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Great Religions |
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| BUDDHISM | CHRISTIANITY | CONFUCIANISM |
| HINDUISM | ISLAM | JUDAISM |
| SHINTOISM | SIKHISM | TAOISM |
| ZOROASTRIANISM | MITHRAISM | BRAHMANISM |
| GNOSTICISM | MANICHÆISM | NESTORIANISM |
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BUDDHISM: One of the great Oriental religions. It arose against the background of Brahmamism in north India in the 6th. century BC, it's founder being the Sâkyan prince Siddhatta Gotama, known as Buddha or Enlightened One. Distressed by the problem of human suffering from which even death allowed no escape – since Buddha accepted a doctrine of a cycle of lives – he left his palace and his beloved family to become a religious mendicant and ascetic, studying for six years the beliefs of Brahmin hermits and self-torturing recluses. After this long search he sat down under a tree (the banyan tree, which became known as the Bo-tree or tree of enlightenment because of his enlightenment), and finally came to understand the cause and relief from suffering. The result of his meditations are enshrined in the 'four noble truths'; which are:
Buddhism teaches a way of liberation through ethics and meditation. In many Buddhist nations no word exists for the concept of an Almighty God, which was neither affirmed nor denied by Buddha himself but simply ignored. Nor did Buddha claim to be other than a man, although prayers were made to Buddha, ritual developed, sacred relics preserved under the stupas, and the belief in a succession of Buddhas introduced; the sacred writings (Tripitaka) are divided into three parts 'Suttanta', 'Abhidhamma' and 'Vinaya'. Suttanta are mostly teachings in everyday language, Abhidhama are teachings using the analytical method and the Vinaya is the monastic rule for monks. They were gathered by devotees at various councils – the first held after the death of Buddha at the age of 80, a third at the order of King Asoka in 244 BC. The founder himself wrote nothing. Buddhism spread to Sri Lanka (Ceylon), Nepal, Tibet, Mongolia, Indo-China, Myanmar (Burma), Thailand (Siam), China and Japan, although on the whole losing influence in India. In Ceylon, Burma, Siam etc. it persisted in its pure form (the Theravada), while in China and Japan it developed into the Mahayana. Today (1999) there are over 330 million Buddhists worldwide. Fragments of the oldest known Buddhist manuscript (the religious equivalent of the Dead Sea Scrolls) were discovered by the British Museum in 1996. |
 Buddhists Monks |
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 Christian Minister in Vestments |
CHRISTIANITY: The religion founded by Jesus Christ whose teaching is found in the New Testament's four Gospels and is an extension of Judaism believing the Messiah has visited Earth. Simple as His creed may seem it soon became complicated by the various ways in which Christians interpreted it, and the differences within the early Church are reflected in the numbers of numerous Councils held to define truth from heresy. One of Christianity's main religious rivals in its early days was Mithraism, which had many similarities with it as well as Zoroastrianism. The Eastern Church of the Byzantine Empire from the 5th. century onwards had differed in various ways from the See of Rome and by 1054 the breach became permanent. The 16th. century Reformation was another great break in the unity of the Church and once Protestantism had given in effect the right to each man to interpret the Scriptures in his own way, the tendency to fragmentation increased so that by 1650, there were no fewer than 180 sects, mostly dogmatic and intolerant towards the other. Today there are many more, too many to incorporate into this article. Nevertheless there are signs today that the trend of disunity is being reversed. The modern ecumenical council movement, which has its roots in the great missionary movement of the 19th. century, aim to bring about the reunion of Christendom by uniting Christians throughout the world on the simple basis of the acceptance of Jesus Christ as God and Saviour, i.e. on the basis of Christian fellowship. The movement finds expression in the World Council of churches. The Christian life is expressed in the words of Christ: 'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and thy neighbour as thy self". For many it is the humanitarian side of Christianity that has meaning today; to accept responsibilty for others as well as oneself. There are now (1999) over 1,760,000,000 Christians worldwide. |
