When we say we are "Christian" what do we mean by that? Many will answer by stating that they are Lutherans or Catholics. For others, the term may have no meaning at all, they simply follow The Way.
All follow Jesus, but their theology is based on the traditions and reforms that have happened since the apostles witnessed the risen Christ. Even the Gospels and Paul seem to have some tension regarding the body of the risen Christ. Paul teaches that the risen Christ has a spiritual body, whilst Luke tries to elaborate on this by illustcan the body of Jesus is also fleshy in that he can eat, whilst also ethereal in the way he is able to disappear.
For Paul, he witnessed a spiritual Christ, a Christ that was suffering because of the way he persecuted his Church. What does Paul mean by this? How can Jesus be the one who is suffering? Yes, we can say that he suffers on behalf of those suffering. But Jesus is clear; “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” (Acts 9:4 ESV)
Jesus is suffering at the hands of Saul. Now for Mani, and St Maximus the Confessor, the reason Jesus is personally suffering at the hands of Paul is that Christ is in all of us and the created world around us; whilst asimultaneouslytranscending creation. Mani teaches that this is Jesus Patibilis, or in plain English, the suffering Jesus. This is what the incarnation means; this is love on a mind-blowingly cosmic level.
Whilst I would love to explore this area further; it is important to come back to my main point. How can we make sense of all these differences? How can some hold to a literal rapture of the saints? Whers affirm that there will be no rapture. Why are the same Bible verses used to defend two totally different positions on child baptism? The list is endless... and what are we to do in such bewildering confusion?
I like to go back (as does everyone in these debates) to how the early church understood Holy Scripture. The followers of the Way were an apocalyptic Jewish sect. When I mean "Apocalyptic" I do not mean some destructive end time. Rather, I mean an unveiling of spiritual truth. Christ unveiled the mystery of God. When someone asks who God is, we can answer in full confidence that God is revealed in the person Jesus Christ. He is the icon of the Father. And what is this image of God?
1 John 1:5 proclaims that; "This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all." (ESV)
John is very clear on teaching that God is love, and that we should emulate this by loving one another as God loves us (John 3: 11-17; 1 John 3:11–4:21). God, then, is pure light and pure love. There is not one ounce of evil or a shady corner to be found. He is the all-purifying fire, he is our all Merciful Father.
How does Mani fit into this? Well, Mani was declared a heretic amongst his contemporaries. And not only Mani, but many of the greatest Christian minds were also branded heretics such as; Origen, Evagrius, Bardaisan, and Valentinus; to just name a few. Why were these people heretics? There can be a myriad of answers to this one question. Personally, I think it was down to jealousy, politics, and purely the evil that resides in all of us.
Evil such as excluding certain people based on their worldview, and lust (and not just in a sexual sense, but lusting after power and recognition.) We must all accept that within us there is an evil that can appear at any time. Christ said we should look at the fruits of another to get a sense of their character. Origen, Bardaisan, and Mani all taught that God is pure light and pure love. There is no darkness in Him. Trees that are healthy only produce good fruit. Whilst, on the other hand, trees that are sick produce bad or no fruit at all; this tree is only fit for the fire. Mani calls this teaching the wisdom of the two trees.
The post-modern world is filled with so much information, there are innumerable answers to all these questions. Mine is just one of them. However, I hold fast to the simple principle. God the Father is pure love and light. Who teaches this? Jesus revealed this in Himself, as he is God the Son. Mani revealed the same truth but in a language that can be understood across cultural, national, and social divides. Mani is the Master Perennial Philosopher level 100. The Great Father of the Lights is the God of all truth and beauty; He is the Great King of the Aeon of Light. In opposition to Him is the prince of darkness. The two principles are foundational in understanding the cosmology and soteriology of our faith.
Jesus commanded his followers to go out to all the corners of the earth to proclaim his Gospel. Mani did this. His revelations were accepted by people from China to Egypt. Buddhists, Zoroastrians, Christians, and Jews. Mani, the embodied Paraclete, took the message to all corners of the ancient world. Sadly, the church was persecuted so much; that it was eradicated in the West. China also persecuted the church, but Mani's church has survived to this day under a Taoist guise. All the Manichaean writings were presumed lost. The only information we could gather was found in the works of people against Mani’s teachings.
However, thanks be to God the Father of Lights; Mani’s works are being rediscovered. I love Jesus, he has healed me from all the suffering I have faced in life. His teaching transforms me. I mess up, I miss the mark. But I know that the life of Jesus has redeemed me, he removes the dirt of this material body and brings forth the shard of light we all possess. We are children of the Father. And what does any good father do? He loves his children unconditionally, no matter what they have done or do.
