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Refutation of the Sects (1959) - Page 13 - Source Library

Refutation of the Sects

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Conclusion to β: All these are merely patched-up fables The author argues that the dualist myths are incoherent stories stitched together from older traditions. 169.	58	66

γ. SECOND REFUTATION 170-195

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(γ) 1. Zurvan’s doubt is not what fathered Ahriman. It is Zurvan himself—whether good or evil—who is the father 170.	58	66
(γ) 2. The sacrifice that Zurvan asks Ormizd to perform henceforth in his place proves that above Zurvan and Ormizd there was someone to whom these sacrifices were offered Ormizd (or Ohrmazd) is the Middle Persian name for Ahura Mazda, the supreme god of goodness. 171-173.	58	66
Interruption of the Magi: There was no one to whom these sacrifices were made 172.	59	67
Response: Then, Zurvan does not exist either! 173.	59	67
(γ) 3. Zurvan cannot be "Fortune," for "Fortune" is not a personal being original: "Fortune"; this refers to the concept of Fate or Destiny, which the author argues lacks the agency of a deity. 174.	59	67
(γ) 4. If Zurvan’s doubt was the cause of Ahriman’s birth, Zurvan only had to doubt from the beginning, without waiting a thousand years. A son was born, but one whose goodness or wickedness would depend on his own moral conduct Ahriman (or Arhmn) is the personification of evil and destruction. 175.	59	68
(γ) 5. The impossibility of a single womb containing both good and evil at once 176.	60	68
(γ) 6. If these sons were born of a seed, Zurvan could not have ejaculated two contrary seeds, nor could the womb accept two enemy seeds 177.	60	68
(γ) 7. How is it that, from within the womb, the good one did not defeat the evil one, but instead lived there in agreement with him? 178.	60	69
(γ) 8. Knowing there were two in the womb, Zurvan should have promised the kingship to the one for whom he offered the sacrifice 179.	60	69
(γ) 9. Ormizd is above his father 180.	60	69
(γ) 10. In reality, Ormizd is worth less than his father since he let himself be tricked by Ahriman 181.	61	69
(γ) 11. It was Ormizd’s place to emerge from the womb first 182.	61	69
(γ) 12. Did Ormizd and Ahriman really have a mother? 183.	61	69
(γ) 13. Zurvan’s inferiority compared to his sons: he did not recognize Ahriman, yet Ahriman recognized him 184.	61	70
(γ) 14. Zurvan should have killed them both—Ormizd and Ahriman! 185.	61	70
(γ) 15. The uselessness of the ritual rods in Ormizd’s hands original: "baguettes"; likely referring to the barsom, a bundle of twigs or metal rods used by priests (Magi) in Zoroastrian rituals. 186.	62	70
(γ) 16. Ahriman, the evil one, is the creator of the most beautiful thing in the world, according to them: the Sun! 187.	62	71

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