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CONFUCIANISM: Confucius (Latinised form of Kung-Fo-tze) was born in 551 BC in the feudal state of Lu in the modern state of Shanlung province. He was thus a contempory of Buddha, although nobody could have been more dissimmilar. Where Buddha was metaphysical in his thoughts, Confucius was practical; Buddha was original, Confucius had hardly an original idea in his head; Buddha wanted to convert individuals to another wordly philisophy; Confucius wanted to reform the feudal governments of his time, believing that in this way their subjects would be made happier. Other religions have in their time been revolutionary; Confucius was a conservative who wanted to bring back a golden age from the past. The only respect in which Confucius agreed with the Buddha was that neither was particularly interested in the supernatural. Much of his time was spent in going from court of one feudal lord to another, trying to impress them by his example. For he suffered from the curious belief that the example set by the ruler influences his subjects. He made much of etiquette, trembling and speaking in low tones and behaving with 'lofty courtesy' to his inferiors. Promoting the idea of 'the golden mean', he was not impressed by heroic deeds or unusual people, and was greatly displeased when he heard that a truthful son had reported that his father had stolen a sheep: "Those who are upright", he said, "are different from this, the father conceals the misconduct of the son, and the son conceals the misconduct of the father." One feels that Confucius would have felt not at all out of place in an English public school. Virtue brings its own reward in this world, ceremonial is important, politeness when universal would reduce jealousy and quarrels; "reverence the spirits but keep them far off". Destiny decides to what class a man shall belong, and as destiny is another name fore Nature, prayer is unnecessary, for once having received his destiny a man can demand and obtain from Nature what he chooses, his own will decides. Taoism is virtually the opposite in religious beliefs to Confucianism, but as Taoism developed, Confucius became a divinity in it, made so by devotees, long after Lao-tze, its founder, had died. There are (1990) about 275 million believers, mainly in China and Taiwan. |
 Confucius. |
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 River Ganges |
HINDUISM: Hinduism is the religion and social institutions of the great majority of the people of India. Hinduism has no fixed scriptural canon but its doctrines are to be found in certain ancient works, notably the Veda, the Brahmanas, the Upanishads, and the Bhagavad-Gita. The dark-skinned Dravidians invaded India between about 3250 and 2750 BC and established a civilisation in the Indus valley. They were polytheists who worshipped a number of nature-gods, some elements of their beliefs persisted into Hinduism. They were subdued by a light-skinned Nordic people who invaded from Asia Minor and Iran about 1500 BC. The language of these Aryan people was Vedic, the parent of Sanskrit, in which their religious literature (the Vedas) came to be written after centuries of oral transmission. The Veda or Sacred Lore has come down to us in the form of mantras or hymns of which there are four great collections, the best known being the Rig-Veda. These Vedic hymns worshipped nature-deities, their favourites being Indra (rain), Agni (fire) and Surya (the sun). Their religion contained no idolatry but became influenced by the beliefs of the Dravidians. Sacrifice and ritual became predominant in a ceremonial religion. As a reaction a more philosophic form arose (c 500 BC) with its scriptures in the Upanishads. At its highest level known as Brahmanism belief is in a subtle and sophisticated form of monotheism (Brahman is an impersonal, all embracing spirit), but there is a tolerant acceptance of more primitive beliefs. Thus Vishnu (a conservative principle) an Siva (a destructive principle) grew out of Vedic conceptions. The two great doctrines of Hinduism are karma and transmigration. The universal desire to be reunited with the absolute (atman or Brahman) can be satisfied by following the path of knowledge. Life is a cycle of lives (samsara) in which man's destiny is determined by his deeds (karma) from which he may seek release (moksa) through ascetic practices or the discipline of Yoga. Failure to achieve release means reincarnation migration to a higher or lower form of life after death - until the ultimate goal of absorption in the absolute is reached. In the great Sanskrit epic poems Ramayama and Mahabharata the deity takes three forms, represented by the divine personalities of Bramha, Vishnu and Siva. There are also lower gods, demi-gods, supernatural beings and members of the trinity may even become incarnate as Vishnu became identified with Krishna, and one of the heroes of the Mahabharata and the well known Bhagavad-gita. The ritual and legalistic side of Brahmanism is the caste system based on the elaborate codes of the "Law of Manu", according to which God created distinct species of animals and plants. Men are born to