Manichaeism - Manichaeism Manichaeism was one of the major ancient religions. It seems mostly extinct today in an organized form. "Neo-Manichaeans" is an attempted revival, but most of the writings of the prophet Mani have been lost. Some scholars and anti-Catholic polemicists believe that its influence subtly continues in Christian thought, through Augustine of Hippo, who converted to Christianity from out of the teachings and practice of Manichaeans. The religion was founded by Mani, who lived approximately 210-275 A.D. in western Persia. Mani was raised as an schismatic Christian (an Elkasite) but, upon reaching maturity he split with his origins and created a new religion intended to combine all the existing religions. The large existing religions, most notably Christianity and Zoroastrianism, refused to be combined. Mani died in.
History of the Levant - predominant religion in Persia. The Classical empires From 492-449 BC the Persians made a series of unsuccessful attempts to conquer Greece. The civilisation that had developed there since the end of the bronze age was organised along entirely different lines than those of the Middle East, consisting of numerous small City-States fielding citizen militias. Nonetheless they banded together and proved quite capable of dealing with the massive armies of their foe. By the fourth century BC Persia had fallen into decline. The campaigns of Xenophon illustrated how very vulnerable it had become to attack by an army organised along Greek lines, but the Greek city-states had weakened each other irreparably through in-fighting. However, in 338 BC the rising power of Macedonia overcame Greece, and under Alexander the Great turned its attention.
History of Christianity - Dura-Europos, Syria is the site of the earliest discovered identifiable Christian house church. The martyrs Stephen the protomartyr (first martyr) Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna and disciple of John the Evangelist Ignatius of Antioch The Apologists Justin Martyr, convert from Greek philosophy Irenaeus of Lyons, bishop of Lyons, categorized heresies in order to refute them Early Controversies Disputes of doctrine began early on. The newly-organised church organised councils to sort matters out. Councils representing the entire church were called ecumenical councils. Some groups were rejected as heretics. Gnosticism Monarchianism Nestorianism (advanced by Nestorius, a patriarch of Constantinople) Apollinarianism Arianism (fourth century, advanced by Arius, a priest) Competing Religions Christianity was not the only religion seeking and finding converts in the 1st century. Modern historians of the Roman world often discern interest in.
History of Greek and Roman Egypt - life largely remained Greek throughout the Roman period. The Romans, like the Ptolemies, respected and protected Egyptian religion and customs, although the cult of the Roman state and of the Emperor was gradually introduced. Roman rule in Egypt The first prefect of Egypt, Cornelius Gallus, brought Upper Egypt under Roman control by force of arms, established a protectorate over the southern frontier district, which had been abandoned by the later Ptolemies. The second prefect, Aelius Gallus, made an unsuccessful expedition to conquer Arabia: the Red Sea coast of Egypt was not brought under Roman control until the reign of Claudius. The third prefect, Gaius Petronius, cleared the neglected canals for irrigation, stimulating a revival of agriculture. From the reign of Nero onwards, Egypt enjoyed an era of prosperity which lasted a.
Gnosticism - She gives gnosis to the humans this way, which causes the wrath of the Demiurge, who believe himself to be the sole creator of the universe and the exclusive ruler of this world. The "original sin" thus is in a gnostic context the "original enlightenment", and not an act of sin at all. They also learn that Seth, the third son of Adam, was introduced to the gnostic teachings by both his father and his mother, and that this knowledge has been preserved throughout creation. It should be noted that the gnostics perceived the Old Testament as myth, and thus subject to interpretation. Lifestyle Some Gnostic sects were Christians who embraced mystical theories of the true nature of Jesus and/or the Christ which were out of step with the teachings of.
God - theologians attempt to explicate (and in some cases systematize) the assumptions that underlie specific, organized, religions; in other cases, theologians seek to transform a personal experience of the divine into some philosophical system. Theologies begin with a notion of "god;" different theologies have been grouped and classified according to their views on two fundamental issues: Is God singular or plural? Is God transcendent or immanent, or both? Answers to these questions reflect, and imply, different positions concerning the relationship between god(s) and the world, and between god(s) and humankind. Theism holds that God is both transcendent and immanent; thus, God is simultaneously infinite and in some way present in the affairs of the world. Most theists hold that God is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent, although this belief raises questions about God's.
