Manichaeism: The History and Heresy of the False Prophet Mani
Manichaeism was an aberrant religious sect founded by the Persian prophet, Mani, during the 3rd century AD that made its way into Christian circles. This heresy was an amalgamation of various religious traditions such as Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, and Gnosticism, and claimed to be the true understanding of the salvation of humanity. The broad open message of Manichaeism spread rapidly throughout the Roman Empire and Persia, becoming one of the most dominant religious ideologies in the region, influencing millions of people for several centuries before its decline.
One of the hallmarks of Manichaeism was its dualistic philosophy that postulated the existence of two opposing forces in the world – the force of light and the force of darkness. The Manichaeans saw the force of light as pure and benevolent, while the force of darkness was deemed evil and corrupt. This dichotomous worldview was a stark and fatal departure from monotheistic Christianity which believed in a single deity who is the only eternal and personal creator of all things.
Manichaean philosophy of dualistic "good and evil" is clearly incompatible with true biblical Christianity. The Bible reveals the one true and living God who is flawlessly holy and perfect, and that evil was spawned from the rebellious disobedience of His sentient creatures, including both man and angels. While God is sovereign over all things, including sin and evil, He is not and cannot ever be the author of sin or darkness.
The idea that God is the source of both good and evil is contrary to His character as described in the Bible. God is repeatedly described as loving, just, and holy, and as such, it would be against his nature to be the immediate source of evil. In Isaiah 45:7 we read: "I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the Lord, do all these things." Here, the Lord is described as creating both light (a symbol of good) and darkness (a symbol of evil), but it is made clear that the Lord does not directly create evil but instead has ordained its existence as a consequence of human sin and uses it as an instrument of His own glory. Psalm 5:4 demonstrates that God has no part in evil, "For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil may not dwell with you."