Manichaeism Definition & Meaning

Origin of Manichaeism

From Late Latin Manichaeus Manichaean from Late Greek Manikhaios from Manikhaios , Mani

From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

Manichaeism, which combined the adoration of Zoroaster and Christ, became the refuge of those supporters of Mithraism who were inclined to compromise, while many found the transition to orthodox Christianity easy because of its very resemblance to their old faith.
In the later heresy of Manichaeism there were affinities to Gnosticism, but it was a mixture of many elements, Babylonian-Chaldaic theosophy, Persian dualism and even Buddhist ethics (p. 126).
Their religion has points of connexion with old Iranian and Assyrian beliefs and traces of Manichaeism and Nestorianism.
Wolff's list is of some historical importance - atheism, deism (a God without care for men) and naturalism (denial of supernatural revelation); anthropomorphism (assigning a human body to God); materialism, and idealism (non-existence of matter); paganism (polytheism); Manichaeism, Spinozism, Epicureanism.
The Albigenses have received much sympathy, as being a kind of pre-Reformation Protestants; but it is now recognized that their tenets were an extreme form of Manichaeism.

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