Manichaeism

Dr Nicholas Baker-Brian is Lecturer in Theology at Cardiff University. He is an expert on the Religions of Late Antiquity, especially Manichaeism, and is the author of Manichaeism in the Later Roman Empire: A Study of Augustine's Contra Adimantum.

Not too long ago, most of what we knew about the Manichaeans - followers of the third-century religious visionary Mani - came from the pens of their many enemies. It was hard to understand how a religion that preached sexual abstinence and vegetarianism as a means to cope with a world ruled by Evil ever enjoyed any success. Yet at its height Manichaeism spread from Mesopotamia to China in the east and Spain in the west; in North Africa, it appealed to the young Augustine of Hippo. In this richly informative new study, Nicholas Baker-Brian digests new discoveries and the explosion of new thinking they have provoked into a solid introduction to a belief system that influenced religious thinking in Europe and Asia for a millennium. He is especially attentive to the connection between lost rituals and myths that for the first time allows readers to see Manichaeism as a comprehensive set of ideas and practices. His exemplary handling of sources and discussion of how to use them make this book as much a primer for students of antiquity as for students of religion.

• Chapter 1. The Recovery of Manichaeism: Controversies and Sources.; Chapter 2: The Life and Times of Mani: Mesopotamia in the Third Century.; Chapter 3: The Theology of Manichaeism: Scriptures and Traditions.; Chapter 4: Towards a History of the Manichaean Church.; Chapter 5: Conclusion [The Reception of Manichaean Traditions.].