What does Mani do? He reveals that God has been at work reawakening his children to the truth, calling out to all through the workings of the Holy Spirit. Buddha, Zoroaster, Zhuangzi; and many more. We all come from God, and God wills that all shall be saved.
I believe Mani to be the seal of the prophets. He is the Paraclete; the Rosetta Stone, who is commissioned to fortify the saints and reveal the truth to all nations. I am sure many will disagree. However, I ask those who do disagree to look at the fruit of his work. What was he teaching? He teaches that God is light and in Him, there is no darkness to be found. Moreover, he teaches that this world is a mixture of dark and light. Those who are not awakened slumber, the material world keeps them captive. Jesus and Mani call out to us, they awaken us to our true selves. We awaken to the knowledge (gnosis) of where we come from.
Whether you believe in the rapture or child baptism, or not. Ask yourself, what is important when Jesus calls us to follow him? What is Mani saying to us? They say that we are to deny ourselves and to love one another as God loves us. We are to lay down our lives for others. We are to crucify the old (material) self so that our spirit can ascend to the lofty aeon of infinite light. It is no longer I that live, but it is Christ who lives in me (Gal 2:20).
They have shown us a way; they have found the pearl; they have built the raft. . All we need to do is open our eyes. Take the raft and leave it behind. Once we cross that raging torrent, we are home. We have escaped the prison of our material bodies.
Evil is very real. The powers, principalities, archons, and the god of this world are all part of this ontological principle of darkness. But there is good news. Because of the sacrifice of one, the many will be saved. The sacrifice thrust light (spirit) into evil (matter), what was perceived as a victory was a colossal defeat for the powers of darkness. The dark swallowed the light, the light illuminates and dispels the darkness. The god of this world has lost his power, the strong man is bound, and Jesus has plundered his goods. Me, you, your cat, the tree standing in your street. All life can be rescued from this material prison.
Mani carries the torch and passes it on to us. I believe his revelation is more important now than ever. Read, listen, taste, and see. Look at the fruit of his life.
I pray to God that he may illuminate your mind and soul. May the darkness dissipate and may there only be light!
I am a Christian. Why do I follow Mar Mani?
When we say we are "Christian" what do we mean by that? Many will answer by stating that they are Lutherans or Catholics. For others, the term may have no meaning at all, they simply follow The Way.
All follow Jesus, but their theology is based on the traditions and reforms that have happened since the apostles witnessed the risen Christ. Even the Gospels and Paul seem to have some tension regarding the body of the risen Christ. Paul teaches that the risen Christ has a spiritual body, whilst Luke tries to elaborate on this by illustcan the body of Jesus is also fleshy in that he can eat, whilst also ethereal in the way he is able to disappear.
For Paul, he witnessed a spiritual Christ, a Christ that was suffering because of the way he persecuted his Church. What does Paul mean by this? How can Jesus be the one who is suffering? Yes, we can say that he suffers on behalf of those suffering. But Jesus is clear; “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” (Acts 9:4 ESV)
Jesus is suffering at the hands of Saul. Now for Mani, and St Maximus the Confessor, the reason Jesus is personally suffering at the hands of Paul is that Christ is in all of us and the created world around us; whilst asimultaneouslytranscending creation. Mani teaches that this is Jesus Patibilis, or in plain English, the suffering Jesus. This is what the incarnation means; this is love on a mind-blowingly cosmic level.
Whilst I would love to explore this area further; it is important to come back to my main point. How can we make sense of all these differences? How can some hold to a literal rapture of the saints? Whers affirm that there will be no rapture. Why are the same Bible verses used to defend two totally different positions on child baptism? The list is endless... and what are we to do in such bewildering confusion?
I like to go back (as does everyone in these debates) to how the early church understood Holy Scripture. The followers of the Way were an apocalyptic Jewish sect. When I mean "Apocalyptic" I do not mean some destructive end time. Rather, I mean an unveiling of spiritual truth. Christ unveiled the mystery of God. When someone asks who God is, we can answer in full confidence that God is revealed in the person Jesus Christ. He is the icon of the Father. And what is this image of God?
1 John 1:5 proclaims that; "This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all." (ESV)
John is very clear on teaching that God is love, and that we should emulate this by loving one another as God loves us (John 3: 11-17; 1 John 3:11–4:21). God, then, is pure light and pure love. There is not one ounce of evil or a shady corner to be found. He is the all-purifying fire, he is our all Merciful Father.
