Jesus in the Manichaean Writings


Book Description

Manichaeism was a dualistic religious system with Christian, Gnostic and pagan elements, founded in Persia in the third century by Manes. This is the first full-length study of the Manichaean Jesus, since the publication of several major Manichaean texts such as the Homilies, Psalm Book and Kephalaia in the 1930s and 1940s. A knowledge of Manichaean Christology is important for any understanding of the development of Christologies in the early cen-turies CE, whether within mainstream Christianity or within associated het-erodox groups. This book undertakes a comprehensive study of six distinct figures of Jesus that can be found in both Eastern and Western Manichaean lit-erature. Previous partial studies of Manichaean Christology have tended to restrict their focus to texts from either Eastern or Western traditions alone. Majella Franzmann argues that a single Manichaean Jesus can be discerned behind the many different representations to be found.




Jesus in the Nag Hammadi Writings


Book Description

Many of the Nag Hammadi writings are considered 'heretical' and therefore not valid sources for traditions about the founder, Jesus. Majella Franzmann, however, shows that it is a mistake to believe that Christianity was a homogeneous entity from the first and that the only valid traditions about the founder are preserved by those early Christians who became the dominant, mainstream group. The whole range of early Christian movements, including the Gnostic Christian movements, cannot be separated and identified simply as orthodox or heretical from the beginning. The Nag Hammadi texts were discovered in 1945 near Luxor in Egypt. From these writings Majella Franzmann presents a fascinating and radically different portrait or series of portraits of Jesus and of the world into which he came. Majella Franzmann's work advances our whole understanding of the origins, development and present identity of Christians and Christianity.




Manichaean Texts from the Roman Empire


Book Description

This 2004 book is a single-volume collection of sources for Manichaeism, a world religion founded by Mani, the Syrian visionary.




Mani and Augustine


Book Description

Mani and Augustine: collected essays on Mani, Manichaeism and Augustine gathers in one volume contributions on Manichaean scholarship made by the internationally renowned scholar Johannes van Oort. The first part of the book focuses on the Babylonian prophet Mani (216-277) who styled himself an ‘apostle of Jesus Christ’, on Jewish elements in Manichaeism and on ‘human semen eucharist’, eschatology and imagery of Christ as ‘God’s Right Hand’. The second part of the book concentrates on the question to what extent the former ‘auditor’ Augustine became acquainted with Mani’s gnostic world religion and his canonical writings, and explores to what extent Manichaeism had a lasting impact on the most influential church father of the West.




The Gospel of the Prophet Mani


Book Description

For centuries Manicheism was a powerful religion, rivaled only by Christianity, but now virtually unheard of.Today, there is a resurgence of interest in Gnostic teachings. This work has been painstakingly pieced together and is an important work for scholars, religious researchers and those interested in alternative spiritual paths.




The Kephalaia of the Teacher


Book Description

First English translation of the Coptic text (c. 400 CE), with commentaries and indices, to this major source for the teachings of Mani. Manichaeism was the most successful of the gnostic dualistic traditions that challenged the triumph of the imperial Christian Church.




The Founder of Manichaeism


Book Description

A new critical look at Mani's life to establish a proper historical foundation for the study of this fascinating thinker.




The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Studies


Book Description

Provides an introduction to the academic study of early Christianity (c. 100-600 AD) and examines the vast geographical area impacted by the early church, in Western and Eastern late antiquity. --from publisher description.




Manichaeism in the Later Roman Empire and Medieval China


Book Description

'A unique and thrilling insight into the brilliant mind of Anne Lister' Sally Wainwright, creator of Gentleman JackFemale Fortune is the book which inspired Sally Wainwright to write Gentleman Jack, now a major drama series for the BBC and HBO.Lesbian landowner Anne Lister inherited Shibden Hall in 1826. She was an impressive scholar, fearless traveller and successful businesswoman, even developing her own coalmines. Her extraordinary diaries, running to 4-5 million words, were partly written in her own secret code and recorded her love affairs with startling candour. The diaries were included on UNESCO's Memory of the World Register in 2011.Jill Liddington's classic edition of the diaries tells the story of how Anne Lister wooed and seduced neighbouring heiress Ann Walker, who moved in to live with Anne and her family in 1834. Politically active, Anne Lister door-stepped her tenants at the 1835 Election to vote Tory. And socially very ambitious, she employed architects to redesign both the Hall and the estate.Yet Ann Walker had an inconvenient number of local relatives, suspicious of exactly how Anne Lister could pay for all her grand improvements. Tensions grew to a melodramatic crescendo when news reached Shibden of the pair being burnt in effigy.This 2022 edition includes a fascinating Afterword on the recent discovery of Ann Walker's own diary. Female Fortune is essential reading for those who watched Gentleman Jack and want to know more about the extraordinary woman that was Anne Lister.




The Manichaean Body


Book Description

Award for the Best First Book in the History of Religions from the American Academy of Religion Reconstructing Manichaeism from scraps of ancient texts and the ungenerous polemic of its enemies (such as the ex-Manichaean Augustine of Hippo), BeDuhn reveals for the first time the religion as it was actually practiced. He describes the Manichaeans' daily ritual meal, their stringent disciplinary codes (intended to prevent humans from harming plants and animals), and their secretive religious procedures designed to transform the cosmos and bring about the salvation of all living beings. Overturning long-held assumptions about Manichaean dualism, asceticism, spirituality, and the pursuit of salvation, The Manichaean Body changes completely how we look at this ancient religion and the environment in which Christianity arose. BeDuhn's conclusions revolutionize our understanding of the Manichaeans, clearly distinguishing them from Gnostics and other early Christian heretics and revealing them to be practitioners of a unique world religion.