Jacob Albert van den Berg – författare

The use and appreciation of Scripture by the Manichaeans is a field of research with many unanswered questions. This study offers an investigation into the role of the Bible in the writings of the important Manichaean missionary Addas Adimantus (flor. ca. 250 CE), one of Mani's first disciples. A major part of the book is dedicated to the reconstruction of the contents of his Disputationes, in which writing Adimantus attempted to demonstrate that the Old and New Testaments are absolutely irreconcilable. The most important source in this connection is Augustine, who refuted a Latin translation of Adimantus’ work. A thorough analysis of the contents of the Disputationes brings to the fore that Adimantus was a Marcionite prior to his going over to Mani’s church.

This volume in honour of Johannes van Oort, formerly University of Utrecht, presently Professor of Patristics and Gnosticism at the Universities of Nijmegen and Pretoria, and past-President of the International Association of Manichaean Studies (IAMS), brings together a rich variety of studies on Augustine, Manichaeism, and other Gnostic currents, thus reflecting the honorand's research interests. The unique collection is divided into four sections: I. Studies in Augustine: Confessions, Sermons, Letters & De Haeresibus; Augustine on Grace & Pluralism; Augustinian 'Gnosis'; II. Studies in Manichaeism: Origins & Myth; Doctrines & Cult; Diffusion & Art; III. Studies in Manichaeism and Augustine: Doctrines; Polemics & Debates with Manichaean Contemporaries; IV. Studies in 'Other Gnosticism': Gnosticism and 'Apocryphal' Texts; Sources of (Ps.) Hippolytus' Refutatio; the Gospel of Judas; Modern Yesidi Gnosticism. The 35 studies are preceded by an overview of Prof. van Oort's scholarly activities and publications