews and fit them into the biography of Jesus, e.g., Messiah born of a virgin is similar to Denkard Book 7, Ch. 10 Verses 15-19. Further, Messiah would start a new millennium copied from Denkard Book 7, Ch. 11 Verses 6-11. What’s your response?
Answer:
| And when thirty winters of the tenth century are unelapsed, that maiden, who is Gobak-abu, walks up to the water; she that is the mother of that testifying Soshyant who is the guide to conveying away the opposition of the destroyer, and her former lineage is from Vohu-roko-i Frahanyan in the family of Isadvastar, the son of Zartosht that is brought forth by Arang. 16. ‘That maiden whose title is All-overpowerer is thus all-overpowering, because through giving birth she brings forth him who overpowers all, both the affliction owing to demons, and also that owing to mankind.’ 17. Then she sits in that water, when she is fifteen years old, and it introduces into the girl him ‘whose name is the Triumphant Benefiter, and his title is the Body-maker; such a benefiter as benefits (savinedo) the whole embodied existence, and such a body-maker alike possessing body and possessing life, as petitions about the disturbance of the embodied existences and mankind.’ 18. Not before that has she associated with men; nor yet afterwards, when she becomes pregnant, has she done so before the time when she gives birth.
Here is my response: Sure, this does appear to be talking about a Savior who is born from a virgin. However there is a big problem with claiming that Christians borrowed this idea from Zoroastrians. According to scholarly sources, the Denkard was written in about the ninth century AD. It was written during the Sassanid Empire, and is written in the Pahlavi language, which was the language of the Middle Persian period, which corresponds to the Sassanid Empire, which is several centuries AFTER Christ. And just in case anyone doubts this fact, Book 7 of the Denkard includes the history of the Persians up until the time of the Muslim conquest. Therefore, the proposal that Christians borrowed this idea from the Zoroasatrians is conclusively disproved. In fact, it would not be at all unreasonable to propose that Zoroastrian believers borrowed this idea from Christianity, but certainly not the reverse. This supposed evidence for borrowing from Zoroastrianism is in fact evidence against the claim being made! I am not at all surprised by this. In fact, it is what I predicted in my response to the earlier question on this topic. The same can be said for the other passage from the Denkard Book 7. It is embarrassing that the enemies of Christianity do not even bother to ask the most simple questions when they criticize Christianity. Who borrowed from whom? I am afraid that this is typical methodology of these critics. John Oakes |
