The First Baptists, The Last Gnostics: The Mandaeans

[@sammrabt439]

I am mandean , thank you for making this important presentation.

[@SargentoBonzo]

+Sam M'rabt as a mandean what do you think about this: I've heard of a group of people who call themselves Sabeans (It is interesting because Mandeans are also called Sabeans) They believe the description of Jesus in Drāšā D-Yaḥyā and other mandaean books, does not refer to Jesus of the Gospels, but the anti-Christ came into the world posing as the real Jesus, but John the Baptist discovered his evil plans and stopped him for people to recognize the true Jesus (the Jesus of gospels). Maybe it has to do with the fact that they have the same conception of the Day of Judgment which Christians and Muslims, in which Jesus will return to destroy the anti-christ and be crowned "king of kings" Apparently they believe that "God gave the Mandaeans the right to doubt about Jesus, because they think that the Antichrist will return to usurp the position of Christ again toward the End of Time, and with that doubt, the true Jews, Christians and Muslims can realize about the antichrist trick and retrain before will be too late". it's difficult to point where this conception of sabeanism originated. some say it was in today Sauri Arabia and others say it was in Yemen. Do you think that this weiv? Do you think can help to improve the live of mandean people in Christians and Muslims majority countries?????

[@SargentoBonzo]

I'm studying theology and it's hard to find information about Mandeans and Sabians

[@sammrabt439]

Sargento Bonzo​ Mandeans are actually semitic arameans in essence and there is great historical evidence that shows how my ancestors traveled from greater jordan and bilad al sham to southern mesopotamia (basra in iraq and Ahwaz in iran). The mandeic language is very close to arameic and ginza rabba is also written in mandeic and arameic for a good reason. We are not from saudi arabia or yemen. As for our views on Jesus as a prophet and the anti christ there are many opinions and beliefs on that topic but I can tell you we dont regard him as a prophet but a very important figure but we do regard John the Baptist as a prophet. I am not very religious, i'm secular and so are most christians in the west. As for islamic countries we have already been admitted as people of the book in Quran but there is still persecution of mandeans in Iraq and Syria due to islamic extremism. All in all , I regard all religions as important in historical context, the politics and mythology behind them doesn't interest me in the slightest.

[@SargentoBonzo]

+Sam M'rabt Thanks a lot here it's something tha I found The sebeans are an ancient nation which existed before the Jews and Christians and they were of different types: Sabians who were haneefs (monotheists) and Sabians who were mushrikoon (polytheists). Their kingdom was in Haraan, before the time of the Messiah. They wrote books and had knowledge. There were many of them in Baghdad, including Ibraaheem ibn Hilaal al-Saabi’, the author of al-Rasaa’il. He followed their religion but he fasted Ramadaan with the Muslims (Sabaeanism doesn’t stablish a particular date for the fast). Most of them were philosophers and wrote famous essays which were mentioned by the scholars who wrote about philosophy and religion. In brief, they did not reject the Prophets or regard it as obligatory to follow them. In their view, whoever followed (the Prophets) is blessed and saved, and whoever follows a path similar to that of the Prophets by virtue of his own reasoning is also blessed and saved, even if he did not follow the Prophets in specific terms. In their view the call of the Prophets was true but there was no one specific route to salvation. They believed that the universe had a Creator and Sustainer, Who is Wise and above any resemblance to created beings. Basically, they took what they thought was good from other religions, and they did not take the people of one religion as friends and others as enemies; they did not favour one religion over another. In their view all religions served some purpose in this world, so there was no sense in their fighting one another, rather the good things in each were to be adopted so as to perfect the human condition. [Ahkaam Ahl al-Dhimmah, 1/92-98] Muslim writer Muhammad Shukri al-Alusi compares their religious practices to Islam in his Bulugh al-'Arab fi Ahwal al-'Arab: "The Arabs during the pre-Islamic period used to practice certain things that were included in the Islamic Sharia. They, for example, did not marry both a mother and her daughter. They considered marrying two sisters simultaneously to be a most heinous crime. They also censured anyone who married his stepmother, and called him dhaizan” According to Maimonides: The Sabians acknowledged Hermes Trismegistus as their prophet and the Hermetica as their sacred text, being a group of Hermeticists. Validation of Hermes as a prophet comes from his identification as Idris (i.e. Enoch) in the Qur'an (19.57 and 21.85).

[@SargentoBonzo]

Sampsaeans, thats the name, the Sabians who respect Jesus, Abraham and Moses are called Sampsaeans sabians. of course they don't believe that are obligatory to follow the rules of the torah or the gospel. they just take what they think is good from other religions.

[@ViaNocturna85]

My friend (from Baghdad) is a Mandaean and was extremely keen on telling me about their tradition. He never used the name Mandaean, but said that they followed John the Baptist, which led me to here. He also spoke Aramaic but like you stated, only gets used as part of ritual work, but he did speak some to me. One interesting thing worth mentioning is that his community helped him set up with another Mandaean girl in like a love match thing. But it wasn't forced, just some help since he was lonely. That obviously helps continue the tradition. Fascinating group

[@SamZizla]

God bless you I am a Mandaean Sabian

[@TheStrangeHermit]

He wasn't a Mandaean. They are very insular people, they don't associate with other faiths, and they don't date/marry outside of their own sect. It's forbidden. Also you cannot 'convert' to Mandaeism through marriage etc as in other faiths, you can only be born into it. Idk who this person was, but they were not Mandaean.