Dualism - opposition to each other (such as good and evil). One god is good, the other evil; some religions hold that one god works for order, the other for chaos. Both the Zoroastrian religion, three millennia old and still extant, and the essentially dead gnostic (and its variations such as, Manichaeism, Bogomils, Catharism, etc.) religions are dualistic, as is Mandaeanism. The third-century Christian heretic Marcion of Sinope held that the Old and New Testaments were the work of two opposing gods. Theological usage ("Eastern"/"mystic") Main Article: Mysticism Alternatively, dualism can mean the tendency of humans to perceive and understand the world as being chunked into just two categories. In this sense, it is dualistic when one perceives a tree as a thing separate from everything surrounding it, or when one perceives a.
210 - 215 Events Caracalla is Roman Consul Births Dexippus, Greek historian Mani, founder of Manichaeism (approximate date) Deaths Sauromates II King of Bosporus Claudius Galen, Greek scholar Monoimus, Arab gnostic (approximate date) Zhou Yu, Chinese strategist\n.
275 - soldier of the Roman Empire and later Christian martyr (or 280, approximate date). Deaths Aurelian, Roman Emperor Mani, founder of Manichaeism (approximate date).
Adam Kadmon - means "Primordial Man," or "Primal Man." Comparable to the Anthropos of Gnosticism and Manichaeism. However, in Lurianic Kabbalah, Adam Kadmon had acquired much more exalted status, equivalent to Purusha in Upanishads, denoting the Manifest Absolute itself, while Adam Soul, primeval Soul that contained all human souls is described in different terms in this variant of mythopoetic cosmogenesis and anthropogenesis..
Bahram I of Persia - Shapur I., and succeeded his brother Hormizd I, who had only reigned a year. Bahram I is the king who, by the instigation of the magians, put to a cruel death the prophet Mani, the founder of Manichaeism. Nothing else is known of his reign. The name Bahram comes from Varahrän, the younger form of the old Verethragna, the name of a Persian god, "the killer of the dragon Verethra". This entry was originally from the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica..
The problem of evil - be nothing but robots. Evil is the consequence, not cause, of people not observing God's revealed will. Universal reciprocated love would solve most of the problems that lead to the evils discussed here. Believe that God's divine plan is good. What we see as evil is not really evil; rather, it is part of a divine design that is actually good. Our limitations prevent us from seeing the big picture. God is a righteous judge; people get what they deserve. If someone suffers, that is because they committed a sin that merits such suffering. Suffering is educational. It makes us better people. Evil is one way that God tests humanity, to see if we are worthy of His grace. Evil and pain exist in this world only. This world is only.
Theosophy - trace the origin of Theosophy to the universal striving for divinity that existed in all ancient cultures. It is found in an unbroken chain in India but existed in ancient Greece also as in the writings of Plato (427-347 BC), Plotinus (204/5-270) and other neo-Platonists, and to Jakob Boehme (1575-1624). Some relevant quotes: "...we are imprisoned in the body, like an oyster in his shell." The Socrates of Plato, Phaedrus To the philosopher, the body is "a disturbing element, hindering the soul from the acquisition of knowledge..." "...what is purification but...the release of the soul from the chains of the body?" The Socrates of Plato, Phaedo Modern Theosophical esotericism, however, begins with Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (1831-1891) usually known as Madame Blavatsky. One of the founders of the Theosophical Society (in 1875.
Two-Seed-in-the-Spirit Predestinarian Baptists - booklet are based on ecclesiology - for example, "They have violated the right or government of the Church of Christ in forming themselves into a body and acting without of the union." Several important preachers on the east coast led in the "anti-missions" movement, but Elder Parker was the leader on the frontier, and probably spoke best to the common man. It appears that during this time, Parker was also formulating views on God and man that he would first release in his Views on the Two Seeds (1826). These "views on the two seeds" are probably complicated for anyone outside the movement. Parker taught that all persons are either of the "good seed" of God or of the "bad seed" of Satan. The children of the good seed are roughly.
Shapur I of Persia - Persia. Shapur left other reliefs and rock inscriptions; one, at Nakshi-Rajab near Persepolis, is accompanied by a Greek translation; here he calls himself "the Mazdayasnian (worshipper of Ahuramazda), the god Sapores, king of kings of the Aryans [Iranians] and non-Aryans, of divine descent, son of the Mazdayasnian, the god Artaxares, king of kings of the Aryans, grandson of the god-king Papak." Another long inscription at Hajjiabad (Istakhr) mentions the king's exploits in archery in the presence of his nobles. From his titles we learn that Shapur I claimed the sovereignty over the whole earth, although in reality his domain extended little farther than that of Ardashir I. Shapur built the great town Gundev-Shapur near the old Achaemenian capital Susa, and increased the fertility of this rich district by a barrage through.
