Differences between Manichaeism and Christianity

A Publication of the Holy and Ancient Manichaean Church 2012

Who is Christ? Christianity Christians claim Christ was God incarnated in the flesh. Since Christ = God, according to Christian theology, God did not create Christ. Manichaeism Manichaeans, however, consider Christ a manifestation of the Living Spirit (the One Created Being, the entire Creation in all its dimensions, realities,and worlds, incl ding !oth physical and spirit al realities", which is distinct from the #ivine So rce o tside of Creation (the #ivine so rce = the Creator God who created the Living Spirit". $his means that according to Manichaeans Christ is not God, ! t rather Christ = the reflection of God, the Son of God. %itho t reali&ing it, Christians are committing idolatry !y worshiping Christ as God !eca se that's the same as worshiping all of Creation, and they are also twisting the message of Christ who always emphasi&ed that (e was doing the will of the )ather, not (is own. Who was Jesus? Christianity Christians !elieve *es s was a *ewish ra!!i who lived in +st cent ry * dea. *ohn the Baptist !apti&ed him, ,onti s ,ilate ordered his Cr cifi-ion, and three days later he res rrected from the dead. +

$hro gh his cr cifi-ion, *es s saved man.ind from all its sins, and !y his res rrection, he destroyed death and allowed for the possi!ility of a f t re res rrection in a spirit al !ody. Manichaeism Manichaeans, however, !elieve *es s did not e-ist as a physical man in +st cent ry * dea. Jesus Christ /nstead, *es s Christ manifested (imself in +st cent ry * dea to the 0postles as a s irit to restore the +1 $ri!es of /srael to the heart and spirit of the original $orah of Moses. %e !elieve that this appearance was the f lfillment of the *ewish nations e-pectation of the coming Messiah. %e !elieve that while the (e!rew people were the central foc s of that specific manifestation, Christ also provided a means to the Gentile nations, who had heard of the Messiah, to also see. (is presence in the form of a writing called the $eaching of the 0postles, also .nown as the #idache. /t is o r !elief that the #idache was act ally part of the original Letter of St. *ames to the gentiles ! t was removed from the !ody of the te-t !y the gentile ch rches and presented as a separate te-t that was not !inding on the gentiles (the 0postles ta ght that it was !inding on the gentiles". %e !elieve that the letter of St. *ames, while !inding on the gentile followers of Christ, was not the only covenant with the world. %e !elieve that Christ appeared to Mani and ta ght (im directly, the final form of this teaching was the 2eligion of Light, or as most people refer to it today3 Manichaeism.

So if the name *es s refers to a physical *ewish man who lived in +st cent ry * dea, who was cr cified and later res rrected in order to redeem man.ind, then we do not !elieve he ever e-isted. B t if the name *es s refers to the s iritual manifestation of Christ in +st cent ry * dea to the 0postles, then we do !elieve in *es s. /n fact, if yo read any of o r ,salms or other writings from the ,rophet Mani, yo will reali&e they mention *es s several times. %hat Christians have to !e aware of, however, is that when we say *es s we are referring to someone completely different from the *es s they !elieve in. What about !orah" Judaism" and Jews? Christianity Many Christians !elieve that when he was cr cified, *es s cr cified the $orah (the Law of the Old $estament, 4+5 commandments to !e followed !y the *ewish people" with him. /n the minds of Christians, this act made the Mosaic Law (i.e. $orah" completely irrelevant for all people, includin# the *ews. $he *ews are still e-pecting the Coming of the Torah Scroll Messiah, ! t for Christians, *es s was the Messiah the *ews have always !een e-pecting. Given this !elief, many Christians view *ews as incomplete followers of God who need to a!andon the $orah, t rn to Christ, 1

and ac.nowledge that the Ch rch has s pplanted /srael. 6eedless to say, s ch theology has em!edded into the %estern78 ropean psyche an anti9Semitic attit de e-pressed in the idea that *ews are :Christ9.illers:, that they committed deicide, the *ewish !lood li!el, conspiracy theories claiming that the *ews7;ionists r n the world, and other s ch fa!rications that are still widespread thro gho t the world. $he worst thing a!o t this hatred for the $orah and the *ewish people is that Christian writers pro<ected it onto the ,rophet and 0postle Mani !y acc sing him of loo.ing down on the Old $estament, the $orah, and the *ewish people. Manichaeism Manichaeans .now, however, Mani never said anything against the $orah or the *ewish people. On the contrary, he said that the $orah was valid for the *ewish people since this was the Covenant that God had esta!lished with them. /n fact, *es s appeared spirit ally in +st cent ry * dea to restore and e-tend the Covenant of Sinai (the Covenant that re= ired the *ews to follow the $orah" to the +1 $ri!es of /srael> Since the ,rophet Mani received revelation from *es s, it's impossi!le to conceive that he wo ld ever say anything negative a!o t the $orah. 6evertheless, this doesn't mean Manichaeans have to follow the $orah. %e are !eholden to o r own +? Commandments, ! t we .now that the $orah has a place and p rpose within God's plan for salvation, and that no theology or

religion can discard it !y relegating it to the d st!in of history. What about Au#ustine and what he wrote on the Manichaeans? Christianity $he Catholics and 0nglicans consider 0 g stine to !e a saint and #octor of the Ch rch, which ma.es 0 g stine a fo ndational pillar of %estern theology.