[@singleman5599]

As a Muslim I like this Beautiful religion it has long history from Prophet Yahya and I hope their number grow bcz they under 1000’00 now all over the world.

[@singleman5599]

LUKE jAMES I’m Muslims myself I dnt have problem with anyone but man history shows wants to be the rulers let’s talk about empire Italian Alexander the Great and others they were not Muslims and now for 250 years British empire killing and pushing driving people and invading their countries and this have been happening for centuries.

[@karfomachet7265]

@@singleman5599 Alexander the Great was Macadonian/Greek not Italian .I have to agree with u with regard to the British who have a terrible history of empire - but I don't see what that has to do with Islamic imperialism .Up till the 1st world war the Turks were still stealing children from non Islamic families and turning them into trained killers . When Algeria won independence the countries 130,000 Jews- who had been there for centuries - had to leave as citizenship of the new state was based solely on having Muslim parents .

[@woobiefuntime]

At least listen the video

[@silverltc2729]

​@مرد مجرد خانم میخواهم Single Man To the honorable Muslim, have you ever looked at a list of all Muhammad's names? Nazaari is one of them (The Nazarine) so is Misbah (Light of this World), so is Mubashir (Bringer of the Injeel/Good News/Euangeleon), Sayyid (Lord), Awaal and Akhir (First and Last/Alpha and The Omega). Is this a coincidence? That many of these titles belong to Jesus 🤔 Why do you not pray to the Al Rahman and ask Him?

[@saimbhat6243]

​@@karfomachet7265 LOL. Your whole point is why were muslims doing medieval stuff during medieval era. LOL What were spanish and portugese doing in americas? Where are the hundreds of indegenious religions of europe? What were tectonic knights doing in eastern europe? What were crusades? You just cannot shame us for being a dominant power in medieval world by playing by the rules of the medieval world. You want to shame us for our victories and warriorship and bravery and empires, just because people dont do those things anymore? Or do they? Wasn't there religious motivations for libyan bombing or iraq invasion etc. from xionists and evangelicals in U.S?

[@danieljeizan3168]

Hi, Thank you for sharing these information with us! I loved it. I'm Mandaean. I was curious about my ethnicity and I did lots of researching about Mandaeans, but unfortunately I was not satisfied by the sources. So I decided to take a DNA test and the result was pretty much as I expected. I am a mix of Mizrahi, Sephardic, and Ashkenazi Jews which all sums up to 70%, and the other 30% is from West Asia.

[@ReligionProf]

That makes a lot of sense. The stories about John the Baptist, Miriai, and others suggest that the origins of the Mandaeans is in the same people group as Jews, the differences being theological and religious rather than ethnic or genetic.

[@SamZizla]

@@ReligionProf I am a Mandaean and I did a DNA test which gave me 66% Mizrahi/sephardic Jewish DNA ✡️ 🤔

[@SamZizla]

@@ReligionProf How come my ancestors spoke a dialect of arameic aka Mandeic and not hebrew since we belong to the same people group as Jews?

[@SamZizla]

@@ReligionProf My family had great relations with Jews in Baghdad. Literally running chains of stores selling gold and silver jewelry

[@ReligionProf]

The Babylonians and their language spread far and wide, including the Levant. Aramaic was spoken there, Anatolia, Syria, Mesopotamia, and many other places.

[@karfomachet7265]

Bagdads main power station was build on the grounds of the main Mandean temple . Sadam sent his thugs in and it was turn down so that Sadam could build a power station .

[@kussiacool1982]

im a mandaean thank you good job 👏

[@devieanderson451]

Today is the first day I really understood anything of this...thank you...Glad I found your channel when I went looking for more information.

[@skyt2166]

Indeed good presentation and important and good amount of legit information

[@Samadaptivedna]

Thank you, Professor McGrath, for your work! One thing that bewilders me is the lack of research on the genetics of the Mandaeans. The scholars seem to be torn on the origin of the Mandaeans, which is strange considering that Mandaeans are such an endogamous population. Would you be willing to team up with geneticists and anthropologists at your university and try to map the genetic makeup of the Mandaeans to establish their origin? This question has significance as it may make the Mandaeans theoretically eligible for the right of return to Israel if the Mandaeans were part of the Jewish exodus from Israel 2000 years ago. Most Mandaeans live in a diaspora, and one suggestion to unite the group would be to return to their original homeland.

[@ReligionProf]

I don't know that there is anyone at my university who would be interested in shifting from their current research goals to focus on this. But I will ask. The project is definitely worth pursuing and there's no need for the collaborators to be at my university. If it was in the past possible to convert to Mandaeism and/or if it was possible for people to marry into it, then we would presumably expect there to be mixed results from such a genetic study, with indications of both Levantine ancestry and Mesopotamian/Persian.

[@lifebyhg7689]

Thank you for the video, from a mandaean.

[@dors.sc1]

they are a very interesting group i hope they have more children and get their numbers up.

[@taalatchouf5427]

They need to accept converts. Why not. Religion has nothing to do with ethnicity.

[@Shey5432]

@@taalatchouf5427 Hey, I'm Mandaean so I'll tell you this. Converts is a huge, huge disrespect to our religion. If converts were to happen, then that person is basically abandoning the Mandaean religion, therefore will no longer be able to call themselves a Mandaean.

[@luisacarvalho8719]

@@Shey5432 hm I think the other person is refering to outside people converting TO Mandaism, not abandoning it... that said I find your religion very beautiful and I am glad to be able to learn a little bit about it!

