{"id":79904,"date":"2020-04-03T16:01:53","date_gmt":"2020-04-03T21:01:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/persian-heritage.com\/wordpress\/?p=79904"},"modified":"2020-05-04T12:31:09","modified_gmt":"2020-05-04T17:31:09","slug":"the-sakas-part-eleven","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/en\/2020\/04\/03\/the-sakas-part-eleven\/","title":{"rendered":"The Sakas \u2014 Part Eleven"},"content":{"rendered":"

Michael McClain<\/strong><\/p>\n

The relevance of the information given immediately below to the central topic of this essay will shortly become obvious. St. Dennis, or, in French, St. Denis, the \u201c Apostle of Gaul, said: \u201cCut down the sacred groves of the Druids and use the wood to build churches.\u201d
\nThe above indicates the traditional attitude of the Church: \u201cif it be usable in the Christian tradition, make use of it; if it be harmless but of no use, ignore it; if it be incompatible with the Christian Tradition, prohibit it.\u201d
\nThe holly plant was sacred to the Druids because it was the only broad-leafed tree to retain its leaves all year round, and was thus a symbol of immortality. The Church retained the original Druidic symbolism of the holly, but added much more, as is illustrated by the Christmas song \u201cThe Holly and the Ivy\u201d:
\nThe holly and the ivy,
\nWhen they are both full grown,
\nOf all the trees that are in the wood,
\nThe holly wears the crown.<\/p>\n

The rising of the sun
\nAnd the running of the deer,
\nThe playing of the happy organ,
\nSweet singing in the choir.<\/p>\n

The holly bears a blossom,
\nAs white as the lily flower,
\nAnd Merry bore sweet Jesus Christ
\nTo be our sweet savior
\n(Refrain)<\/p>\n

The holly bears a berry,
\nAs red as any blood,
\nAnd Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ
\nTo do poor sinners good.
\n(Refrain)<\/p>\n

The holly bears a prickle,
\nAs sharp as any thorn,
\nAnd Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ
\nOn Christmas Day in the morn.
\n(Refrain)<\/p>\n

The holly bears a bark
\nAs bitter as any gall,
\nAnd Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ
\nFor to redeem us all.
\n(Refrain)<\/p>\n

What a perfect example of \u201cusing the wood of the sacred groves of the Druids to build churches!
\nThe mistletoe was sacred to the Druids because it grows without apparent material support The Church found this harmless, and tolerated it, but giving it no holy symbolism. Since the above deals with Christmas, we will use this opportunity to make something clear.
\nThe Gospels give no date for the birth of Jesus Some claim that December 25 was chosen as the date of Christmas because this was the date of the \u201cSaturnalia\u201d, a festival in honor of the Roman god Saturn, and celebrated with drunkenness and licentious revelry. This is, however, a pure invention, with no basis in fact, propagated by secularists and Protestants (as usual with Protestants faithfully supporting secularists).
\nThe truth is that December 25 as the birthdate of Jesus has nothing to do with the Roman god Saturn, but rather is derived from Mithraism.<\/p>\n

December 21 is the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year, when the sun reaches ~~slowest point on the horizon. By December 25, the days are obviously becoming longer, and the sun has begun to rise again on the horizon. Hence, in Mithraism December 25 became a holy day known as \u201c The Rebirth of the Unconquered Sun\u201d. The Usefulness of this as a Christian symbol or metaphor is obvious enough. Very soon the Church added to the above, as illustrated in the beautiful medieval carol:<\/p>\n

Lo, how a Rose e\u2019er blooming
\nFrom tender stem has sprung!
\nOf Jesse\u2019s
\n(father of King David ) lineage coming
\nAs men of old have sung
\nIt came, a flower let bright,
\nAmid the cold of winter.
\nWhen half spent was the night.
\n(The Prophet) Isaiah \u2018t was foretold it,
\nThe Rose I have in mind,
\nWith Mary we behold it,
\nThe Virgin Mother kind.
\nTo show God\u2019s love aright,
\nShe bore to men a Savior
\nWhen half spent was the night.<\/p>\n

Some Buddhist influences may be found in early Christianity. Said influences include the halo, and that which is called \u201crosary in Catholicism, \u201cprayer rope\u201d in Eastern Orthodoxy, and \u201ctasbih\u201d in Islamic terms. Also of Buddhist origin is the legend of St. Josaphat. Said legend is a close paraphrase of the \u201cBuddhacarita\u201d one of the earliest biographies of Buddha, while the name \u201cJosaphat\u201d is, by way of various translations eventually passed from Buddhist Sanskrit to Greek and Latin, in the process changing from \u201cBohisattva\u201d to \u201cJosaphat\u201d. Thanks to the Legend of St. Josaphat, some say that \u201cBuddha is a Christian saint\u201d.<\/p>\n

