Elements of Primordial Gnosis in the Manichean System (and errors as well)

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Elements of Primordial Gnosis in the Manichean System

1. Only through knowledge can true purity be realized, which lies in the separation of Light from Darkness.

2. The need for a new canon was as pressing or more pressing as the Jewish Bible had no sacred value for the Manichaeans.

Unlike the Great Christian Church, Mani rejected the validity of the Tanak, which he considered the work of the forces of Evil.

At this point, a full influence of the Marcionite theses seems to be evident.

4. Satan is mentioned in some texts as the author of the prohibitions contained in the biblical text (Old Testament).

5. Manichaeism is often considered a Gnostic-type religion, and even the “crowning” of Gnostic forms of thought.

3. Like Marcion, Mani produced his own “authentic” edition of the New Testament writings, purged of their Judaizing

excrescences.

Fragments of the excellent book “Manicheism: introductory study” by Fernando Bermejo Rubio, whose full text we recommend

reading.

Elements of Primordial Gnosis in the Manichean system (and serious errors too)

6. Obtaining salvation requires not only the acquisition of gnosis and a precise ethic, but also a series of concrete actions

in which the body participates effectively as an indispensable instrument and scenario.

7. Although Mani was undoubtedly conditioned by the various religious traditions he knew, the system he produced is not

reducible to any of them.

11. The core of Manichean doctrine is sometimes designated as the notion of “the two principles and the three times.”

12. The notion of the three times answers point by point to the triple question found in Zoroastrian, Manichean and Gnostic

texts: Where do I come from? Who I am? Where I go?

14. The introduction of a multiplicity of powers is a characteristic feature of both Manichaeism and various Gnostic currents. But

Plato (Timaeus) already established auxiliary divinities for creation together with the demiurge.

15. Sexual activity and procreation are inextricably linked to Darkness and Evil.

10. Manichean dualism deserves, therefore, the description of absolute and radical: the two magnitudes are irreducible and

irreconcilable.

13. The confrontation of Light with Darkness activates a grandiose process of cosmogonic consequences.

9. The Manichean conception of reality is axiomatically based on the idea that at the origin, before the existence of the

universe, there are two ingenuous, eternal, opposite and separate principles.

8. The Manichean narration of what happened in the origin is not presented as a myth susceptible to being interpreted

allegorically... the Babylonian prophet claimed that what he narrated were true postulates about reality, that is, statements

about what actually happened, It is still happening and will happen in the future.

16. The mission of the Primordial Man is to confront the invasion of Darkness: “the Most High, the eternal among the gods,

entrusted you with three tasks: annihilate death, kill the Enemy and protect the entire paradise of Light.”

20. The sending of the Primordial Man... is part of a plan to achieve the definitive destruction of Evil in the long term.

21. The body being the result of a monstrous and lustful union, through it the human being is linked to the animal nature

of the archons; The substance and purpose of the human body are diabolical, since the evil and negativity that characterizes

abortions and demons is present in humans. The material corporeality of the human being is thus the expression of the will to

power of the Darkness over the luminous substance in the extreme attempt to counteract the liberating activity of the

22. Among all the particles of light scattered in the universe there is consubstantiality and ontological communion, since they

all have the same origin: their separation occurred only as a result of the “first war.”

23. This Living Soul is doubly outside of itself, to the extent that it lives in a reality that is not its own and that it is ignorant of its

own homeland.

18. As a result of his luminous elements having been swallowed by Darkness, the Primordial Man loses his consciousness

and provisionally forces his origin.

cosmic machine built by divine entities to separate mixed natures. In this way, contempt for corporality, and in particular for

human reproductive activity, is justified in Manichaeism. On the other hand, however, the human being is the main deposit of

Light, fallen into the hands of Darkness: most of the lost luminous element is concentrated in him.

19. The divine being, temporarily separated from the Kingdom of Light and subject to limitation, thus constitutes the model of the

existence of the future human being, also conceived in Manichaeism as a stranger to the dark Matter but paradoxically

a victim of the state of mixture.

17. The luminous elements sent to face contact with Darkness are surrounded, imprisoned and devoured by it.

24. Adam, as the first human being, is also a prototype of the vicissitudes of the Living Soul. Since the person responsible for the

formation of his body is the power of Darkness, at first Adam is presented as subject to the archons and ignorant of the presence

of the element in him.

26. Mani... eliminated the representatives of Judaism from that series of revelators, leaving only mythical figures (Adam, Seth,

Henos, Noah, Shem, Enoch) before Abraham: this character is considered in the Bible to be the beginning of

Yahweh's alliance with Israel.

