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Asrestar
Asrestar is a class of demons in Manichaeism. They appear prominently in the Manichaean creation myth, especially the creation of mankind. Accordingly, Az (demon), Az decided to create humans in the image of the Jesus the Splendour, Third Messenger and mingled the demonic asrestar with the light particles, that is basically the soul. Although most asrestar are indistinguishable, an eminent demon called Ialdabaoth, Šaklūn, features as Demiurge, demiurgic demon entrapping humans in the material world during the Adam and Eve, Adam and Eve narration. Human's urges for evil, such as lying, are remaining parts of the asrestar within the body. Manichaean Demonology The demonology of the Asrestar integrates itself within Manichaeism#Cosmology, Manichaean cosmology, which reflects a Dualism in cosmology, dualistic metaphysical structure, wherein these entities serve as remnants of the primal darkness and are integrally tied to human composition and behavior. The Asrestar originate from th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ur (Mandaeism)
In Mandaeism, ʿUr () is the king () of the World of Darkness (Mandaeism), World of Darkness (''alma ḏ-hšuka'') or underworld. He is the son of Ruha, the queen of the underworld, and her brother Gaf (Mandaeism), Gaf (also spelled Gap), one of the giants in the World of Darkness described in book 5 of the Ginza Rabba. Ur is typically portrayed as a large, ferocious dragon or snake. He is represented by the image of a serpent on the ''skandola'' talisman. The Mandaean Book of John contrasts Ur, the King of Darkness, with the King of Light (''Hayyi Rabbi''). Names Ur has also been referred in Mandaean texts as Leviathan (; from ''Right Ginza'' 15.1). According to the ''Right Ginza'' 5.1, his mother Ruha called him "the Great Giant, the Power of Darkness" (''gabara rba, haila ḏ-hšuka''). Ur's epithets include Bar-Spag () and other names. Parallels Aldihisi (2008) compares Ur to Tiamat in Babylonian mythology and Samael in Gnostic literature. See also *Shdum, also known as th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Demon
A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in folklore, mythology, religion, occultism, and literature; these beliefs are reflected in Media (communication), media including fiction, comics, film, television series, television, and video games. Belief in demons probably goes back to the Paleolithic, Paleolithic age, stemming from humanity's fear of the unknown, the strange and the horrific.. In Religions of the ancient Near East, ancient Near Eastern religions and in the Abrahamic religions, including History of Judaism, early Judaism and ancient-medieval Christian demonology, a demon is considered a harmful spiritual entity that may cause Spirit possession, demonic possession, calling for an exorcism. Large portions of Jewish demonology, a key influence on Christianity and Islam, originated from a later form of Zoroastrianism, and was transferred to Judaism during the Achaemenid Empire, Persian era. Demons may ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Manichaeism
Manichaeism (; in ; ) is an endangered former major world religion currently only practiced in China around Cao'an,R. van den Broek, Wouter J. Hanegraaff ''Gnosis and Hermeticism from Antiquity to Modern Times''. SUNY Press, 1998 p. 37 founded in the 3rd century CE by the Parthian prophet Mani (216–274 CE), in the Sasanian Empire. Manichaeism teaches an elaborate dualistic cosmology describing the struggle between a good, spiritual world of light, and an evil, material world of darkness. Through an ongoing process that takes place in human history, light is gradually removed from the world of matter and returned to the world of light, whence it came. Mani's teaching was intended to "combine", succeed, and surpass the teachings of Platonism, Christianity, Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Marcionism, Hellenistic and Rabbinic Judaism, Gnostic movements, Ancient Greek religion, Babylonian and other Mesopotamian religions, and mystery cults.Arendzen, John (1 October 1910).Ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Creation Myth
A creation myth or cosmogonic myth is a type of cosmogony, a symbolic narrative of how the world began and how people first came to inhabit it., "Creation myths are symbolic stories describing how the universe and its inhabitants came to be. Creation myths develop through oral traditions and therefore typically have multiple versions." While in popular usage the term ''myth'' often refers to false or fanciful stories, members of cultures often ascribe varying degrees of truth to their creation myths. In the society in which it is told, a creation myth is usually regarded as conveying profound truthsmetaphorically, symbolically, historically, or literally. They are commonly, although not always, considered cosmogonical mythsthat is, they describe the ordering of the cosmos from a state of chaos or amorphousness. Creation myths often share several features. They often are considered sacred accounts and can be found in nearly all known religious traditions. They are all storie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jesus The Splendour
In Manichaeism, Jesus (Romanization of Parthian and Pahlavi: ) is considered one of the four prophets of the faith, along with Zoroaster, Gautama Buddha and Mani. He is also a "guiding deity" who greets the light bodies of the righteous after their deliverance. Before the introduction of Manichaeism to Central Asia, the number of prophets recognized by it was undetermined. After being introduced to Central Asia, it was determined to be five, that is, the above-mentioned four prophets plus the Hindu god Narayana, because Hinduism had significant influence in ancient Central Asia. Mani, the founder of the church, grew up in a Christian family in the 3rd century AD. His father Pātik was a believer in the church. They lived in southern Mesopotamia under the rule of the Sasanian Dynasty. Although Mani mentions Zoroastrianism and Sakyamuni in his own writings, Jesus is the key point. For example: "Jesus is Mani's savior"; "Mani, the apostle of Jesus Christ" ( Mani's crystal sea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Soul