Other elements passed from Hinduism to early Christianity\/ The resemblance between Hindu Yoga and Catholic and Eastern Orthodox \u201chesychasm\u201d, also known as \u201cThe Jesus 1\/4rayer\u201d and \u201cThe Prayer of the Hearf, which dates from the 4th century AD, is so close that no one can seriously doubt that the Christian Hesychasm is drerived from the Hindu Yoga.<\/p>\n

The eight musical modes used in Catholic and Eastern Orthodox liturgical chant (called (Oktoechos) in Greek and \u201cIkhadias\u201d in Syriac) were composed in the early 6th century AD by Severus, Patriarch of Antioch. All eight of the modes of Severas of
\nAntioch are identical to ancient Hindu musical modes. Now, the number of heptatonic (seven tone) musical modes which is theoretically possible is vast, so, the fact that each and every one of the musical modes which form the \u201coktoechos\u201d or \u201cIkhadias\u201d of Patriarch Severas of Antioch leaves no possible doubt that said eight musical modes are of Hindu origin.<\/p>\n

There are other Hindu elements to be found in early Christianity, mainly derived from Yoga and Vedanta, but we lack the space to deal with this here. Whether Druidic, Mithraic, Buddhist or Hindu, all the above-mentioned elements would be denounced by Protestants as \u201cPagan\u201d and rejected. This is, of course, not the Christian tradition; I am inclined to see its origin as Manichaean, but there is noxs space here to deal with such a large and complex topic. The Catholic traditionalist Charles Coulombe was speaking to an audience which included Protestants, some of whom began screaming \u201cPagan, Pagan\u201d, to which Mr. Coulombe replied: \u201cPagans: bileb reathe don\u2019t they? Then you should stop breathing.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) we used to say: A Protestant is someone who believes that the Bible dropped straight down from Heaven in the King James Translation in a leather binding with a zipper\u201d. Having rejected nearly the whole Christian tradition, the Protestants were left with nothing but the Bible. One of said \u201cBible thumpers\u201d cited a quatrain by Omar Khayyam as translated by Fitzgerald and said: \u201cIt\u2019s in the Bible.\u201d On another occasion, I noted that Jesus spoke Aramaic. Some \u201cBible thumper\u201d replied. \u201cNon, Jesus spoke English. \u201cYou are an idiot\u201d, I answered. The \u201cBible thumper\u201d found a copy of the New Testament, opened to one of the Gospels, and said: \u201cSee, here is Jesus speaking English.\u201d
\nMany Protestants forget that intellectual and spiritual laziness is one of the Seven Deadly Sins.
\nMany people have noted that the phrase \u201cLight of Light, True God of True God\u201d, which is found in the Nicene Creed, sounds very Zoroastrian. There is an undoubted relationship between Christianity and Zoroastrianism which even a Protestant cannot deny or scream \u201cPagan\u201d because it is found in the Bible, in the Gospel According to St. Matthew,
\nChapter 2.; I refer to \u201cThe Adoration of the Magi\u201d. \u201cmagi\u201d is derived from the Avestan and Old Persian \u201cMagav\u201d, which in Modern Persian is \u201cMajus\u201d or \u201cMagh\u201d, and in Greek is \u201cMagoi\u201d In English the Magi are called \u201cWise Men\u201d, while in Spanish they are call \u201cLos Reyes Magos\u201d, i.e. \u201cThe Magian Kings.\u201d
\nThe earliest sources identify the Magi of the Gospel According to St. Matthew as Persians and Zoroastrians. These sources include very early apocryphal accounts of the childhood of Jesus, which are considered authoritative and reliable, but are not included in the New Testament Canon because, dealing only with the childhood of Jesus, had little theological importance it is from these extra canonical accounts that it is known that the parents of the Virgin Mary were St. Joachim (Qur\u2019anic 11 Imran\u201d and Ste. Anne).
\nThese very early accounts leave no doubt as to the Persian and Zoroastrian identity of the Magi. It should be noted that nowhere are the Magi given names, nor is it said that they were three in number.
\nThree number three is derived from the number of gifts which they brought to the infant Jesus, i.e., gold, frankincense and myrrh. Indeed, the Syrian and Armenian traditions affirm that the Magi were twelve in number. The Armenian tradition is particularly significant in this respect, because Armenia was always under strong Persian cultural influence. The Arsacid dynasty which long ruled Armenia was of Parthian origin, and for a long time there were many Zoroastrians in Armenia.<\/p>\n

