The dualistic religious system of Mani is a combination of Gnostic Christianity, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, and various other elements, with a basic doctrine of a conflict between light and dark, matter being regarded as dark, evil and imperfect. The physical world, nature and life are considered as the realm of the dark creator or the true devil and should be resisted. “Manichean” has come to describe a tendency to see things in overly simple terms as...