The Magi

Before reading this book, I could not figure out where all this hell stuff came from and why Christianity took the form that it did. This book is the basics on Zoroaster but the author gives some useful insights as to: 1) Why the jews were allowed to build their second temple. 2) The constructs of angels and christian heaven & hell duality 3) Some quotes attributed to Jesus but their ideas first were presented by Zoroaster, including description of Satan as "the father of lies", etc. 4) Why the three wise men appeared in the scriptures at all Both Judaism and Zoroasterism are pre-messainic religions, and ironically Zoroastrian's 'messiah' is expected come from a virgin (Of course their mythology is a bit different!)Believer or not will learn some important things about their religion. When one studies a religion for personnal truth, you really do need to study at least two!

My highest compliments to the author... this is a balanced and very informative little book!! In "The Magi" Mr. Vincent does an excellent job of dispelling many of the myths that have grown up over the years concerning the nature of the Magi, replacing often popular misconceptions with a more accurate representation of who the Magi really were. At the same time he also provides a very good (but basic) introduction to Zoroastrianism, the religion of the Magi that appears to have significantly influenced Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.While merely a quick introduction to the subject, this short book contains a reasonable amount of information and it is written in such a way that it can be easily absorbed by the average reader. The book appears to be written from a Christian perspective, but the author reverentially and fairly describes the Zoroastrian faith. And also to his (and the book's) credit, Mr. Vincent does not hesitate to point out how important and significant the contributions made by Zoroastrianism were to the development of the monotheistic faiths that are most predominant today. All in all, nicely done and a book well worth buying!!!

Ken Vincent is a professor of religion and psychology as well as a lay Unitarian Universalist minister. His new book, THE MAGI, is a recent addition to the long history of literature which compares the teachings of Zoroastrianism, the monotheistic religion of ancient Persia, to those of Judaism and Christianity, and which traces the influences of the Persian religion on later monotheistic faiths. I am pleased to say that this new entry is well worth reading and a fine addition to this literary lineage. This book is written especially for Christians, and that is its focus. It is not overly technical or academic; it is directed toward thoughtful lay people. Vincent gives us a brief overview of Zoroastrianism, which concentrates on the central message and teachings of the religion as revealed in the Gatha hymns of Prophet Zarathushtra (who is also known as "Zoroaster" )which are the original Scriptures of the religion. He then shows how some parts of the Bible and the Zoroastrian Scriptures are similar, suggesting that the ancient Jews, and later, the Christians, learned much wisdom from the Persian Zoroastrians when they encountered them in the ancient Middle East. Vincent carefully explains the features of the "Three Magi" which show up in Christian legends, such as their portrayal as kings, the frankincense, myrrh, and gold, the Christmas Star, and the Magi's belief that they were searching for a Savior. Other good things about Ken Vincent's book are a "gallery" of historical artworks about the Three Magi (or Kings), and in the back of the book, a very good modern translation of the Gatha hymns of Prophet Zarathushtra, so you can read for yourself the inspiring words of one of the first monotheists of all time.