The First Gospel of the Infancy of Jesus Christ is certainly of great antiquity, as the earliest references to it so far discovered are from the early 2nd century AD. Various Church Fathers accepted the reliability of this Gospel, including St. Athanasius and St. John Chrysostom. Here is what this Gospel has to say concerning the Magi:
\n\u201cAnd it came to pass, when Lord Jesus was born in Bethlehem, a city of Judea, in the time of Herod the King, that wise men came from the East to Jerusalem, x according to the prophecy of Zoroaster, and brought with them offerings, namely, gold, frankincense and myhhr, and worshipped him, and offered him their gifts. \u2026 And having, according to the custom of their country, (having) made a fire, they worshipped it.\u201d
\nAccording to legend, no doubt of Zoroastrian origin, the island of Kuh-i-Khwaja in Lake Helmand in Eastern Iran, called \u201cDaryacheh-ye Sistan, is the site of the castle which was which was the home of the Magi.
\nThe Christian Tradition has always portrayed the Magi in Persian garb. So, the Christian Tradition has always affirmed that Jesus was heir to Zoroaster as well as to the Old Testament prophets. Obviously, in Iran much is made of this by Christians, Zoroastrians and Muslims. Remember, according to Islam, Muhammad was the last in a line of prophets, which very much includes Jesus. So. if Jesus was heir to Zoroaster as well as to the Old Testament prophets, then, by extension, so was Muhammad.<\/p>\n

Among Muslims, Shi\u2019as make much more of this than do Sunnis, in part because Imam Hussein was married to Shahrbanu, a Persian princess born a Zoroastrian, this as well as the fact that Shi\u2019as revere Jesus and the Virgin Miss Mary even more than do Sunnis. Obviously, Shahrbanu was female ancestor on nine of the twelve Imams. In Iran, Zoroastrians call Imam Hussein \u201cson-in-law, which is damad in Persian, or damade-mahbub, \u201cbeloved son-in-law\u201d. Since damad simply means \u201cin-law\u201d or \u201crelative by marriage\u201d, a more formal way of saying it would be: mard ke shauhar-e-doktar-e-man mahbub ast, i.e., \u201cThe man who is the beloved husband of our daughtrt\u201d.
\nThe implications of Jesus being the heir of Zoroaster as well as of the Old Testament prophets are enormous, and it is strange that, outside Iran, not much has been made of it. The above certainly affects the whole concept of the \u201cChosen People\u201d and the idea that \u201csalvation is (exclusively) from the Jews.\u201d Iranians are not only not Jewish, they are not even Semites, being Indo-Europeans or Aryans. Note that the name \u201cIran\u201d comes from the same Indo-European or Sanskrit root as \u201cArya\u201d or \u201cAryan\u201d, and the Old Gaelic \u201cErinn\u201d, Modern Gaelic \u201cErin\u201d, the native Celtic name of Ireland.<\/p>\n

There is a very ancient group called the \u201cBrotherhood of the Lamb\u201d, which claims that Jesus was not of Jewish ancestry, but was Iranian or Aryan, who descended from Persians wo came to Palestine when Cyrus the Great allowed the Jews to return from their Babylonian Captivity. Sad Brotherhood notes the Magi who visited the newborn Jesus, asking why they should have cares about the birth of a Jew, even one of the blood of King David\/ They also note that Jesus\u2019 physical type, very tall for that time and place, strongly built but not corpulent, with dark reddish hair, is more Iranian than Semitic, being particularly common among Kurds (it has been said that \u201cKurds look like Irishmen\u201d). However, while said physical type is by no means unknown among Semitic peoples, particularly in Syrua, Lebanon and Palestine.<\/p>\n

In summary, the arguments of the Brotherhood of the Lamb are supported only by enough facts to be interesting and to make one think. The Brotherhood\u2019s argument concerning the Magi, while not conclusive, is not negligible either, but their argument concerning Jesus\u2019 physical type is worthless. Certainly, the arguments in favor of their theory are much weaker than the arguments against it. However, this does not negate the fact that both the traditional Christian and Iranian traditions affirm that Jesus was heir to Zoroaster as well as to the Old Testament prophets, with all the possible implications of this fact.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Michael McClain The relevance of the information given immediately below to the central topic of this essay will shortly become obvious. St. Dennis, or, in French, St. Denis, the \u201c Apostle of Gaul, said: \u201cCut down the sacred groves of the Druids and use the wood to build churches.\u201d The above indicates the traditional attitude […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-79904","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-phart"],"translation":{"provider":"WPGlobus","version":"3.0.2","language":"en","enabled_languages":["fa","en"],"languages":{"fa":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"en":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79904","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=79904"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79904\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79904"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=79904"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=79904"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}