Life – a user's manual Part II - Boksidan

Christianity, from 0
Taoism, from appr. 550
Shintoism, prehistoric
Brahmanism, 1500 BC
Buddism, 500 BC
Zoroastrianism, 600 BC
Viking religion,
Figure 1. Some religions approximate propagation the year 600. In addition to the religions shown in the figure many
tribes in other parts of the world certainly had more or less their own religions. At this time Islam's founder
and prophet Muhammad lived and after his death in 632 the religion expanded quickly from Mecca out over
the Arabian Peninsula. Zoroastrianism was a religion and philosophy based on the teachings that the prophet
Zoroaster created, who lived during the 600s BC. Zoroastrians worship the Creator Ahura Mazda. In
Zoroastrianism good and evil have different sources, the evil source tried to destroy what was created by
Mazda, and the good source was trying to sustain it.
Around the year 570 Muhammad, the founder of Islam was born in the city of Mecca located in present
Saudi Arabia. Muhammad formulated a new religion that was far less complicated than in any case,
Christianity, and Hinduism. The basis is that there is only one God (called Allah). Unlike Hinduism and
contemporary Christianity, which besides god worshiped demigods like Jesus and saints like Virgin Mary. In
addition, his teaching consisted of "five pillars" which described the proper life of a faithful Muslim: faith,
prayer, fasting, giving to the poor and pilgrimage.
In the early 700's, Arab warriors expanded the Islamic areas through North Africa to Spain and up into
Europe. They were stopped, however, in 732 at the Battle of Poitiers (in present France).
Buddhism and other foreign religions were banned in China in 845.
In935 Islam's holy scripture, the Quran, got its final form.
Approximately 960 the King of Denmark converted to Christianity and he excommunicated the Vikings
religion.
1018 the Church Council in Pavia decided that priests should live in celibate.
In 1054, the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches finally broke with each other.
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