[@Shey5432]

@@luisacarvalho8719 Oh, If so then ignore that comment.:) Btw, I'm very happy to hear someone interested in the Mandaean religion! Usually, people don't even know what it is.

[@n14barre90]

@@taalatchouf5427 im mendai and if we don’t let people convert to our religion it’s going to die out and that’s just sad because our religion is so good

[@alexanderbalson6718]

Thank you for your scholarly efforts. From the UK i believe we need to create an area and movement so that we do not loose another great culture. What is the best movement you know which seems to preserve this faith and culture?

[@ReligionProf]

Do you mean where are Mandaeans well represented? Or what academic and support organizations are seeking to study their history and texts and assist them in the present?

[@alankasongo2843]

Thanks for the video I have been researching a subject christ... For a while, John was christ... Working on a book. It sounds crazy but it's provable...

[@JakeShields09]

Fascinating. Very helpful, thank you.

[@lionproduction4857]

I am Mandaen from Germany

[@yushamenthari]

هللة بالعمام التمام im ur cuzn from Sydney

[@voiceinthewild8385]

@@servantofaeie1569 Exactly, I was Mandaean, but I found out after much much studying that Jesus (Yahusha) is the way, the truth, and the life. Mandaeans have been GREATLY deceived. I pray for my people to awake. The Ginza talks negative about Jesus, but then later on talks about a character named Anush-Uthra (mortal from the world of light) that did the same miracles as Jesus but it doesn’t say Jesus. So dishonest....

[@raycosmic9019]

Gnosis = Being aware of being aware. We are Life at large, experiencing itself as all of us simultaneously. Therefore, we are all It to an unknowable/inexhaustible extent, as the facets of a Diamond are 'both' distinct from each other 'and' the Diamond itself. Love is the recognition of our shared Being. Baptism = from earth to water to air to fire.

[@myjourneys7111]

Professor, I am commenting on what you said after 28:00. This is regarding the discussion of John and Jesus. Remember when Jesus said, "take out the large plank that is in your eye, then you can see clearly to take out the little speck that is in your brother's eye"? Well, maybe Mandanaean text treat the past no different than how the Gospels of the New Testament treat the past. Example: In the Mandaean texts, Jesus tells John that he will talk about him in his "future" book in the same way that Mark writes that Jesus predicted the "future" destruction of the temple. In both texts, past events have already happened. Both books add unique detail that may not be true in order to support their hero or political agenda.

[@ReligionProf]

Yes, there is certainly a lot in Mandaean texts that is not historical, representing among other things polemical satire. Jesus promising to mention John in his book - or perhaps better his epistle - is comical mockery, not history.

[@myjourneys7111]

@@ReligionProf That is a nice way to put it, prof. I think most books or writings after the post-exilic 2nd temple era deviated into heroic fictions, apocalyptical writings, political fiction; and, now in this case with that subject of the Mandaean text, a polemical satire. I would like to study these things at a PhD level without a religion or sect enforcing a doctrinal view. I am in China at the moment. I think maybe I can study it at a university in China, like Beijing University.

[@laraday3821]

I think that christians stole the cross which is our darfesh and they stole our language

[@ReligionProf]

What do you mean they stole your language? I don't think the ancient Romans stole the idea of crucifying criminals from the crossbeam used to support the banner in Mandaeism!

[@ReligionProf]

@Jerrylyn Shnoop There is an abundance of evidence for the Roman practice of crucifixion, and the lack of familiarity with the basic relevant primary evidence is why amateurs should not try drawing independent conclusions about history, science, medicine, and other important topics.

[@JAJESterling]

nicely done .. thank you

[@sunshowerpainting1]

The gnostics got it much more accurately than Rome and the gentile Christian church under the deceiver Paul. Thankfully, the lies of the victors of history can be seen for what they are. Nothing will be hidden that will not be uncovered.

[@ronlugbill1400]

Paul was either gnostic or very close to gnosticism. He did not write about the earthly Jesus, only about the spiritual Christ. He did not believe in strict adherence to the law such as circumcision or eating kosher. Earthly things were unimportant- only heavenly things were important to Paul.

[@lizh1970]

Paul was a nasorean or nazarene a gnostic , ​@@ronlugbill1400

[@LandELiberation]

Perhaps the Mandaic use of ruhak d-korsha is euphemistic? I'm reminded of Jobs wife telling him to 'bless God, and die' where the use of baruch conversely means to curse

[@ArdwanGh]

Mr. McGrath you did well job thank you But also there're many mistakes in the video if you or anyone from your followers wanna know more you're welcome to ask any question 😉 BTW I'm Mandaean from very religious family and I get the knowledge from my family.

[@ReligionProf]

There are obviously variations in how Mandaeism is practiced, just as is true of any religion. However, if there is an actual "error" with regard to matters related to texts or history please do let me know what those are. I appreciate your willingness to share your own individual and family perspective!

[@ReligionProf]

@@ArdwanGh Thank you for these points. Ptahil certainly is in key respects the one who marks the shift from the lightworld to the material world, just as happens with Sophia in other Gnostic traditions. Adonai and Ruha correspond more closely to Yaldabaoth or Sammael in those traditions, the one who organizes and rule over the material world and make it into its prison. On the way Jesus is depicted in the texts, references to Ruha d-Qudsha, and Yardana as meaning "Jordan" I direct you to the texts which you will find confirm these points. Some of these are discussed, and certainly are amply illustrated, in our Mandaean Book of John edition published by De Gruyter.

