Compare the three supreme deities (Marduk, YWHW, Ahura Mazda) in the Mesopotamian, Hebrew, and Zoroastrian religions
Please provide the best answer for the statement.
1. Processions honoring Marduk, the god considered the founder of Babylon, were regularly held. Marduk’s might and wisdom are celebrated in the Hymn to Marduk, found in Ashurbanipal’s library. The Ishtar Gate depicts fantastic dragons with long necks, the forelegs of a lion, and the rear legs of a bird of prey, an animal form sacred to Marduk.
2. In the Sinai desert, the Hebrew god supposedly revealed a new name for himself—YHWH, a name so sacred that it could neither be spoken nor written. There are, however, many other names for God in the Hebrew Bible. Some scholars believe that this demonstrates the multiple authorship of the Bible; others argue that the Hebrews originally worshiped many gods, like other Near Eastern peoples. Still other scholars suggest that God has been given different names to reflect different aspects of his divinity, or the different roles that he might assume.
3. According to the Zend-Avesta, or Book of Knowledge, the holy book of the Zoroastrian faith, Ahura Mazda, “the Wise Lord,” is supreme deity, creator of heaven and earth, and in almost all inscriptions, the one and only god. Zoroastrianism, however, is only semi-monotheistic: there are lesser gods—many of them remnants of earlier religious practices—but all of them were created by Ahura Mazda himself. Perhaps Zoroaster’s greatest contribution to religious thought is his emphasis on free will. Men choose for themselves whether to lead a life of “good thoughts, good words, good deeds.” Those who do—thus helping Ahura Mazda to maintain the order of the universe—will be admitted to heaven. Those who choose to follow the path of evil will be condemned to hell.
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