Father of Greatness

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Father of Greatness
God of Light, King of Realm of Light
Jesus the Splendour
Equivalents
Zoroastrian equivalentZurvan
Gnostic equivalentMonad[2]
Mandaean equivalentHayyi Rabbi
Under Central Asian influence, the "four-fold Father of Greatness" was split up (from left) into the Hindu deities Ganesha, Vishnu, Brahma, and Shiva.[3] Leaf from a Manichaean book MIK III 4979, 8th–9th century, discovered in Karakhoja.

The Father of Greatness (

Middle Aramaic transl. abbā ḏ-rabbūṯā;[4] Chinese: 明尊; pinyin: Míngzūn; lit. 'Radiant Lord') is the eternal divine manifestation of good in Manichaeism,[2] a four-fold deity, embracing divinity, light, power and goodness. His throne is surrounded by at least 156 peaceful entities: 12 aeons, aeons of the aeons, and angels.[5][2]

When the Prince of Darkness assaulted the Realm of Light, he invoked entities of light to ward off the invaders. These entities mingled with the demons and gave existence to the earthly beings, thus humans carry consubstantial light particles of the Father of Greatness, but are unaware of them until they awaken from their sleep by remembering their divine origin. The Father of Greatness responds by creating a series of entities to prepare a rescue for light particles.

Theodicy

Manichaeism rejects everything associated with evil from the Father of Greatness, the Manichaean deity. Neither can he cause suffering nor is he able to charge.[6] He can merely defend. Thus, the power of the Father of Greatness is limited by its own nature. Although he is not all-powerful, in the end time he will have gathered all light particles and evil will be banished into its own kingdom never commingling again.[2] Therefore, Manichaeism also rejects the portrayal of God in the Old Testament, who promises victory over one's enemies (Lev: 26:3-10).[7] Accordingly, the problem of evil can be solved straightforwardly as God is limited in his power against forces beyond the world of light and by his own nature.[8]

See also

References

  1. ISBN 9783038977520
    .
  2. ^
    ISBN 978-0-834-82414-0
    , pages 4, 595, 827
  3. ISBN 9789004195790
    .
  4. ^ Char Yar. "Zurvan - A Historical Name of God in Manichaeism". academia.edu. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
  5. ISBN 9789004064782
    p. 9
  6. ISBN 9789004195790
    p. 233
  7. ISBN 9780812244946
    p. 176
  8. ^ David Vincent Meconi, Eleonore Stump The Cambridge Companion to Augustine Cambridge University Press 2014
    ISBN 9781107025332
    p.98
Stub icon

This Manichaeism-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Father_of_Greatness&oldid=1195380687"