[@ArdwanGh]

@@ReligionProf I want to thank you for replying to my comment. So what I want to tell you is fact and based on the religious literature that I have studied. I know some mandaic which helps me to understand Mandaean literature. i will say everything They're straight out of the books. The demiurge is called Ptahil and is not Adonai.Yes, Adonai is one of the demons, but not the creator of the material world. Ptahil is half demon, half Uthar (angel), he is the Demiurge. We don't have a negative image of Jesus, but we have a different one. story of Jesus. him, and his story is very different from the Christian one.There is no word like Jordan in the Mandaean language. The flowing water is called Yardana and not Jordan. Baptism serves to renew one's sacred vow before God. The white flag (darabsha) is a flag of peace and symbolizes that God is everywhere, God in all directions and it is not cross. The Ruha is the queen of the dark worlds and there is no such thing as Ruha id Qudsha in mandaism. We love everyone and respect everyone, our religion encourages us to pray for everyone. Our religion forbids us to curse anyone or anything. One last thing I want to mention is that singing and music in general are not part of our rituals, especially baptism. Those who sang in the baptism video the were celebrating a wedding. Overall, thank you Mr. McGrath, you have done an excellent job. I appreciate your great work and would like to offer you my help. I'd love toanswer all your questions. God bless you 🙏

[@ReligionProf]

@@ArdwanGh The reply to this comment is appearing above it for some reason. Hope you'll see it there!

[@ArdwanGh]

@@ReligionProf yes thanks, I read your answer. But the word Jordan is an orientalist word that associates Mandaeism with Israel. But if we stick to the original name Yardena, we stick to the Mandaeism of Mesopotamian origin

[@laststandingdeplorablemgto3637]

I am curious why Mandaeans reject Jesus. For example in the Gospel Jesus says about God: "there is no darkness in Him" and "God is light". For me it seems that These words do comply with the idea of Mandaean religion that God is light (meaning pure, perfect, good, all knowing).

[@Kybeline]

@Last STanding D He answered that question in the video: because they blamed Jesus about sexual asceticism of nuns and monks.

[@laststandingdeplorablemgto3637]

Kybeline I see your point but cannot accept it. You know that Jesus does not command anybody to go celibate. You can go monk and you can enter a marriage. There is no compulsion then. That is why I think that the reason for rejecting Jesus must be more profound to be logical at all. Maybe that Jesus says He is the incarnation of God? (For clarity: I do not attack Mandeans, I want to understand them fully!)

[@whatabouttheearth]

Last Standing Deplorable MGTOW its only - implied - that Jesus was the incarnation of God in the texts that the Roman Empirial Church assembled, aka: the new testament. there are many Christians that do not believe at all that Jesus was God and there are others tgat dont believe that he was "the son of god" any more than the rest of us are. The Mandaeans are not Christians though, even if they do believe in Jesus...Muslims too believe in Jesus, there are many many other beliefs out there, look at as many as you can. Dont choose to be blind. Jesus NEVER said that he was the incarnation of God....read his words specifically and carefully. His character was the announcer of the New Great Year based on the holy tradition of refferencing equinoxial axial processional ages. hence why Magi "followed" (studied the movement of the north star) his star. and that was actually refferenced.

[@atomt8856]

They believe he is an apostate Mandaen. ...

[@ryukishisama]

Jesus either created or is Satan, before Jesus Satan was an adjective meaning an adversary or accuser. In the original Hebrew book of Job Satan is the adjective given to an angel not his name.

[@edvardzv5660]

Reading the books of the New Testament, we probably asked ourselves more than once: *"Why 2000 years we do not see those miracles that accompanied the Сhurch of Christ in the I century, as described in the New Testament?"* Why do the so-called preachers of Christ have to prove that Jesus really existed and atheists boldly deny the historicity or divine origin of Christ? Maybe because the Сhurch of Christ has not existed for 2000 years? The Сhurch does not exist in the form in which it is presented in the books of the New Testament, but there are Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant and other christian sects claiming to be the place of the Church, but they not have the only thing that distinguishes the divine from the human and is characteristic of just the Сhurch of Christ -the reinforcement of the word with signs, that is, miracles (Mark 16:15-20). Therefore, some researchers doubt the historicity of Christ, and some of them are not opposed to declaring him a an ordinary philosopher, teacher. But even if Jesus were an ordinary philosopher, his disciples would be ordinary followers of Jesus. And they would not dare to write about the miracles that not only Jesus, but also his disciples, could perform. In this world, the great fertility of atheism can be explained by the fact that there is no main opponent of critics of the Bible - the Church. If there were the Church in our time as described by the authors of the New Testament books, where miracles are performed, the sick are healed, where prophesied, and the dead are raised, no one would doubt the historicity of Christ. Then there would be the same controversy throughout the world as in the first century - Jesus the Son of God or the false prophet who seduces the world by miracles. As a result, we can say that the emergence and development of christian sects and atheism was the result of the fact that over the 2000 years the Сhurch of Christ did not exist. Find *"The Mystery about the Church of Christ"* video on KZbin, which shows the real causes of Christian sects and atheism. The video reveals a prophecy about the disappearance and reappearance of the Church of Christ before the end of the world. Watching this video will bring joy to all who sincerely seek God and will interest those who are not too lazy to think freely. Click on my name to watch the video (The video is in Russian, but English subtitles are included).