Sons Aumen Israel - are co-messiahs, and that Yeshu and Miryai were married and had sexual relations with each other. Their thought has been heavily influenced by Mormonism, Gnosticism (especially Valentinian Gnosticism), Mandaeanism, Manichaeism, and New Age ideas. They do not consider themselves to be Mormons, but they accept Joseph Smith, Jr as a prophet, as well as various other prophets. They believe that much of their theology derives from the "sealed portion" of the Golden Plates, which they call the "Oracles of Mohonri". The word "Aumen" or "Ahman" refers to a Mormon word for God, said to be in the "Adamic language". They practice strict veganism, and several of them live on a commune in Arizona. External Links: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/3607/ - Their website http://www.nccg.org/occult/Occult003-SAI.html - An anti-Sons Aumen Israel website.
Week - of the week due to a problem of the myriad uses of various days for religious observance, and established the first day as the day for religious observance for all groups, not just those Christians and others who were already observing Sunday. The Jews retained their (at least) 800-year-old tradition of Saturday observance. Later, after the establishment of Islam, Friday became that religion's day of observance. The 7-day-week concept defined in the ancient Middle East, probably Babylon, is now used in most of the world due to the spread of corporate commercial trade and business. China and Japan China adopted the concept of the work week only in modern times when the western calendar system was introduced to China. There are multiple terms for week in Chinese. The most well known.
Religions of the world - Islam Ibadiyyah Ahmadiyya Judaism Conservative Judaism Orthodox Judaism Ultra-Orthodox Judaism Modern Orthodox Judaism Hasidic Judaism Reconstructionist Judaism Reform Judaism Rastafarianism Other and related Deism Druzism Mandaeanism Manichaeism Samaritans Children of God Universal Life Church Zoroastrianism Vedic Religions Buddhism Theravada Mahayana Pure Land Zen Nichiren Vajrayana Tantrayana Hinduism Vaishnavism Swaminarayan sect Bhakti Movement ISKCON (Hare Krishna) Saivism Saktism Smartism Note: Yoga is not a religion, but rather a collective term for various spiritual practices and disciplines common to most branches of Hinduism. Jainism Sikhism Religions of Far Eastern origin Caodaism Confucianism Mohism Oomoto Shinto Taoism Tenrikyo Other Religions/Spiritual Cultivation Spiritualism (Spiritism) Unitarian Universalism Falun Dafa New religious movements and cults Some of the following groups are considered cults; a few are even considered dangerous by their opponents. Read the entry on cults.
Zoroastrianism - of monotheism and dualism. Some modern scholars believe that Zoroastrianism had a large influence on Judaism and Manichaeism, and thus indirectly influenced Christianity and Islam. The holy book of Zoroastrianism is the Avesta. Of the Avesta only the Gathas (the hymns) are attributed to Zoroaster. Ahura Mazda (literally: "the Wise Lord" like the Sanskrit "Asura Medha"; later transcription: Ohrmazd, Ormazd or Ormus) is revered and worshipped by Zoroastrians as the good God. Opposed to Ahura Mazda stands Ahriman (Angra Mainyu), who in some traditions is Ohrmazd's twin brother. According to Zoroastrianism, the earth was created by Ormazd as a battlefield to fight Ahriman (where Ohrmazd is destined to win approximately 3000 years after Zoroaster, that is, circa AD 2400). Human beings have free will to choose between Ohrmazd and Ahriman, however.
Zoroaster - most part personifications of ethical ideas. These are his creatures, his instruments, servants and assistants. They are comprehended under the general name of ameshd spenta ("immortal holy ones") and are the prototypes of the seven amshas ponds of a later date. These are: Vohu Manö (efr’oia), good sense, i.e. the good principle, the idea of the good, the principle that works in man inclining him to what is good; Ashem, afterwards Ashem Vahishtem (Plutarch's ?&?oiOaa), the genius of truth and the embodiment of all that is true, good and right, upright law and rule -- ideas practically identical for Zoroaster; Khshathrem, afterwards Khshathrem Vairim (dwouia), the power and kingdom of Ormazd, which have subsisted from the first but not in integral completeness, the evil having crept in like tares among the.