29. Unreserved adherence to the doctrine of the existence of the two beginnings and the three times and of the “prologue in

heaven” that explains the present reality is certainly an indispensable requirement to obtain salvation, but it is only the beginning:

in Manichaeism, the acquisition of gnosis is a necessary condition, but not sufficient. The acceptance of the message proclaimed

by Mani requires from the subject not only the consent to a series of theoretical truths, but also a radical change in his attitude and

his behavior - in his actions and his omissions - thanks to which the body of the body is progressively built. new man… The

Manichean reflects in his action the fact that he possesses – and that he is aware of

25. Manichaeism assumes that human beings did not observe continence and that they fell victims to the perversion of the generative

act, therefore submitting to the world of Darkness. This sad state of submission already suggests that subsequent humanity will need

to be saved... The stunned state of post-Adamitic humanity implies that it needs divine help to recover awareness of its origin and

identity, and thus be able to be saved and contribute herself to save the rest of the Living Soul.

luminous... The Kingdom of Light then sends a saving figure... This figure awakens Adam from his deep sleep and, like an

effective exorcist, frees him from the diabolical forces that possess him, after which Adam comes to his senses and recognizes his

identity.

27. Although we lack descriptions of incorporation rites into the Manichean Church, it is very likely that such incorporation

was marked by some initiation ceremony. Of course, one of the requirements to become part of the community would have been

to unequivocally express adherence through the confession of the basic dogmas of the religion, in particular the dualistic

creed, the consubstantiality of the self with the Kingdom of Light and the recognition of Mani as the bearer of saving gnosis.

28. Acceptance of the message proclaimed by Mani requires the subject not only to agree to a series of theoretical truths, but

also to undergo a radical change in his attitude and behavior. To undertake the fight against Darkness and achieve his own

salvation, the individual must experience a transformation process that represents the transition from the unconscious

man in a state of mixture to the knowing subject (“gnostic”), aligned with the Good.

essential.

32. Salvation can only consist of the return to the original situation, that is, in the complete separation of Light and Darkness.

34. The catastrophic initial condition of the body is converted into an instrument at the service of salvation.

35. A useless rite, based on an erroneous understanding of reality, is replaced by a ritual action whose effectiveness is assured

to the extent that it is based on the revealed knowledge of the true nature of the universe and the human being.

30. Manichean praxis has an inalienable ontological foundation, to the extent that through it it seeks to promote the end of the

state of mixture, to obtain the salvation of Light and the definitive defeat of Darkness.

33. Thanks to gnosis and in a very particular way in asceticism, the fire of concupiscence that constitutes the essence of

Darkness and its archons is evicted from the body and replaced by the luminous virtues.

31. Manichaeism aspires to much more: to effectively free the Living Soul from its captivity in the matter of Darkness. To do this,

it will be necessary to carry out a positive action, which will not be limited simply to an act of gnosis of a merely speculative

or spiritual nature, but will involve a precise technique carried out through concrete acts in which the body plays a role.

that it possesses – a nature foreign to the world.

36. From a Manichean perspective, something very similar happens with the body to what happens with the universe. The substance

of both is demonic, but the action of the powers of Light ends up converting both the microcosm and the macrocosm into instruments

at the service of the interests of Light; Just as the children of the Living Spirit control the bodies of the archons in the universe, with

the help of the forces of Good the Manichaean subdues his body.

Zoroastrians.

40. Darkness will fall and will not rise again.

promoted directly by some pontiffs; Thus, for example, Pope Leo the Great promoted a program to identify, extract confessions,

judge and exile the Manichaeans and burn their books.

Such edicts and measures – which were effectively carried out thanks to the inquisitorial atmosphere imposed by

bishops and monks – were understandably effective on both the personal and material levels: the persecution, which often

involved the confiscation and destruction of books, produced in the West the virtual annihilation of Manichean texts from the 6th

century onwards.

39. In their consideration of the body, the Manichaeans are equally opposed to Jews, Christians and

41. To the repression of the imperial authorities were added the measures – sometimes ruthless –

38. Anthropological dualism means that the component of the human personality whose destiny is relevant in the Manichean

perspective is only the Spirit, of divine condition. Although the body of the electi fulfills an essential soteriological function as a

space and instrument of the liberation of the Light, it is so to the extent that the Light Intellect controls and dominates it; Without

it, the body is worthless.

37. The body thus experiences a transformation into a kind of temple in which the divine substance, the Living Soul profaned

by the world, finds the place from which it can return to its heavenly homeland.

After reading this excellent book cited above, we have found the following seven great errors in the Manichean system,

according to the Primordial Gnosis:

2. Prohibits sexual pleasure.

MAIN ERRORS FOUND IN THE MANICHAEAN SYSTEM

1. Orders the absence of violence and prescribes not to hurt or kill men and animals.

5. Order the confession of sins.

4. Prohibits suicide.

3. Order poverty.

6. Command devotion and piety.

7. Order the sentence.