I'm going to do everything I can not to crush these but I will add this: Indeterminism was the principle contribution of Zoroastrianism to world faith. It wasn't entirely monotheistic - Ahura Mazda created the world, and on it the twins Spenta Mainyu and Angra Mainyu. Spenta Mainyu was light, Angra Mainyu was dark, and Ahura Mazda was creation. The important concept was human involvement in the battle between Spenta Mainyu and Angra Mainyu - "Good Thoughts, Good Words, Good Deeds" and Spenta Mainyu will win out in the end. It wasn't just animistic spirits and all-powerful deities determining history and the way of things, people actually had the ability to shape their own cosmos. Parsees are the shit. From what I can remember, and I'll double check this in the morning when I'm thinking with a more clear head, Zoroastrianism was the religion that got that whole ball rolling. It was when the Jewish tribes came into contact with Zoroastrians that the idea of a cosmic duality was introduced into the Abrahamic Faiths.