[@weewilly2007]

Mundi, is "World" in Latin, Mandi is Bath is Indonesian/Malay

[@Adam-gf3jg]

Im a Mandaean a the word Mandaean is a Aramaic Mandic language witch mean the knowing of one god

[@Adam-gf3jg]

Yuehan Chanterelle Mandaean Mandaeism or Mandaeanism is one of a gnostic religion (Mandaic Aramaic manda means "knowledge"). In Arabic identified with Sabian religion that means baptisms. This name is also mentioned in Quran. The prophets of Mandaeans: Adam, Seth son of Adam, Enosh son of Seth, Noah, Shem or Sam son of Noah, Enoch, Zachariah and especially John the Baptist ( Johannes the baptist). Available historical resources in Iraq and Israel suggest that Mandaean was the oldest monotheistic religion known so far, also oldest than the Jewish. DNA researchs indicates that Mandaean is little difference between them and Assyrian. Thats mean we are one of original Mesopotamian people. We are Semites and speak a dialect of Eastern Aramaic known as Mandic. I'm from iraq (bagdad). And sadly we can't speak our language because of persecution......i can just 10 words in Mandaic and we use them homeXD. But we speak arabic home.

[@mideastruth]

Adam 32 No, if mandaeism is built around john the baptist it cannot possibly be older than judaism. in fact, evidence suggest mandaeans could possibly be exiled jews/hebrews/israelites (so basically the same people) who formed a sect, and mandaeism was one of the sects present in the 1st century AD. i havn't seen and couldnt find any reliable genetic study that was done on mandaens, hopefully when one will be done it will give more information to the origin of mandaeans. as of now, simply not enough is known to determine the exact origin of the mandaens

[@whatabouttheearth]

Adam 32 hmmm, interesting. makes me think of the words mono/mon (one) and deo/dio/dei (God). Word coincidences are odd, humans have had a long inter mingling history.

[@danieljeizan3168]

@@mideastruth You are absolutely right. I am a Mandaean. I took a DNA test and the result is 70% Jewish. The other 30% is based on the region, West Asia, which I believe we can related to Jewish people of that region.

[@brunettem6157]

That was wedding baptize 😂

[@firethorn007]

34:20 holy spirit ---> infernal spirit consort of adonai who is the mother of the 7 planetary forces which are viewed as malevolent.

[@firethorn007]

39:25 haranian sabians - astral deity worship

[@whatabouttheearth]

Im wondering how does their texts subtly use astrological allegory? which is all of humanities ancient shared tradition

[@yushamenthari]

ࡉࡅࡔࡀࡌࡍ.

[@alankasongo2843]

They acknowledge John the baptist as Christians do and Jews but he is more to them, they think of jesus as a false prophet.. Astrology might be a wide and commonly shared knowledge, but it's interpretation is not the same...

[@katemarson2948]

The Sabeans came from Anatolia Harran Gobekli Tepe and particularly Sogmatar are mentioned with a pilgrimage to the pyramids of Egypt known to have happened regularly. When Solomon from Anatolia, also known as Suleiman, threatened the Queen of Sheba who was also Sabean to war against her people if they did not worship the one God maybe this was when the Sabeans of Anatolia, Yemen and Ethiopian moved further away. Edessa was also known as Ur or Urfa birthplace of Abraham. Perhaps Haplogroup X2 is involved

[@ReligionProf]

Evidence, please...

[@UNWTWeatherDiva]

This makes ALOT of sense. If they were the Sabeans makes sense why history was lost and almost like an abrupt end to Gobekli Tepe. This may also tie in to Linda Moulton Howes works.

[@hermanhale9258]

Dr. McGrath, I wonder if "uthra" could be related to Arabic "athr, athart, athara, athari" words that I read (or saw in a video) have to do with palm trees, water, irrigated soil, Baal, Ishtar and so on. What do you think?

[@ReligionProf]

I recommend this article by Charles Haberl on the linguistic question of the word's origin. academic.oup.com/jss/article/62/1/77/3052625?login=false

[@hermanhale9258]

@@ReligionProf Thank you! That is my kind of article. Somewhere in the middle I got the idea that it all relates to HATHOR, a good mother giving her children good food and other good things. Nurturing.

[@rursus8354]

Unless they start to accept converts they will *not* survive, sorry to say. The islamic dhimmi system preserved them as a distinct group. If they will start to accept converts again, they might survive, but then the religion will change depending on what finds scholarship and other science discovers. Documentation is needed.

[@queen1990ful]

Rursus we survived 2000+ years without your help, I think we are doing fine.

[@rursus8354]

Youna Alsuhaili We'll I didn't offer my help anyways, and now that I know there are unpolite egotic Mandeans, it will become less likely. But how about your priests not telling you very much? Do you really know (gnosis, manda) your religion yourself?

[@queen1990ful]

Yes, but its not really the ganzibras fault (we don't call them priests, because in the preislamic times there were female ganzibras as well. But then we stopped the drsa of females for protection, because islamic society did not acccept women and men equally the way we do.). my parents did not know much so when i was 14 i just decided to learn everything i could by reading and asking the right questions. Most mandaeans are very secular and you can think of it as what an anthropologist would call a tribal religion, its based on ancestry and belief at the same time. Not to mention that we despise people who turn their religion into something that functions as a political party. We don't believe that trying to get people to follow your religion is a good thing because then you are doing it just to become the majority and have more power.

