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MANICHAEISM

A religion with its roots in the gnostic tradition of the Near East. Its founder, Mani, was born in Mesopotamia in 216 c.e. Manichaeism emerged out of a rich, diverse religious context. Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, Hellenistic philosophy, and numerous ancient indigenous religious traditions were present in western Iran in the early 3rd century c.e. Mani considered himself “the seal of the prophets” who brought the final, supreme divine revelation. Manichaeism views all previous revelations (i.e., those of Zoroaster, Moses, Buddha, and/or Jesus) to have been only partial revelations. One deficiency of these other revelations, according to Mani, was their provincialism. Manichaeism, in contrast, professes to proclaim a complete, universal revelation which will unite all people and be practiced in all lands. Its adherents were to traverse the world propagating Mani’s teachings which would have been accurately copied and translated into a locally understandable language.

Manichaeism’s two most basic tenets are: (1) the two eternal principles; and (2) the division of time into three epochs. In the beginning (past time) the eternal principles of good/light and evil/darkness existed separately. Present time began when representatives of the kingdom of darkness invaded the kingdom of light. This epoch may be seen as a process of regathering the elements of light that were scattered, or captured, during darkness’ invasion and the reseparation of these elements from those of darkness. The final epoch will be preceded by apocalyptic events and will witness a last, great battle between the forces of light and darkness. Following this battle, a final judgment will be rendered. The good/righteous will be gathered into the kingdom of light, whereas the evil/wicked will be consigned to a bottomless pit which will be permanently sealed. The cosmos will then burn for 1468 years.

Bibliography. H.-J. Klimkeit, Gnosis on the Silk Road (San Francisco, 1993); S. N. C. Lieu, Manichaeism in Mesopotamia and the Roman East (Leiden, 1994); Manichaeism in the Later Roman Empire and Medieval China, 2nd ed. WUNT 63 (Tübingen, 1992); J. C. Reeves, Jewish Lore in Manichaean Cosmogony. HUCM 14 (Cincinnati, 1992); G. Widengren, Mani and Manichaeism (London, 1965).

David Cleaver-Bartholomew

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

MANICHAEISM

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)