The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that describe the relationship between the soul and the body are Interactionism (philosophy of mind), interactionism, Psychophysical parallelism, parallelism, and epiphenomenalism. Anthropology, Anthropologists and Psychology, psychologists have found that most humans are naturally inclined to believe in the existence of the soul and that they have interculturally distinguished between souls and bodies. The soul has been the central area of interest in philosophy since Ancient history, ancient times. Socrates envisioned the soul to possess a rational faculty, its practice being man's most godlike activity. Plato believed the soul to be the person's real self, an immaterial and immortal dweller of our lives that continues and thinks even after d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ialdabaoth
Yaldabaoth, otherwise known as Jaldabaoth or Ialdabaoth (; ; ; ''Ialtabaôth''), is a malevolent God and demiurge (creator of the material world) according to various Gnostic sects, represented sometimes as a theriomorphic, lion-headed serpent. He is identified as a false god who keeps souls trapped in physical bodies, imprisoned in the material universe. Etymology The etymology of the name ''Yaldabaoth'' has been subject to many speculative theories. Until 1974, etymologies deriving from the unattested Aramaic: בהותא, romanized: ''bāhūṯā'', supposedly meaning "chaos", represented the majority opinion. After an analysis by the Jewish historian of religion Gershom Scholem published in 1974, this etymology no longer enjoyed any notable endorsement. His analysis showed the unattested Aramaic term to have been fabulated and attested only in a single corrupted text from 1859, with its listed translation having been transposed from the reading of an earlier etymology, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Demiurge
In the Platonic, Neopythagorean, Middle Platonic, and Neoplatonic schools of philosophy, the Demiurge () is an artisan-like figure responsible for fashioning and maintaining the physical universe. Various sects of Gnostics adopted the term ''demiurge''. Although a fashioner, the demiurge is not necessarily the same as the creator figure in the monotheistic sense, because the demiurge itself and the material from which the demiurge fashions the universe are both considered consequences of something else. Depending on the system, they may be considered either uncreated and eternal or the product of some other entity. Some of these systems are monotheistic, while others are henotheistic or polytheistic. The word ''demiurge'' is an English word derived from ''demiurgus'', a Latinised form of the Greek or . It was originally a common noun meaning "craftsman" or "artisan", but gradually came to mean "producer", and eventually "creator." The philosophical usage and the proper nou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Adam And Eve
Adam and Eve, according to the creation myth of the Abrahamic religions, were the first man and woman. They are central to the belief that humanity is in essence a single family, with everyone descended from a single pair of original ancestors. They also provide the basis for the doctrines of the fall of man and original sin, which are important beliefs in Christianity, although not held in Judaism or Islam. In the Book of Genesis of the Hebrew Bible, chapters one through five, there are two Genesis creation narrative, creation narratives with two distinct perspectives. In the first, Adam and Eve are not named. Instead, God in Christianity, God created humankind in image of God, God's image and instructed them to multiply and to be Stewardship (theology), stewards over everything else that God had made. In the second narrative, God fashions Adam from dust and places him in the Garden of Eden. Adam is told that he can eat freely of all the trees in the garden, Taboo#In religion a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dualism In Cosmology
Dualism or dualistic cosmology is the moral or belief that two fundamental concepts exist, which often oppose each other. It is an umbrella term that covers a diversity of views from various religions, including both traditional religions and scriptural religions. #Moral dualism, Moral dualism is the belief of the great complement of, or conflict between, the benevolent and the malevolent. It simply implies that there are two moral opposites at work, independent of any interpretation of what might be "moral" and independent of how these may be represented. Moral opposites might, for example, exist in a worldview that has one god, more than one god, or none. By contrast, duotheism, bitheism or ditheism implies (at least) two gods. While bitheism implies harmony, ditheism implies rivalry and opposition, such as between good and evil, or light and dark, or summer and winter. For example, a ditheistic system could be one in which one god is a creator and the other a destroyer. In theol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prince Of Darkness (Manichaeism)
In Manichaean cosmology, the world of darkness, which invaded the world of light in a lustful desire to mingle with the light, is ruled by five evil Archons (demon, dragon, eagle, fish and lion), who together make up the Prince of Darkness ( zh, t=黑暗王子, p=hēiàn wángzĭ).Willis Barnstone, ''Marvin Meyer The Gnostic Bible: Revised and Expanded Edition'' Shambhala Publications 2009 pages 575–577 The Father of Greatness parries the assault by evoking a number of entities, who sacrifice themselves and are absorbed by the Prince of Darkness; however, tricked by the Father of Greatness, their existence now depends on the light they absorbed. To prevent the light particles from returning into their divine origin, they counter by giving birth to two demonic beings: Sakla and Nebroel. As the strict anti-thesis of the pure light, the Prince of Darkness cannot create ex nihilo, but only by copulation. Polytheism and dualism Augustine of Hippo, who converted from Manichaeism ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