[@Minimeme100]

+Youna Alsuhaili Well, that might be your view regarding the religion being an ideology. I view it as a way of life that one sees fit to be the controlling factor of life and wanting all to benefit from this. Besides i have a friend who is a mandean, he strongly believes in it and he prays 3 times a day fasts and such. However, he does not accept the "lie" about jesus being a deciever that is what he said and that jesus is viewed as a prophet less important than yahya. Whenever i ask him why people cannot convert, he really never had a good reason.

[@SargentoBonzo]

+Barthom Leo Yes. I've heard of a group of people who call themselves Sabeans (It is interesting because Mandeans are also called Sabeans) They believe the description of Jesus in Drāšā D-Yaḥyā and other mandaean books, does not refer to Jesus of the Gospels, but the anti-Christ came into the world posing as the real Jesus, but John the Baptist discovered his evil plans and stopped him for people to recognize the true Jesus (the Jesus of gospels). Maybe it has to do with the fact that they have the same conception of the Day of Judgment which Christians and Muslims, in which Jesus will return to destroy the anti-christ and be crowned "king of kings" Apparently they believe that "God gave the Mandaeans the right to doubt about Jesus, because they think that the Antichrist will return to usurp the position of Christ again toward the End of Time, and with that doubt, the true Jews, Christians and Muslims can realize about the antichrist trick and retrain before will be too late".

[@boxerfencer]

Curious, what do the Mandeans have to say about Paul?

[@ReligionProf]

Nothing (although the way Lidzbarski translated a certain word in the Mandaean Book of John would give you a different impression).

[@floonaalothman9008]

لقد قرأت بعض التعليقات ووجدت انه يوجد معلقين مندائيين هل يستطيع أحد ترجمة المقطع لأني لا أجيد بالانكليزيه انا لان الالمانيه شكرا لكم

[@floonaalothman9008]

عفوا لا اجيد اللغه الانكليزيه انا اتقن الالمانيه

[@yushamenthari]

اني عثماني بنت عمي 😁😁 اسمي يوشامن ࡉࡅࡔࡀࡌࡍ .. عمي الشيخ غسان اروها نهويلا.

[@floonaalothman9008]

@@yushamenthari يااهلا وسهلا اخويه وابن عمي المندايي جميعهم عمك خالك ماكو غريب اروه نهويلا الهيي يحفظك ويحفظ جميع المندايي

[@yushamenthari]

@@floonaalothman9008 و يحفضج و يخليج

[@dagajana8605]

Thanks...know more similars belive in christinity...but far the teaching of Jesus...Malaysin( Sarawak)...God bless you br..

[@christineveazey4345]

Here is some thought about misleading statements made about Mandaeans. One is that they believe in God, which you mentioned in passing. And in addition to that, I've read papers that say Magic and Astrology figure prominently in their religion and ritual. Scholars should actually not use words such as "God, magic or astrology" in describing their religion. If accuracy is desired, scholars should use Truth (instead of God), secret knowledge (instead of magic), and alignments of north, east, south and west (instead of astrology).

[@aaajojoaaa]

I am Mandaean, we are only believe in God not on human being as God . we are not Jewish exiles as they mentioned here , we do not believe Astrology or magic.

[@christineveazey4345]

Ar Nr Thank you for your input. I agree completely what you've said. It is true the Christian community limits God because it talks about Jesus as God. Your posts are very valuable. I cannot conceal my worries that the Mandaeans become misrepresented when they use the word 'God'. God to Mandaeans, as I understand it, is the Knowledge and the handshake (Kushta, which broadly is the connection). They will use the word 'God' but that is because it is helpful to them not to be persecuted. I have a question. On your page you have maths with calculations. I wish to know the concept that is in the form of that math. Thanks.

[@Adam-gf3jg]

my friend we are the first believer in one god only and it's mentioned in our holy books. God have more than 99 names in our religion we call him the great life, Mary witch means lord in our language, the greatest, the truthful, the light, the peaceful and so on..... But when we speak arabic or English we use God and Allah because it's the words used for God.

[@christineveazey4345]

I do not believe in God and don't think John the Baptist did either. He was a healer and a diviner. It means he was able to cure himself and others without the help of a god or God. Being a diviner he was able to ask questions and get answers for every question. I think God belief has crept into the Mandaean religion. Before it was the Knowledge and then Kusta that was important. I think the Mandaeans have started using the word God because they are afraid of judgment from other religions. Slowly and little by little, the Mandaean religion is changing to be like Christianity and will be no more. That is a tragedy because the Mandaean religion/science was more true than Christianity.

[@Adam-gf3jg]

Christine Veazey We do not care about how people think about us. We believe in a God who created everything in this world. But our religion is not like other religions. Our religion is very spirtual and goes into the bottom of the hearts. It is logic and contains much scientific information, such as the Big Bang. There are more than 200 pages talking about our planet and unversiom ....... how they were created. And if we go to other religions, we see that the earth is flat and that from the first man, Adam, until now it is 10,000 years but within Mandaean so the earth is round, from the first human being until now it is almost 500 000 years and it is what science has proved. And there are more and more information about the world that we live in. I'm not trying to say that our religion is the best or anything. Every one has his our believes and we respect that.

[@dedesahi660]

Thank you so much for this ❤ Do you know if we are europeans?

