F Stanley Jones,
Some Things Mani Learned from Jains

It is often stated that Mani was influenced by Buddhism in the formulation of his variety of Aramaic-speaking Christianity. This paper, in contrast, presents evidence that the actual source of some of Mani’s most distinctive Indian borrowings was Jainism. In particular, the application of “non- injury,” one of the five fundamental Manichaean commandments, to the earth, water, vegetables, and fire is disclosed as distinctive also to Jainism but foreign to Buddhism. The ontological background for this significant difference between Jainism and Buddhism is illuminated. Then, other neglected similarities between Manichaeism and Jainism are surveyed, e.g., differentiation of plants for consumption and vagrancy of monks. The second half of the paper explores the possible avenues by which Jain influence reached Mani. Evidence on Mani’s own trip to India circa 240- 242 C.E. is reviewed. Information on the location of Jain centers at this time confirms the possibility that Mani might well have learned of the Jain discipline during this early trip.

J Kevin Coyle,
Characteristics of Manichaeism in North Africa

Though there was a bedrock of teaching and practice which identified followers of Manichaeism everywhere, differences of chronology and cultural environment would have influenced Manichaeism as it influenced other religious expressions. For years I have thought that Augustine got some of the details wrong in his reports on Manichaeism; it strikes me now that he may have been accurately reporting elements peculiar to the Manichaeism he knew. This paper will examine what those elements might have been.

John C Reeves,
Revisiting the Seduction of the Archons

This paper re-examines some of the early Greek and Syriac testimonia to the Manichaean cosmogonic episode that Franz Cumont long ago termed "the seduction of the archons." Special attention will be devoted to the various identities of the androgyne who performs the "seduction," some comparative evidence for the existence of a similar mytheme within several Syro-Mesopotamian religious sects will be presented, and some suggestions regarding the cultural origin of the "seducer" will be offered.

Tudor Andrei Sala,
Rhetorical Strategies of Manichaean Anti-Judaism

A major endeavour for future Manichaean studies is playing a decisive role in mapping the literary common ground of rhetorical strategies, topoi of discourse, and hermeneutical mechanisms relentlessly operating at those marginal points of early Christianity where a plurality of voices (including Manichaeans) fought within a complex ideological fight for being the "true Christians". Following the dynamics of polemical rejections and creative receptions of the texts of the "others" we are lead to a comprehensive rethinking of Manichaeism. Such a new reading of the Manichaica as an integral part of the late antique Christian discourses (overtly combated by the orthodox side but nevertheless leaving a clear influence on its thought and language) will change not only our understanding of Manichaeism but also of the construction of orthodox Christianity itself. As part of such an enterprise this paper will focus on an ignored negative dimension of Manichaean discourse: its acute anti-Judaism, outlining its intertextual position, ideology, and generative logic within the Manichaean system.

Kevin Kaatz,
Augustine's Ascent to God in his Contra Epistulam Fundamenti

In the most important line of the Contra Epistulam Fundamenti, Augustine tells the Manichaeans that he will not join their religion unless they give him clear knowledge regarding the salvation of the soul. Part of this knowledge is the correct understanding of God. The Contra Epistulam Fundamenti is a didactic manual in which Augustine attempts to teach the Manichaeans (and the other readers of this work) to think in a spiritual manner, by way of Neoplatonism, about God by way of a mental ascent. This ascent is a fundamental cornerstone in Augustine's quest for the knowledge of God and although Augustine had discussed this ascent in some of his earlier writings, the important ascent in this work has gone relatively unnoticed. This paper will examine Augustine's arguments against the Manichaeans which directly counter Mani by way of examples from his Foundation Letter.

Timothy Pettipiece,
The "Perfect King": Polemical Use of Metaphor in the Acta Archelai

During the fictionalised debate between Mani and Archelaus in the Acta Archelai a number of metaphors are attributed to Archelaus which are focused on the nature of kingship (Acta Archelai, 24, 27, 28, 41, 42, 52). While these figures could be viewed as mere literary devices employed by the author, closer analysis reveals that, through the use of such metaphors, Archelaus is engaged in a polemical critique of the Manichaean "King of Light" (cf. Kephalaia 5.18; 35.8; 43.32, 51.21; Psalm-book 9.8-11) contrasting his perceived weakness with the strength and majesty of Jesus, the "perfect king" (Acta Archelai, 42). This paper will examine the polemical use of such metaphors in the Acta Archelai in the light of their literary, historical, and theological contexts.

Paul Mirecki,
Magic in the Acta Archelai

Traces of a magical ritual of ascent appear in the Acta, section LXIII.5-6 (Vermes, p. 143), in an account of Mani's spiritual forebear, Terebinthus. The ritual description immediately follows a passage that clearly indicates that the subject is ecstatic ascent, not eschatological release from the world. It is said of Terebinthus that "he would declare to them ... about where souls depart to and how, and in what way they return to bodies again"(LXIII.3-4). This refers not to reincarnation but to ecstatic out of body experience. True to the polemical intent of the Acta, this attempt to ascend into the heavens for revelation fails. Nevertheless, the procedure of the ritual is comparable to similar rituals in the PGM and elsewhere. The remnants of the ritual are: (1) time: early in the morning (before dawn?); (2) place: climb to a high place; (3) invocation: invoke assisting angels with their secret angel names (probably Watchers who prevent "illegal" ascents, but allow ritually correct invokers to pass through). The description breaks here, but what would probably follow, based on ancient parallels, is: (4) a prayer with a specific request to ascend to a certain location (one of the heavens/skies) to receive revelation, possibly with the assistance of his revelatory angel (mentioned in the last phrase of LXIII.2), where he would, like Enoch, learn of the types of mysteries listed in LXIII.3B-4A; (5) possibly a list of voces magicae and characters; (6) a concluding promise that the ascent ritual is effective. The preceding references in the Acta to Babylon, Persia, Egypt and the old woman all suggest traditional associations with magic. In addition to reconstructing the possible ritual sources on which the story is based, this study will explore the purpose of Hegemonius/Archelaus in drawing on the theme of magic, as well as possible parallels to narratives in the Gospels and Apocryphal Acts.

Jason BeDuhn,
Biblical Antitheses, Adda, and the Acts of Archelaus

Embedded in the Acts of Archelaus, books 44 and 45, is a letter to Archelaus from Diodorus, the Christian bishop of a nearby town. As with the report of Mani's teachings by Turbo (chapters 6-14) and the two debates between Mani and Archelaus (chapters 15-33 and 54-59), there appears to stand behind the letter of Diodorus an independent source. The letter takes the form of a second-hand summary of Mani's teaching regarding the contradictions and incompatibility between the Old and New Testaments. The first-generation Manichaean missionary to the West, Adda (or Adimantius), wrote a treatise on this subject that is mentioned in several Christian sources and partially responded to by Augustine in his Contra Adimantum. The present study investigates the relationship between the source of the letter of Diodorus and the Antitheses of Adda. Are they one and the same? Was Adda building on a work of Mani that is preserved in part in the Acts of Archelaus? What can biblical antitheses as practiced by the Manichaeans tell us about their biblical hermeneutics and its integration with the key principles of the Manichaean faith?