tous step in religious progress, which the prophet of
Iran calls on his countrymen to take. We notice the main features of
the advance.

1. Man is Called to Judge between the Gods.--Zarathustra, like
Elijah, puts before his people the choice between two worships.
Various distinctions between the two cases might be drawn. In the
Scripture case Baal is not a bad god, but simply the wrong god for
Israel to worship. In the case of our reformer the difference between
the two worships is a deeper one. The individual is to choose his
god, he is to declare of his own motion that one god is better than
others, and that no worship whatever is to be paid to these others.
This was a new departure in antiquity; the early world loved to think
of many gods, all alike divine and worshipful, each race or clan
having its god whom it naturally served, or each part of the earth
being portioned out to a divine lord of its own. Neither Greece nor
Rome ever thought of making the individual man the arbiter among the
unseen beings whom he knew, and requiring him to decide which of them
he should consider divine, and which he should disown. In the case
before us, moreover, the choice is to be made on moral grounds. Men
are called to judge of the character of the beings who are called
gods, they are told that there is no necessity to acknowledge those
of whom they disapprove, they are emancipated from the fear of
hurtful and evil beings. There is war in heaven, and men are
encouraged to take part in that war, and to cast off allegiance to
such powers as do not make for righteousness. How there came to be
such strife among the gods, and how it became necessary that men
should judge of it, we have no clear information; we only know that
the momentous step was called for and was taken.

The belief, however, remains even after the decision that there are
unseen evil beings, who had influence in forming the constitution of
things, and who have influence still over the government of the
world. The position taken up is not monotheism. The good god is not
sole creator or sole governor of the world, he is a limited being;
from the outset he has only in part got his own way, and he has
adversaries in the very constitution of things, whom he cannot get
rid of. Persian thought is dualistic; the conception of an Evil
Creator and Governor co-ordinate with the good one differentiates it
from the thought of India, which always tends to a principle of
unity.