Manichaeism is the one true faith!

[A_C_Slater]

Copied from Wikipedia:

Manichaeism was one of the major dualistic religions, originating in Sassanid Persia.

While most of the original writings of the founding prophet Mani (c. 210–276 CE) have been lost, numerous translations and fragmentary texts have survived. At its height, Manichaeism was one of the most widespread religions in the world, with Manichaean churches and scriptures being found as far east as China, and as far west as the Roman empire. Although its last organized form died out before the 16th century in southern China, a modern revival has been attempted under the name of Neo-Manichaeism




So you see anyone that proclaims Christianity to be the one true faith is merley being results oriented since it happened to survive to the present day whilst Manichaeism did not. Repent before it is too late you Christian heathens!

[carlo]

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So you see anyone that proclaims Christianity to be the one true faith is merley being results oriented since it happened to survive to the present day whilst Manichaeism did not. Repent before it is too late you Christian heathens!

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Just an aside. Augustine was a Manichean who had difficulty getting his arms around Christ and chose faith in the Church as his repose. Manichaeism is one significant enterprise but from what I understand most of what is extant today was written by its opponents.

[A_C_Slater]

Also, Mani could out preach Jesus any day. The only reason Jesus ended up getting all the attention was because of his dramatic death scene. Christianity appeals to the masochists of the world. Manichaeism is for mentally healthy humans only.

[FortunaMaximus]

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Mani received a revelation as a youth from a spirit, whom he would later call his Twin, his Syzygos, his Double, his Protective Angel or 'Divine Self'. This 'spirit' allegedly taught him divine truths which developed into the Manichaean religion. His 'divine' Twin or true Self brought Mani to Self-realization and as such he becomes a 'gnosticus', someone with divine knowledge and a liberating insight into things. He claimed to be the 'Paraclete of the Truth', as promised in the New Testament: the Last Prophet and Seal of the Prophets that finalized a succession of men guided by God and included figures such as Zoroaster, Hermes, Plato, Buddha, and Jesus.

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Mentally healthy? Looks like a case of messianic thought processes, although that may very well be a necessity in spreading a religion. <shrugs>

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From its inception, one of the striking features of Manichaeism is that it presents an elaborate description of the conflict between the spiritual world of light and the material world of darkness. The beings of the world of darkness all have names, and the beings they attack in the world of light also have names.

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At least it's elaborate and dramatic.

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The most striking principle of Manichaean theology is its dualism. Mani postulated two natures that existed from the beginning: light and darkness. The realm of light lived in peace, while the realm of darkness was in constant conflict with itself. The universe is the temporary result of an attack from the realm of darkness on the realm of light, and was created by the Living Spirit, an emanation of the light realm, out of the mixture of light and darkness.

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You could postulate a contemporary religion based on Manga given this stand on the Universe.

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A key belief in Manichaeism is that there is no omnipotent good power. This claim addresses a theoretical part of the problem of evil by denying the infinite perfection of God and postulating the two equal and opposite powers mentioned previously. The human person is seen as a battleground for these powers: the good part is the soul (which is composed of light) and the bad part is the body (composed of dark earth). The soul defines the person and is incorruptible, but it is under the domination of a foreign power, which addressed the practical part of The Problem of Evil. Humans are said to be able to be saved from this power (matter) if they come to know who they are and identify themselves with their soul.

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This isn't too shabby though, at least the part in italics. Dubious about the rest, although that may be audience delivery.

[PairTheBoard]

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A key belief in Manichaeism is that there is no omnipotent good power. This claim addresses a theoretical part of the problem of evil by denying the infinite perfection of God and postulating the two equal and opposite powers mentioned previously

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You can see these logical problems people bring up here have been around for a long time with a lot of serious attempts to solve them. I give Manichaeism 2 stars out of 5. Rather than Transporting outside the Logical Box it allows the Box to define it. Moving all your belongings into a prison cell does not make it an attractive home.

PairTheBoard