be Brahmans, soldiers, agriculturists or servants, but since a Brahman may marry a woman from any other of these castes, an endless number of sub-castes arise. Hinduism has historically shown a great tolerance for other varieties of belief and practice. Ideas pleasant and unpleasant have been assimilated; fetichism, demon-cults, animal-worship, sexual cults (such as the rites of Kali in Calcutta). Today, as would be expected in a country which is in the throes of vast social change, Hinduism itself is changing. Under the impact of modern conditions, new ideas are destroying old beliefs and customs. A militant political Hinduism is now threatening the cohesion of India, fanned by the Bharatiya Janata Group (BJP) which extols Hindu fundimentalism. There are (1999) over 750,000,000 Hindus worldwide. The newly completed Hindu temple in Neasden, north London, is the largest place of Hindu worship outside India. Clicking on the heading of this section will provide more information on the gods of a Hindu. | |
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ISLAM: Islam is the religion of the Arabic world of which Mohammed (579 - 632) was the prophet, the word signifying submission to the will of God. It is one of the most widespread of religions. Its adherents are called Moslems or Muslims. Islam came later than the other great monotheistic religions (Judaism and Christianity) and drew its inspiration from mainly Judaism and Nestorianism. Mohammed accepted the inspiration of the Old Testament and claimed to be a successor to Moses, but recognised Jesus only as a prophet. The sacred book of Islam is the Koran. Its revelations are contained in 114 suras or chapters; all but one begins with the words: "In the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate." It is written in classical Arabic, and Moslems memorise much or all of it. Its ethical teachings are high. Like orthodox Judaism, Islam is a literal-minded religion lived in everyday life. No Moslem is in any doubt as to how he should carry on in the events of his day. He has five duties:
Mohammed's main achievements were the destruction of idolatry, the welding of warring tribes into one community, the progress of a conquest which led, after his death, to the great and cultured empire which spread throughout the Middle East into north Africa, north India and ultimately to Spain. That it did not spread all over Europe was due to the Moslem defeat by Charles Martel at Poitiers in 732. During the 1980s, militant Islam became a major political force in Iran (under Ayatollah Khoneini). Islamic fundalmentalism is now, in the 1990s, a growing political force in, for example, Algeria, Egypt, Afghanistan and Pakistan. There are (1999) over 1,000 million Moslems in the world. Britain's Moslem population (1999) numbers over 1.5 million, with 70% under the age of 25. There are over 600 mosques and numerous prayer centres throughout Britain. The first was established at Woking, Surrey in 1890. The Central Mosque in Regent's Park, London, has the largest congregation in Britain while other important centres include Liverpool, Manchester, Leicester and Glasgow. I need to say this as it goes against all the principles of a good religion. Islam seems to exist on WAR and TERRORISM using them as an excuse even in trying to spread Islam. Jehads are evil and make this so-called religion a nothing in my opinion. Get rid of the heads of the religion that advocate such actions and it could be a great religion, even if a bit overpowering in its demands on its followers. As an example, I would object to being ordered to pray at certain times and in a specific manner by pompous priests, as prayer is a personal thing and should not be dictated as to when, where and how it takes place. It annoys me to see there are blasphemers having a major influence on members of the Islam faith. The blasphemers I refer to are those similar to Osama Bin Laden and his cronies, who do not preach Islam but use it to hide their own Cowardice and to blaspheme. He and the others like him need to have their influences snuffed out by self-respecting members of Islam that are honest members of the Faith (Axiompc). |
 Young Moslem at Prayer |
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 Rabbi at the Tabernacle |
