Controversy, controversy and criticism against Christians in the Mandaean writings

Authors

  • Jesús Galisteo Leiva Universidad de Cádiz

Abstract

In this article I shall explain the major issues of conflict and controversy in Mandaean anti-Christian polemic, which can be seen in their religious texts (mainly the two books of Ginza and their corpus of ritual and liturgical prayers). I will pay special attention to the criticism of monastic and clerical movements and the forms of asceticism, as well as how common figures in both religions (God the Father, the Holy Spirit, Christ, Mary and of course John the Baptist) are treated in Mandaean creeds and beliefs. This is quite different from Christianity and is a result not only of centuries of relatively peaceful syncretism but also of a tense and hostile historic coexistence between the two religions.

Keywords:

Mandaeism, Antichristianism, Ginza, heresy, Gnosticism