Finding the Truth: Manichaeism and Augustine
Manichaeism was a common religion in the time when Augustine was alive (from 354-430 A.D). The religion was founded by Mani (216-276 A.D.), a Persian philosopher who taught his followers about gnostic based cosmological dualism and self-enlightenment that had certain Christian aspects. Augustine, in pursuit of religion and ultimately meaning in his life, started practicing with the Manichees. Augustine was a susceptible target of the teachings of Manichaeism. A philosophical gnosticism like Manichaeism was so appealing to Augustine because it offered a new found wisdom that was centered around self fulfillment and wisdom, whereas Christianity deterred him because it emphasized humility and self-sacrifice. …show more content…
A popular gnostically rooted religion that was originated in second century Persia, it challenged Augustine’s identity as he sought for meaning in his own life. Manichaeism was a religion that observed spiritual relationships. The most emphasized relationship in this religion was between the force of light and the forces of darkness. Both were given identities by the founder of the religion, Mani, as Supernatural beings of good and evil respectively. The religion was centered around pursuit of knowledge and cleansing oneself from evil. In Manichaeism, members known as ‘The Elect’, who took vows of celibacy, poverty, and seclusion, spent their time praying for every other follower of Manichaeism known as ‘The Hearers.’ The elders were seen as wise individuals with nearly supernatural amounts of authority and influence. This inspired Augustine. He wanted to attain the knowledge that the elders had. As he stated in his book The Confessions, he wanted to have the “slick-talk, earthly-minded, and loquacious intellects” of the Manichees. He noted also how beautiful the books of the Elders and how wonderfully pure everything was in contrast to the rest of the world. In fact, what compelled so many, including Augustine, to become involved in Manichaeism was some of the Christian elements. Manichaeism was a belief based on the great teachers of their time such as Jesus whom they professed to be …show more content…
Augustine saw his pursuit of that religion and that avenue of thought as a meaningless dead end. Augustine observed the exquisitely decorated liturgical books and the spiritually superficial countenance of the Manichees were a distraction from the truth. He saw what he had learned and achieved from his previous religious endeavor with the Manichees as a path that ultimately led him to Christianity and to God. The elders and the hearers alike confidently told Augustine that he was becoming closer to God when he later observed, it could not be further from the