JUDAISM: The religion of the Jews, the oldest of the great monotheist religions, parent of Christianity and Islam, the development of which is presented in the Old Testament. The creed of Judaism is based on the concept of a transcendent and omnimpotent One True God, the revelation of His will in the Torah, and the special relation between God and His Chosen People. The idea of Incarnation is rejected, Jesus is not recognised as the Messiah. The Torah is the Hebrew name for the Law of Moses (the Pentateuch) which, Judaism holds, was divinely revealed to Moses on Mount Sinai soon after the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt (1230 BC). Many critics deny the Mosaic authorship of the first five books of the Bible and believe them to be a compilation from four main sources known as J (Jahvist), E (Elohist), D (Deuteronomist) and P (Priestly Coce), distinguished from each other by the name used for God, language style and internal evidence. From the historical point of view an important influence on Judaism may have been the monotheism of Akhenaten, the 'heretic' Pharoah (note, for instance, the striking resemblance between Pralm 104 and Akhenaten's Hymn to the Sun). The Talmud is a book containing the civil and canonical laws of the Jews and includes the Mishna, a compilation from oral tradition written in Hebrew, and the Gemara, a collection of comments and criticisms by the Jewish rabbis, written in Aramaic. There are in fact two Talmuds; one made in Palastine (the Jerusalem Talmud) finished at the beginning of the 5th. century and the other made in Babylon, completed at the end of the 6th. century. Judaism at the beginning of the Christian era had a number of sects:
Jewish writing continued through the years and some books were added to the Torah, among them the Three Major Prophets and certain books of the Twelve Minor Prophets. There were also Apocayptic writers who were unorthodox in their preaching of a divinity planned catastrophic end to the world with a "new Heaven and Earth," preceded by a devine Messiah and a future life – all of which beliefs influenced Christianity. Judah Halevi of Toledo (c 1085 - c 1140 ) and Moses Malmonides of Cordova (1135 - 1204) were the great Jewish philosophers. Modern movements in Judaism stem from Enlightenment, notably with Moses Mendelsohn in the 18th. century, who accepted, as was the tendency of the period, only that which could be proved by reason. He translated the Pentateuch into German thus encouraging German Jews to give up Yiddish and Hebrew for the language of the land and thereby preparing them for their vast contribution to Western civilisation. One of his disciples, David Fridlänger (d. 1834) instituted "reform" Judaism. He wanted to eliminate anything that would hamper the relationships of Jews with their neighbours or tend to call into doubt their loyalty to their adopted state. A similar movement in America (1885) called for the rejection of dietry laws, the inauguration of Sunday services and the repudiation of Jewish nationalism. Between "reform" and orthodoxy, there arose the conservative movement which, in England, includes prayers in English in the service, does not segregate men and women in the synagogue, and translates the Law in a more liberal way. Judaism is essentially a social and family religion which, more than almost any other religion, concerns itself with the observances of every aspect of daily life. As in Islam, details are laid down in the most minute way for behaviour of the orthodox. The home is the main Jewish institution and Jews, like Catholics, cannot surrender their religion. Circumcision takes place eight days after birth, and a boy becomes a man for religious purposes at his Bar Mitzvah at the age of thirteen. Women are spared most of this because their place in the home is considered sufficiently sacred. Among festivals are Passover, recalling the Exodus; Rosh Hasanah (the Jewish New Year), the anniversary of the Creation and the beginning of ten days of penitence ending with Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement), a day of fasting spent in the synagogue; Purim, celebrating the deliverance of the Jews from Haman; and Chanukah, celebrating their victory against the Syrians under their leader Judas Maccabeus. A new and semi-religious festival is the Yom Haatzmaut, the anniversary of the birth of the new Jewish state of Israel. The total number of world Jewry are estimated to be over 18 million (1999). |
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SHINTOISM: Shintoism literally means "teaching of the Gods". It is a native Japanese religion with a strong bias towards ancestor worship and the divine powers of natural forces. Unusual in that it had no recognised founder nor written dogma, Shintoism permeated Japanese life in a most vigorous way until the defeat of the country at the hands of the Allied Powers in 1945. In the 1500 years of its existence, the Shinto religion produced tens of thousands of unique and beautiful shrines throughout Japan. Vast numbers of these were destroyed by bombing in the war. Shintoism was disestablished by the American occupying forces in 1945 and the Emperor Hirohito "abdicated" his divine powers. Dissatisfaction among many Japanese has led to a recent revival of interest in Shintoism. There are now (1990) more than 98 million believers, all of whom are in Japan. |