[@ReligionProf]

That's unlikely. Genetic tests have given different results, probably because in the past it was possible to convert to Mandaeism. The stories about Mandaean origins suggest that like John the Baptist himself, Mandaeans emerged out of a broadly Israelite context. There's definitely a need for more research on this topic!

[@dedesahi660]

@@ReligionProfThank you for your answer! Many thanks from Sweden! My test showed Sephardic, ashkenazi and Mizrahi just like the other mandeans so I am bit confused. My mother tells me that her grandparents were all very white, blue eyes, tall and spoke only aramaic which made the grandchildren not understand so much

[@dedesahi660]

@@ReligionProf I would love to have more direct contact with you! I love your work about us ♥️Have a wonderful day

[@ReligionProf]

@@dedesahi660 Do keep in touch - you can email me at my Butler University email address if you'd like to: [e-mail] If there's interest on the part of the Mandaeans in Sweden, I could probably arrange to give a talk at a local university in connection with the publication of my books about John the Baptist!

[@Sam-wu2ho]

wrong Ginza Rba has been translated

[@ReligionProf]

What do you mean?

[@Sam-wu2ho]

The Ginza Rba has been translated into english

[@Sam-wu2ho]

That is correct their is a lot of correct information which is very interesting

[@raymondz6607]

I'm mandadean and I can confirm that it is pronounced gin-za rub-a in aramic

[@ErenDoppleganer]

@@raymondz6607he meant it is translated fully

[@theonlyxd2144]

I can tell you we are similar to christianity and who said we have a negative view of Jesus ??

[@ReligionProf]

I am referring to the stories told in Mandaean texts such as the Book of John. We recently published a complete English translation of it. www.academia.edu/41868126/The_Mandaean_Book_of_John_Open_Access_Version_

[@laraday3821]

James McGrath are you mandaean? I am and christians stole the cross and our language :(

[@laraday3821]

We are not similar to Christianity we don’t believe in that Jesus is gods son, the creator is correct

[@ReligionProf]

I replied to the other comment where you said the same thing about Christians stealing the cross and your language. What do you mean, and how do you recontruct that historically? You actually think the Romans got their idea for how to torture and execute criminals from seeing this Mandaean symbol? What historical evidence leads you to that conclusion?

[@theonlyxd2144]

James McGrath please don’t listen to the guy or girl above

[@Samaaronshawn]

I studied about Mandaeans and I try to tell the Muslims and jews and Christian that their religion didn’t came from God/Allah it’s copied from Mandaeans religion !!! We have a responsibility to educate ourselves and others so that they can choose the right path in their lives !! 🇨🇦

[@questioneverything8876]

50 000 left 8000 have resettled in Australia

[@TheChekas]

Adulterated version rampant in southern Africa

[@ReligionProf]

Can you please say more?

[@TheChekas]

@@ReligionProf not scholarly, you are welcome to pursue. Zimbabwe is endowed

[@ReligionProf]

@@TheChekas Your reply doesn't make the meaning of your first comment clearer. What are you saying about Mandaeans? Are you suggesting that there are people in southern Africa who have adopted this religion? Please explain. I'm not asking for something scholarly, I'm asking what you are trying to say.

[@TheChekas]

@@ReligionProf yes, there are sects there who seem to be practising that kind of religion, like the Jordan ritual.

[@ReligionProf]

@@TheChekas Wow, that's fascinating. Is there a way for me to learn more about them? This could be important, but is at the very least incredibly interesting!

[@raymondz6607]

our actual home is Israel but the Jews kick us out

[@mideastruth]

Ray Tunes if we accept that narrative that would mean you were jews as well urself. the truth is, not enough research was done on this so nobody really knows who are the mandaeans.. not even one reliable genetic study was done. and it could be that the romans exiled you just like the exiled many jews from thier homeland

[@rikki2917]

Ray dude no I’m mandaean my self and it’s not Israel, it’s actually Palestine that’s where our prophet was born and that’s where Jesus was born aswell

[@theTruth-pq9re]

Come on guys you don’t even know about your books we are not even fron israel not even john was from israel born

[@ilana5997]

@@mideastruth we are not Jews, we were prosecuted heavily by them at the time so we were forced to live, hidden, as one of them.

[@kyliecx]

@@rikki2917it’s mesopotamia.

[@cage-gang666-pro4]

I am

[@MojganSabti]

I'm mandaean . You need more information about mandaean religion. Your info so short. And lots of it wrong, specially when you are saying we don't believe Jesus. Jhon &Jesus born in a same time and both of them were miracle ✨️. Jhon&Zachary his father were teacher ,he was teaching ganza to the world. John's father Zachary and his wife Elizabeth had raised mary like their own daughter. Jhon&Jesus are cousin , Jhon baptized Jesus with mandaean language ,and teach him Ganza and how to baptize people, who truly believe in God. Both messenger had same message to the world believe in God .Ganza has translate in English too. You need to read it to have better conference.

[@ReligionProf]

I wonder whether you are aware that (1) you are deriving this information from Christian tradition rather than Mandaean, and (2) I worked on and have made available an English translation of the Mandaean Book of John, which provides examples of the negative view of Jesus also found in the Ginza and Haran Gawaita? I encourage you to read these sources and to cite specific passages that you think support your claims here. I would nonetheless also be very interested to know whether the traditions from the Infancy Gospel (Protevangelium) of James that you allude to have been incorporated into the Mandaean tradition or texts and if so where and in what form. This could be very relevant to my current research.

