Was Mani right?What are the implications if the true religion has already been wiped out?From the 3rd to 7th Centuries Manichaeism was in direct competition with Christianity for dominance in replacing Paganism in the Roman Empire.There was a moment when it was really up in the air as to whether Greco-Roman Paganism, Christianity or Manichaeism would win out.Manichaeans viewed Jesus as being the Gnostic Logos, as the Messiah, and as a Buddha.Augustine of Hippo was himself also a Manichean in his youth.However its radical pacifism, vegan diet, and ambivalence (or outright opposition) towards natalism didn't exactly lend it to growth and survival when surrounded by much more violent faiths like Christianity and Islam.By the 9th century it existed in only a few remote pockets of central Asia.By the 14th century it was close to extinct, having moved East into China and being absorbed into the broader Chinese religion.Depending on who you believe, a few hundred believers may have secretly survived to the modern day in Fujian, secretly disguised as Buddhism.Today Manichaeism is unique in that it's perhaps the only religion that once had a large and complex collection of holy texts which have since been lost to history and destroyed, apart from a few small fragments.What do you think of it anons?
>>18475284I'm sure there was a lot of truth to be found. I tend to believe, however, that providence disfavored it because Mani tried to exalt himself as some supreme religious figure, on par with Christ, Buddha, and Zoroaster.