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SIKHISM: The Sikh community of the Punjab, which has played a significant part in the history of modern India, came into being during a period of religious revival in India in the 15th. and 16th. centuries. It was originally founded as a religious sect by Guru (teacher) Nanak (1469 - 1538) who emphasised the fundamental truth of all religions and whose mission was to put an end to religious conflict. He condemned the formalism of Hinduism and Islam, preaching the gospel of universal toleration. and the unity of the Godhead, whether he was called Allah, Vishnu or God. His ideas were welcomed by the great Mogul Emperor Akbar (1542 - 1605). Thus a succession of Gurus were able to live in peace after Nanak's death, they established the great Sikh centre at Amritsar, compiled the sacred writings known as the Adi Granth, and improved their organisation as a sect. But the peace did not last for long, for an emperor arose who was a fanatical Moslem, in face of whom the last Guru, Govind Singh (1666 - 1708), whose father was put to death for refusal to embrace Islam, had to make himself a warrior and instill into the Sikhs a more aggressive spirit. A number of ceremonies were instituted by Givind Singh; admission to the fraternity was by special rite; caste distinctions were abolished; hair was worn long; the word of singh, meaning lion, was added to the original name. They were able to organise themselves into 12 'misls' or confederacies but divisions appeared with the disappearance of a common enemy and it was not until the rise of Ranjit Singh (1780 - 1839) that a single, powerful Sikh kingdom was established, its influence only being checked by the English, with whom a treaty of friendship was made. After the death of Ranjit Singh, two Anglo-Sikh wars followed in 1845-6 and 1848-9, which resulted in the annexation of the Punjab and the end of Sikh independence. In the two world wars, the Sikhs proved among the most loyal of Britain's Indian subjects. The partitioning of continent of India in 1947 into two states, one predominantly Hindu and the other predominantly Moslem, presented a considerable problem in the Punjab, which was divided in such a way as to leave 2 million Sikhs in Pakistan, and a considerable number of Moslems in the Indian Punjab. Although numbering less than 3 per cent of the population, the Sikhs are a continuing factor in Indian political life. Demands for Sikh independence led to the storming by Indian troops of the Golden Temple at Amritsar on 6 June 1984. In October 1984, Mrs Gandhi was assassinated by Sikh extremists. There are over 600,000 in Britain (1999). There are c 20 million Sikhs worldwide. |
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TAOISM: A religion which, although in a degenerate state, is still one of the great Easter creeds. It's alleged founder, Lao-tze, is said to have been born in Honan about 604 BC; he is also said to be the author of the bible of Taoism, the Tao-te-ching, or in English, The Way of Life, and to have disapproved of Confucius. This, if true, would hardly be surprising; Taoism is emminently a mystical religion recommending doing nothing and resisting nothing, whereas Conficianism is emminently a practical code of living and its founder insisted on intervening in everything to do with social life. But the truth as revealed by modern scholarship is rather different. We are told that the poems of the Tau-te-ching are anonymous and probably originated among recluses in lonely valleys long before the time of Confucius; they were collected and given form at sometime late in the 3rd. century BC and their authorship attributed to Lao-tze. It is entirely possible that no such person ever existed (unlike Conficius, who certainly did), but if there were such a man he appears to have used a pseudonym since Lao is not a surname but an adjective meaning 'old' and it was customary to attribute important works to old men on account of their supposed wisdom. Lao-tze simply means 'the old philosopher', and although the Tao-te-ching is one of the most remarkable and instructive books ever written, it is as anonymous as the Border Ballads. It is apparent that the religion learned both from the ancient Chinese mystics and from Brahmanism; Tao, the Way, is impalpable, invisible and incapable of being expressed in words. But it can be attained by virtue, by compassion, humility and non-violence. Out of weakness comes true strength, whereas violence is not only wrong but defeats its own ends. There is no personal God and such gods as men imagine are mere emanations of Tao which gives life to all things. Tao is Being. Works are worthless and internal renunciation is far better than anything that follows from the use of force because passive resistance convinces the other from within that his is in error, whereas violence only compels the external appearance of conviction whilst inwardly the individual is as before. "It is wealth to be content; it is wilful to force one's way on others." Later Lao-tze became a divinity and indeed one of the Trinity, each worshipped in the form of idols (which the founder had hated). Soon there was worship of the forces of nature; the stars, the tides, the sun and moon and a thousand other deities among whom Confucius was one. The purest mysticism and wisdom had been utterly corrupted by contact with the world. There are now (1990) about 30 million believers throughout the world. |