Manichaeism Manichaeism, however, is not a heresy ! t the 2eligion of Light decreed !y God, and is certainly not dead as it has !een restored in March of 1?++ !y God (imself for all of h manity. $o nderstand the Manichaean point of view on 0 g stine, please read these words of Mele.h Sh !.ha3 @Some have said it was d e to his disappointing meeting with Mar )a st s or that Mar )a st s lac.ed .nowledge in relation to the topics in which 0 g stine made in= iries. 0 g stine did not leave the (oly Ch rch for any of those reasons. $hose are lies propagated !y 0 g stine himself. O r Script res and $hird ,illar inform s that 0 g stine had a very pro d heart and desired to lead others rather than to h m!le himself and !e a servant in the )aith. (e made several attempts to enter into the @inner sanct mA of the 8lect. (e made it a point to let others .now that he was of the company of 8lect, when in fact, he was a (earer (layman". 0fter 0 g stine was re<ected for the last time, he went on a tirade with writing against Mar Mani and the Blessed Ch rch. Brethren within the (oly Ch rch attempted several times to assist 0 g stine !efore it was too late for him. B t he t rned down all of their efforts, instead ma.ing f n of them for wearing plain clothes and for sing s ch plain words. 0s a res lt of his writings, 0 g stine ca sed a co ntless n m!er of deaths> 5

Augustine Leaders of the 2eformation s ch as Martin L ther (an 0 g stinian mon." and Calvin !orrowed heavily from 0 g stine's ideas on salvation, free will and divine grace, which is why some ,rotestants, specially Calvinists, t rn to him for inspiration and ideas. )or the 8astern Orthodo-, 0 g stine is considered !lessed, ! t they don't ta.e his theology = ite as serio sly as the Catholics and ,rotestants do. #espite these differences, all Christian denominations accept 0 g stine's mischaracteri&ation of Manichaeism, and most Christians consider it to !e a heresy that is to !e avoided or thin. that it died off the face of the planet a long time ago.

$ho sand pon tho sand of innocent peoples in many different nations were m rdered !y the Catholic ch rch, whose adherents even to this day, still !elieve 0 g stineBs lies. $here is no wonder why Manichaean Script res refer to him with s ch names as @0 g stine the (ereticA and @0 g stine the M rderer.A Mele.h Sh !.ha, the Cing of (onor 6ote3 a Mele.h is a very powerf l non9physical !eing, an 0eon who serves the One Created Being and God. $%tent and &ature of Di'ine (e'elation Christianity Christianity seems to !e closed to the idea of #ivine 2evelation happening thro gho t the world and thro gho t time. /t confines itself to the (e!rew prophets, Christ, and the saints of their own ch rch. O tside of that, God seems to have forgotten a!o t the rest of the world and stopped revealing (imself at a certain point in history. Manichaeism $he Manichaean Script res, the Car & ta d'Mar Mani, mention the following #ivine Messengers3 Seth, Mahavira, ;oroaster, B ddha, and Christ. God has revealed (imself thro gho t the ages and in many locations. (e is still sending Messengers to this day as seen !y the appearance of Mir /&gaddah from 1??D to 1?++, and the manifestation of the %orld $eacher in )e!. 1+St, 1?+1.E

E6ote3 $he p rpose of Mir /&gaddah's manifestation was to remind !elievers that God had not a!andoned them, and (e also reinstit ted the Manichaeism on March 11nd, 1?++. $he %orld $eacher has arrived on earth to ret rn h manity to its p rified state. 2evelation can never !e contained in time and space, and is th s always ongoing within the Manichaean Ch rch. )al'ation and Paradise Christianity )or ,rotestants, salvation is s ally !y faith alone (sola fide", whereas for Catholics and 8astern Orthodo-, salvation is d e to !oth faith and wor.s. By p tting one's faith in *es s, the Christian !ecomes < stified in the eyes of God !eca se the !lood shed !y *es s on the cross covers over the sins of all those who !elieve in him. Christians !elieve than whey they die, they will enter ,aradise altho gh some !elieve in the eternal e-istence of (ell. $here is no consens s as to where ,aradise and (ell reside, ! t the idea is that they are !oth somewhere !eyond this world. Manichaeism )or Manichaeans, salvation is mainly a!o t li!erating the Light Spar.s within o rselves from the /ll sion of Matter. $his process of li!eration is composed of three elements3 +" %orship God and not Creation (this means not worshiping Christ as if F

