Mani (prophet) - Teaching

Teaching

Mani's teaching is designed as succeeding and surpassing the teachings of Christianity, Zoroastrianism and Buddhism. It is based on a rigid dualism of good and evil, locked in eternal struggle. In his mid-twenties, Mani decided that salvation is possible through education, self-denial, fasting and chastity. Mani claimed to be the Paraclete promised in the New Testament, the Last Prophet. On what is known of Mani's theology, the following points are made regarding especially Christianity.

Manichaeism's views on Jesus are described by historians. "Jesus in Manichaeism possessed three separate identities (1) Jesus the Luminous, (2) Jesus the Messiah and (3) Jesus patibilis. ... His primary role was as supreme revealer and guide and it was he who woke Adam from his slumber and revealed to him the divine origins of his soul and its painful captivity by the body and mixture with matter. Jesus the Messiah was a historical being who was the prophet of the Jews and the forerunner of Mani. However, the Manicheans believed that he was wholly divine. He never experienced human birth as notions of physical conception and birth filled the Manichaeans with horror and the Christian doctrine of virgin birth was regarded as equally obscene. Since he was the light of the world, where was this light, they asked, when he was in the womb of the Virgin? Jesus the Messiah was truly born at his baptism as it was on that occasion that the Father openly acknowledged his sonship. The suffering, death and resurrection of this Jesus were in appearance only as they had no salvific value but were an exemplum of the suffering and eventual deliverance of the human soul and a prefiguration of Mani’s own martyrdom. The pain suffered by the imprisoned Light-Particles in the whole of the visible universe, on the other hand, was real and immanent. This was symbolised by the 'mystic placing of the Cross whereby the wounds of the passion of our souls are set forth'. On this mystical Cross of Light was suspended the Suffering Jesus (Jesus patibilis) who was 'the life and salvation of Man.' This mystica cruxificio (sic) was present in every tree, herb, fruit, vegetable and even stones and the soil. This constant and universal suffering of the captive soul is exquisitely expressed in one of the Coptic Manichaean psalms... . In a fragment of Mani’s Epistula fundamenti, preserved only by Evodius of the 4th and 5th century CE, Mani is alleged to have said that the Enemy (i.e. Satan) who hoped to have crucified that same Redeemer, the Father of Righteousness, was himself crucified; for at that time appearance and reality were distinct. ... The extreme docetic Christological position of the Manichaeans was, as one would expect, a major bone of contention between their leaders and Catholic theologians. The Manichaeans were out on a limb with regard to other Christian sects in the Christological debates of the fourth century. Not even the most determined enemies of Arius would assert that Christ was an emanation of the Father and that he was never truly born of the Virgin as did the Manichaeans... . Although the Manichaeans believed Jesus the Messiah was not born in a human fashion, they did believe that he died even if his death was only in appearance. To prove this Faustus drew attention to the view commonly held by both Jews and Christians that Elijah did not die. Both views- that Jesus could die without having been born and that Elijah, though he was born, did not die- run counter to the laws of nature... Since the Christians believed that Jesus could be born without being begotten, why could He not also suffer without being born? If the Christians were to reply that the Virgin Birth was possible with God nothing is impossible, then they had no right to deny the Manichaeans the right to say that Christ could have suffered without having been born."

Historians also note that Mani declared himself to be an "apostle of Jesus Christ" Also Manichaean tradition also is noted to have claimed that Mani was the reincarnation of different religious figures from Buddha, Lord Krishna, Zoroaster, and Jesus. "Other than incorporating the symbols and doctrine of dominant religious traditions, Manichaeism also incorporated the symbols and deities of indigenous traditions, in particular the Hindu deity Ganesha into its fold, demonstrated by the image available in the article, Manichaean art and calligraphy by Hans-Joachim Klimkeit. Mani was allegedly claiming to be the reincarnation of the Buddha, Lord Krishna, Zoroaster and Jesus depending on the context in which he was carrying out his preachings. Such strategic claims fostered a spirit of toleration among the Manicheans and the other religious communities and this particular feature greatly assisted them in gaining the approval of authorities to practice in different regions along the Silk Road."

Academics note that since much of what is known about Manichaeism comes from later 10th and 11th Century CE Islamic historians like Al-Biruni and especially the Shia Muslim Persian historian Ibn al-Nadim (and his work Fihrist); "Islamic authors ascribed to Mani the claim to be the Seal of the Prophets" This topic is discussed by an Israeli academic Guy G. Stroumsa Mani's followers were organized in a church structure, divided into a class of "elects" (electi) and "auditors" (auditori). Only the electi are required to follow the laws strictly, while the auditori care for them, hoping to become electi in their turn after reincarnation.