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ZOROASTRIANISM: At one time, one of the great world religions, competing in the 2nd. century AD on almost equal terms from its Persian home with Hellenism and Roman Imperial Government. Under the Achæmenidæ (c 550 - 330 BC) Zoroastrianism was the state religion of Persia. Alexander's conquest in 351 BC brought disruption but the religion flourished again under the Sassanian dynasty (AD c 226 - 640). With the advance of the Mohammedan Arabs in the 7th. century, Zoroastrianism finally gave way to Islam. A number of devotees fled to India, there to become the Parsees. In Persia (Iran) itself a few scattered societies remain. The name Zoroaster is the Greek rendering of Zorathustra, the prophet who came to purify the ancient religion of Persia. It is thought that he lived at the beginning of the 6th. century BC. He never claimed for himself divine powers but was given them by his followers. The basis of Zoroastrianism is the age-long war between good and evil, Ahura Mazda heading the good spirits and Ahriman the evil ones. Morality is very important since by doing right, the worshipper is supporting Ahura Mazda against Ahriman, and the evil-doers will be punished in the last days when Ahura Mazda wins his inevitable victory. The sacred book of this religion is the Avesta. If Zoroastrianism has little authority today, it had a very considerable influence in the past. Its doctrines penetrated into Judaism and through Gnosticism, Christianity. The worship of Mithra by the Romans was an impure form of Zoroastrianism. Manichæism was a Zoroastrian heresy and the Albigensianism of medaeval times was the last relic of a belief which had impressed itself deeply in the minds of men. There are only some 130,000 believers (1990) mainly in northwest India and Iran, making it the smallest of the great world religions. |
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MITHRAISM: A sun-religion which originated in Persia with the worship of the mythical Mithra, the god of light and of truth. It was for two centuries one of early Christianity's most formidable rivals, particularly in the West since the more philosophical Hellenic Christianity of the East had little fear from it. (Arnold Toynbee has described Mithraism as "pre-Zoastrianism Iranian paganism – in a Hellenic dress"; Manichæism as "Zorastrianism – in a Christan dress".) Mithraism was a mystery faith with secret rites known only to devotees. It appealed to the soldiers of the Roman Army which explains its spread to the farthest corners of the Roman empire, and its decline as the Romans retreated. The religion resembled Zoroastrianism in that it laid stress on the constant struggle between good and evil and there are a number of parallels with Christianity.e.g. a miraculous birth, death, and a resurrection, a belief in heaven and hell and the immortality of the soul, a last judgement. Both religions held Sunday as the holy day of the week, celebrated 25 December (date of the pagan winter solstice festival) as the birthday of the founder, both celebrated Easter, and in their ceremonies made use of bell, holy-water and the candle. Mithrianism reached its height about 275 A.D. and afterwards declined both for the reason given above and, perhaps, because it excluded women, was emotional rather than philosophical, and had no general organisation to direct its course. Yet even today, from the Euphrates to the Tyne, traces of the religion remain and antiquarians are familiar with the image of the sun-god and the inscription Deo Soli Mithræ, Invicto, Seculari (dedicated to the sun-god of Mithra, the unconquered). Mitraism enjoyed a brief revival of popular interest in the mid-1950s when workers excavating the foundations of the skyscraper, Bucklersbury House in the City of London, found the well-preserved remains of a Roman Mithaic temple. A campaign to save the temple as a national monument resulted in it now being on open display on a site in front of the skyscraper. The number of believers is not known but would be minimal as the religion is virtually dead. |
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Minor Religions Refered to in Above |
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BRAHMANISM: A religion of ancient India which evolved out of the Vedas about 1000 - 800 BC and is still powerful today. It provides the orthodox core of Hinduism. Characteristics of the faith were elaborate ceremonies, material offerings, animal sacrifice, a dominant priestly caste (the Brahmins), and a development of the idea of Brahman as the eternal, impersonal Absolute Principle. |
