Smenkhkare

Posts Tagged ‘manichaean’

The world is in a state of turmoil. People at this time, live in great uncertainty and are very troubled. Sometimes, this turmoil erupts into violence against others.

Manichaean Nabataeans (Orthodox Atenists) are non-political.  They do not take sides in the matter of governments or property because that is not their focus - their focus is on the One God.

But in saying Atenists are not political, this doesn’t mean they turn a blind eye to the suffering caused by individuals or groups that believe their respective causes justify hurting and killing others.
Read the rest of this entry »

1. You shall worship the One God and not commit yourself to the worship of idols; not bowing down to physical objects or ideals in order to worship them.

2. You shall not be dishonest in your ways.

3. You shall not be greedy.

4. You shall not murder a man, a woman or a child, neither shall you abort an infant; and you shall not commit to unnecessary killing of any life including animals and plants.

5. You shall not be unfaithful to your spouse.

6. You shall not commit theft.

7. You shall not seduce someone in order to mislead them.

8. You shall not practice magic.

9. You shall not commit hypocrisy in your ways.

10. You shall seek peace and be fair to all regardless of a person’s ethnicity, color, nationality, religious beliefs, or sexuality.

The traditional, ancient Manichaean Church/Temple was established on the Spring Equinox in the year 242 CE. That is “Year 1″ for the Manichaean Church. The current church year, as of the Spring Equinox of 21 March 2011, is 1769. Our calendar is based on the annual equinoxes.

The Tribe of Ishmael echos the ancient religion established by Naby Shlikha Mar Mani in 242 CE (AD). The Idta (Greater Church Body, or Temple) has her own Scriptures and Traditions. Manichaean Ishmaelites have hope in God’s restored Theocratic Kingdom of Nabataea.

The Holy and Ancient Manichaean Church is not a “neo” or “new age” sect, but finds its expression in the ancient Faith known in the time of Mar Mani, within a modern day setting. We look to Ishmael as our tribal founder with a special focus on Mar Mani concerning various doctrinal subjects.

1) The Tribe of Ishmael
2) The Religion of Manichaeism
3) The Kingdom of Nabataea

The Tribe was not originally Manichaean. The Religion of Mani was not Ishmaelite historically and the Kingdom of Nabataea was neither exclusively Ishmaelite or Manichaean historically. But today, these elements are no longer separate but one. One Tribe, One Faith and One Nation.

We are strengthened by each component of this triad. The Tribe, the Faith and the Nation need to be a perfect, harmonious synthesis of elements. They are all Divinely sanctioned and all working toward the same goal.

It is more important that the Tribe, the Religion and the Kingdom become what they are meant to become in this world, a means to save lost souls from the clutches of the evil one. Whatever it takes for that to happen, that is what this Tribe must do.

Text taken from www.MarMani.org

The Apostle Mar Mani uses the term “Paraclete” in various manners as shown below.

1. Holy Spirit
2. Spirit of holiness
3. Guidance
4. Guide
5. Comfort
6. Comforter
7. Teacher
and others.

The term Paraclete itself is from the Greek παράκλητος. His main use is seen in the second sense above as “spirit of holiness”, from the Aramaic “Rukha d’kudsha.” By this, Mar Mani means purity, guidance from the Divine Stream of the Spirit of God.

“Let us worship the spirit of the Comforter.

Let us bless Maran Eshoo who has sent us the Spirit of Truth.

He (Maran Eshoo) came and separated us from the Error of the World.

He brought us a mirror. We looked into it, and saw in it the Universe.”

A great blessing for the Manichaeans in this age is that people do not really know what it is or what it believed or practised, only that it existed many ages ago. The reason this is a benefit and not an obstacle is that we are not required to undo peoples mis-perceptions about our beliefs and practices (in any great capacity) merely share our faith and live our faith peacefully.

For example, It is hard to teach the people of Yeshua by the standards of the Didache because people believe they know all there is to know about Him. They believe Christianity is the epitome of this, or Messianic Judaism, because of this, if it is not one of the sects belonging to these institutions, they are not listening. They do not want to be corrected.
Read the rest of this entry »