How does Mani fit into this? Well, Mani was declared a heretic amongst his contemporaries. And not only Mani, but many of the greatest Christian minds were also branded heretics such as; Origen, Evagrius, Bardaisan, and Valentinus; to just name a few. Why were these people heretics? There can be a myriad of answers to this one question. Personally, I think it was down to jealousy, politics, and purely the evil that resides in all of us.
Evil such as excluding certain people based on their worldview, and lust (and not just in a sexual sense, but lusting after power and recognition.) We must all accept that within us there is an evil that can appear at any time. Christ said we should look at the fruits of another to get a sense of their character. Origen, Bardaisan, and Mani all taught that God is pure light and pure love. There is no darkness in Him. Trees that are healthy only produce good fruit. Whilst, on the other hand, trees that are sick produce bad or no fruit at all; this tree is only fit for the fire. Mani calls this teaching the wisdom of the two trees.
The post-modern world is filled with so much information, there are innumerable answers to all these questions. Mine is just one of them. However, I hold fast to the simple principle. God the Father is pure love and light. Who teaches this? Jesus revealed this in Himself, as he is God the Son. Mani revealed the same truth but in a language that can be understood across cultural, national, and social divides. Mani is the Master Perennial Philosopher level 100. The Great Father of the Lights is the God of all truth and beauty; He is the Great King of the Aeon of Light. In opposition to Him is the prince of darkness. The two principles are foundational in understanding the cosmology and soteriology of our faith.
Jesus commanded his followers to go out to all the corners of the earth to proclaim his Gospel. Mani did this. His revelations were accepted by people from China to Egypt. Buddhists, Zoroastrians, Christians, and Jews. Mani, the embodied Paraclete, took the message to all corners of the ancient world. Sadly, the church was persecuted so much; that it was eradicated in the West. China also persecuted the church, but Mani's church has survived to this day under a Taoist guise. All the Manichaean writings were presumed lost. The only information we could gather was found in the works of people against Mani’s teachings.
However, thanks be to God the Father of Lights; Mani’s works are being rediscovered. I love Jesus, he has healed me from all the suffering I have faced in life. His teaching transforms me. I mess up, I miss the mark. But I know that the life of Jesus has redeemed me, he removes the dirt of this material body and brings forth the shard of light we all possess. We are children of the Father. And what does any good father do? He loves his children unconditionally, no matter what they have done or do.
What does Mani do? He reveals that God has been at work reawakening his children to the truth, calling out to all through the workings of the Holy Spirit. Buddha, Zoroaster, Zhuangzi; and many more. We all come from God, and God wills that all shall be saved.
I believe Mani to be the seal of the prophets. He is the Paraclete; the Rosetta Stone, who is commissioned to fortify the saints and reveal the truth to all nations. I am sure many will disagree. However, I ask those who do disagree to look at the fruit of his work. What was he teaching? He teaches that God is light and in Him, there is no darkness to be found. Moreover, he teaches that this world is a mixture of dark and light. Those who are not awakened slumber, the material world keeps them captive. Jesus and Mani call out to us, they awaken us to our true selves. We awaken to the knowledge (gnosis) of where we come from.
Whether you believe in the rapture or child baptism, or not. Ask yourself, what is important when Jesus calls us to follow him? What is Mani saying to us? They say that we are to deny ourselves and to love one another as God loves us. We are to lay down our lives for others. We are to crucify the old (material) self so that our spirit can ascend to the lofty aeon of infinite light. It is no longer I that live, but it is Christ who lives in me (Gal 2:20).
They have shown us a way; they have found the pearl; they have built the raft. . All we need to do is open our eyes. Take the raft and leave it behind. Once we cross that raging torrent, we are home. We have escaped the prison of our material bodies.
Evil is very real. The powers, principalities, archons, and the god of this world are all part of this ontological principle of darkness. But there is good news. Because of the sacrifice of one, the many will be saved. The sacrifice thrust light (spirit) into evil (matter), what was perceived as a victory was a colossal defeat for the powers of darkness. The dark swallowed the light, the light illuminates and dispels the darkness. The god of this world has lost his power, the strong man is bound, and Jesus has plundered his goods. Me, you, your cat, the tree standing in your street. All life can be rescued from this material prison.
Mani carries the torch and passes it on to us. I believe his revelation is more important now than ever. Read, listen, taste, and see. Look at the fruit of his life.
I pray to God that he may illuminate your mind and soul. May the darkness dissipate and may there only be light!