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GNOSTICISM: Among the many heresies of early Christianity, especially during its first two centuries, was a group which came under the heading of Gnosticism. This was a system or set of systems which attempted to combine Christian beliefs with others derived from Oriental and Greek sources, especially those which were of a mystical and metaphysical nature, such as the doctrines of Plato and Pythagoras. There were many Gnostic sects, the most celebrated being the Alexandria school of Valentius (fl. c 136 - c 160). "Gnostis" was understood not as meaning 'knowledge' or 'understanding' as we understand these words, but 'revelation'. As in other mystical religions, the ultimate object was individual salvation; sacraments took the most varied forms. Many who professed themselves Christians accepted Gnostic doctrines and even orthodox Christianity contains some elements of Gnostic mysticism. It was left to the bishops and theologians to decide at what point Gnosticism ceased to be orthodox and a difficult task this proved to be. Two of the greatest, Clement of Alexandria and his pupil Origen, unwittedly slipped into heresy when they tried to show that such men as Socrates and Plato, who were in quest of truth, were Christian in intention, and by their lives and works had prepared the way for Christ. Thus they contradicted Church doctrine which specifically said Extra ecclesiam nulla salus outside the Church there is no salvation. |
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MANICHÆISM: An Astatic religon which developed from Zoroastrianism and shows the influence of Buddhism and Gnosticism being founded by Mani, a Persian who was born in Babylonia, c 216 AD. Mani presented himself to Shapur I as the founder of a new religion that was to be to Babylonia, what Buddhism was to India or Christianity to the West. His aspiration was to convert the East and he himself made no attempt to interfere directly with Christianity, although he represented himself as the Paraclete (the Holy Ghost or Comforter) and, like Jesus, had twelve disciples. His success in Persia aroused the fury of the Zoroastrian priests who objected to his reforming zeal towards their religion and in 276 Mani was taken prisoner and crucified. Of Mani's complicated system, little can be said here, save that it is based on the struggle of two eternal conflicting principles, God and matter or light and darkness. Although the founder had no intention of interfering with the west, after his death, his followers soon spread the religion from Persia and Mesopotamia to India and China. It reached as far as Spain and Gaul and influenced many of the bishops in Alexandria and in Carthage, where for a time St Augustine accepted Manichæism. Soon the toleration accorded to it under Constantine ended and it was treated as a heresy and violently suppressed. Yet it later influenced many heresies, and even had some influence on orthodox Catholicism which had a genius for picking up elements of other religions which had been shown to appeal to worshippers provided they did not conflict unduly with fundamental beliefs. |
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NESTORIANISM: The 5th. century of the Christian Church saw a battle of personalities and opinions waged with fanatical fury between St Cyril, the patriarch of Alexandria and Nestorius, patriarch of Constantinople. Nestorius maintained that Mary should not be called the mother of God, as she was only the human and not the divine nature of Jesus. This view was contradicted by St Cyril (one of the most unpleasant saints that ever lived) who held the orthodox view. In addition to his utter destruction of Nestorius by stealthy and unremitting animosity, St Cyril was also responsible for the lynching of Hypatia, a distinguished mathematician and saintly woman, head of the Neoplatonist school at Alexandria. She was dragged from her chariot, stripped naked, butchered and torn to pieces in the church, and her remians burned. As if this was not enough, St Cyril took pains to stir up pogroms against the very large Jewish colony of Alexandria. At the Council of Ephesus (AD 431) the Western Bishops decided for St Cyril. This Council (reinforced by the Council of Chalcedon in 451) clarified orthodox Catholic doctrine. Nestorius became a heretic, was banished to Antioch where he had a short respite of peace, but later, and in spite of his age, was dragged about from one place to another on the borders of Egypt. Later, the Nestorian church flourished in Syria and Persia and missions were sent to India and China. |
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