(e were the #ivine So rce" 1" Get rid of all worldly attachments since the world is ill sion and o r tr e (ome is !eyond the material world. 5" C ltivate virt e. /n Manichaeism, ,aradise and (ell are temporary states, and there!y not eternal. 0lso, ,aradise and (ell are located in the atmosphere of 8arth, not in some distant realm !eyond the %orld. $hose who are in ,aradise will not necessarily !e saved !eca se one day ,aradise will also !e destroyed. Only those so ls who served the #ivine So rce selflessly (with no or little hint of selfishness" will !e chosen from ,aradise to !e transported to the Cingdom of Lights, which is o r tr e (ome !eyond the physical world. $he Cingdom of Lights is eternal, spirit al, a place f ll of peace and harmony where no evil is present.

Christ who will come to < dge the world in the Last * dgment. Before the 8nd of $imes, there will !e !irth pangs s ch as wars, r mors of war, famines, death, pestilence, etc. Most of Christian eschatology is ta.en from *ohn's Boo. of 2evelation. Some !elieve that when Christ comes, (e will set p a Millennial Cingdom on 8arth which will !e li.e (eaven on 8arth.

Four Horses of the Apocalypse Others thin. that this Millennial Cingdom is sym!olic and refers to the era when the ch rch has !een infl ential in the world, and that the Cingdom !eing referred to is not of this world. Manichaeism /n Manichaeism, we !elieve that we are living in the 8nd $imes ri#ht now. %e .now this thro gh 2evelation, not thro gh mere h man spec lation. %e also !elieve that the signs of the times are clear to all who want to see them3 wars, r mors of wars, nat ral disasters, moral degradation, corr ption, pestilence, famine, etc. $hese are !irth pangs for the oncoming Great , rification that will ta.e place on 8arth, where all the !ad spirit al and G

$schatolo#y Christianity Christians !elieve in the Second Coming of

material elements will !e erased from the face of the planet. 0 remnant on planet 8arth will escape on the Ships of Light, and then the 8arth will !e ! rned !y solar flares. 0fter the destr ction of the 8arth, the entire niverse will also !e dissolved. ,lease don't ta.e this as a precise timeline. %e h mans are not meant to .now the e-act timing of things nor the precise se= ence of events that will lead to the 8nd of $imes. B t we .now for s re that we are living in those times, and that this is the time to p rify o rselves and prepare o rselves to go to o r (omeland3 the Cingdom of Lights. /f loo.ed at this way, the 8nd of $imes is

not all doom and gloom, ! t an act al li!eration from this evil and dar. world. $h s, altho gh great s ffering will ta.e place, we m st !ear in mind that at the end of it all we will !e happy and f ll of <oy, worshiping the #ivine So rce in the Cingdom of Lights.

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/iblio#ra hy of *ma#es 0n Co'er Pa#e, *es sOnCross.<pg. 2on B ch. Christianity that Works. Jhttp377F.!p.!logspot.com79 -w/0K1 C(pL7$y%wa(SM4N/7000000000$s75?-#06s*c0g7s+4??7*es sOnCross.<pgO. March 4th, 1?+1. -irst Pa#e, *es sP!rown1.<pg. 2 ssell 0nderson. Light Planet. <http377www.lightplanet.com7mormons7images7savior7<es sP!rown1.<pgO March 4th, 1?+1. )econd Pa#e, $orahScroll.<pg. 2ic. Brentlinger. GayChristian ! . Jhttp377www.gaychristian+?+.com7images7$orahScroll.<pgO March 4th, 1?+1. !hird Pa#e, $iffanyP%indowPofPStP0 g stineP9PLightnerPM se m.<pg. Wikipe"ia. Jhttp377en.wi.ipedia.org7wi.i7)ile3$iffanyP%indowPofPStP0 g stineP9 LightnerPM se m.<pgO March 4th, 1?+1. -ifth Pa#e, 6ewP<er salem.<pg. #i$ine %e$elations.Jhttp377spiritlessons.com7doc ments7NP*ovenes7newP<er salem.<pgO March 4th, 1?+1. )o r (orsemen of 0pocalypse. Qi.torQasnetsov. Wikipe"ia. Jhttp377en.wi.ipedia.org7wi.i7)ile30pocalypsePvasnetsov.<pgO March 4th, 1?+1. )i%th Pa#e, (eavenonearth.<pg. Wikiality. Jhttp377images.wi.ia.com7wi.iality7images7!7!d7(eavenonearth.<pgO N

March 4th, 1?+1.