MANICHAEISM

THE MANICHAEANS,

And Revived within

Christianity.

An Historical-Philosophical Treatise

in which it is not only shown historically that the Manichaean dogmaA dualistic religious system founded by the prophet Mani, which taught that the universe is a battlefield between a good realm of light and an evil realm of darkness. of two principles—one Good, the other Evil—was accepted in the schools of most philosophers among the Gentiles In this context, "Gentiles" refers to the non-Christian or pagan philosophers of antiquity, such as the Zoroastrians or certain Platonists., as well as among Christian heretics and sectarians, both ancient and modern; but the falseness of this most pestilent error is also demonstrated through reason. Furthermore, due to the similarity of the subject matter, an account is given of the history of the movements and controversy recently stirred by BAYLE Pierre Bayle (1647–1706), a hugely influential French philosopher whose skeptical writings, particularly on the problem of evil, suggested that human reason could not reconcile the existence of evil with an all-good God. in the Netherlands, specifically since he labored with a wicked effort to show that God's goodness can in no way be vindicated from the stain of malice in the forum of human reason (on account of the permitted abuse of Free Will) unless the Manichaean System is approved. The vanity of this persuasion is simultaneously set before one's eyes; and by the same work, the freedom of the Will, which was rashly attacked by Bayle, is supported, and the new and dangerous hypothesis of KING William King (1650–1729), the Archbishop of Dublin, who published "On the Origin of Evil" in 1702; Wolf views his specific definitions of liberty as potentially problematic for orthodox theology. regarding the nature of Liberty is modestly examined.

MASTER JOHANN CHRISTOPH WOLF,