The Ancient Gnostic Manichaean Religion
Details
EXISTENTIALIST MEETUP - Melbourne, Australia.
History of Religion: Our monthly online Meetup presentation.
The presentations are followed by questions, comments and discussion. All viewpoints welcome.
Early Religion: An Alternative History.
What do the historians and archaeologists think of the veracity of religious legends? Legends are an amalgamation of history and mythology. But how much of each?
"THE ANCIENT GNOSTIC MANICHAEAN RELIGION."
In the Manichaean religion "Evil" had the overwhelming power. Nevertheless, Goodness was worshipped by the Manichaeans as love, compassion, kindness and gentleness. Therefore the Manichaeans viewed the all-powerful gods (Almighty, Omnipotent) as the embodiment of Evil.
Consequently, "power" itself was seen as evil.
No wonder the Empires hated them!
We will be investigating Prof. Hans Jonas' attempt to construct an ongoing consistent narrative of the Manichaean mythology out of the diverse versions of this "heresy" which were presented in the ancient sources and in the anti-heretical writings of the Church Fathers.
Hans Jonas' book: "The Gnostic Religion: The Message of the Alien God and the Beginnings of Christianity".
David Miller will present the topic and lead the discussion.
See his introduction to the topic in the 'Comments' section, below.
Wikipedia's entry on Manichaeism
The Zoom link will appear for those who RSVP.
Meeting ID: 880 9519 7471 - - Passcode: 069982
Don't be deterred if you are late;
join the event at any time.