[@dedesahi660]

According to the book, he is right! I have read so many books to understand whom we are and why we say Jesus is false. It is because Jesus aka Yeshua is one of us but made his own rituals and teachings which went against the jewish law in Israel so in the Ginza we say that he is the false messiah just like the jews. Even if I myself see Yeshua as the highest rabbi in mandean. I came to the conclusion that we say so is because John the baptist is the messiah for us and the christians were not baptized by John.

[@dedesahi660]

@@ReligionProfI have read the Ginza dear friend and thank you for making this video. Knowing our DNA is hard but I am somewhere in the middle now on connecting all of the missing dots. Yeshua was one of us but on this matter, he was baptizing everyone according to us wrong and unlike the teachings of John. Its a very complicated story and it makes it more complicated because Moses is also involved here when we ruin the temple in Jerusalem for the jews.

[@ReligionProf]

@@dedesahi660 I will have a biography of John the Baptist published next summer, the first of its kind and definitely the first to take Mandaean sources seriously as historical sources. It won't be "the Mandaean version of John" but by using Mandaean sources as well as Christian and Jewish ones I hope that I was able to better triangulate back to the historical John. If you get to read it, I'll be interested to know what you think of it!

[@dedesahi660]

@@ReligionProf Thank you so much! I will love to read it and someday also meet you. I would love to hear more about us by you. You are so good ♥️🙏Blessings

[@jesussaves7947]

I am an mandyi from Iran and let me say to all mandaeans that you need to be baptized in the Holy Spirit and give your life to Jesus He is the only way to heaven and changed my life OVER NIGHT. He is God Himself in the flesh!

[@georgekhadar1139]

JesusSaves good morning. I am an ex-Mandaean, please add my facebook: greg asrar

[@person7407]

Im am mandaean. Jesus isn't a prophet. We don't have profhet. And to us god is not a human man or any person, god is to us "knowledge" and "peace" . It's obvious you aren't mandaean and that you are a Christian trying to force Christianity onto others.

[@laraday3821]

Stop lying you are not a mandaean, because a true mandaean would never say that Jesus is more important than god ok? Jesus isn’t his son, your culture is stupid

[@laraday3821]

J e s u s S a v e s you don’t even know how to say the word Mandaean so how can you be one? Lmao don’t pretend like your mandaean when your actually a christian, mandaean is way better than christian and you guys stole the cross from us ok? And our language!!!

[@Shey5432]

@@laraday3821 Clap Clap Clap**

[@BaghdadSon78]

The Mandaeans aren't a "Gnostic group". The Mandaism is the first religion in the world. Stop minimising the existence and the history of Mesopotamia!

[@ReligionProf]

The Mandaeans are most certainly an example of the type of religion also evidenced from, say, the Coptic sources found at Nag Hammadi. If you have evidence other than mere tradition that Mandaeism is the first religion in the world (something that ancient Gnostic groups consistently claimed) please do share it, as it would mean a major breakthrough in my field!

[@warrenermish1454]

Why can’t this guy answer? A simple question. He loves his self talk.

[@ReligionProf]

Which guy, and what hasn't been answered?

[@yolandosoquite3507]

..they live more like they are Ebionites(True Followers of Jesus).

[@skyt2166]

Just for the record the Sabian mandaeans religion followers don't know if nothing I would say just bit about thier religion and ritual or Origins so when they disprove your point or say it's not accurate or wrong say what's your proof. They usually would reply rumors they heard or parents told them merely unsearchable stories. And that's how they defend thier religion that's how little they know. And Mandaean please look for Jesus Christ he's the only way and God and life here and after. I love u all regardless of what will be said

[@rikki2917]

How do you know Jesus was real? Your parents told you. And in fact mandaeans came before Christianity

[@brunettem6157]

sky T well if you know more about your own religion you should know that Jesus sought to John Baptist to baptizing him in that time and the thing that I don’t get it with Christianity Why you do have different religious traditions than your own god !? As a mandean person we follow the steps of Adam and John and we have serious cohesive traditions

[@yushamenthari]

What do u mean .. believe in jesus... the guy whos mom fukt a josh man ... Marry mother of jesus was a bitch .. we all know biology come on people...how can she give birth without a man fuking her? Hahaha

[@yushamenthari]

Virgin mary ...lol more likely the slut mary hjajajha

[@Shey5432]

@@rikki2917 Awesome reply!!

[@yakovmishor8284]

the mandeans are jewish exiles... that what i heard

[@mayamoon1190]

no they aren't. I'm mandean myself.

[@giobeshe]

Where do you live?

[@aramisumary1879]

@@servantofaeie1569 🤔

[@georgekhadar1139]

@@maisambeden7518 Good morning to you. could you kindly prove that Mandaeans do not belong to the Israelite.

[@danieljeizan3168]

You are absolutely right. I am Mandaean and I took a DNA test. I'm 70% Jewish; mix of Mizrahi, Sephardic, and Ashkenazi .

[@markputt8887]

sad narrative, 1000 uses of the word interesting, I believe he was given $100k to go there and translate books. He is also the best Indiana area has to offer....was all for taking the Lord's Prayer out of schools, and now he finds his" roots ". Replacing christian teaching with this. A real intellectual. Why do people go to church but don't believe anything taught in the American baptist church? Wouldn't Jesus say something about this church like in Revelation 2-3? They need the uncompromising gospel their traditions are of little value, don't think anyone will ever come to any agreed upon conclusions about this group. So, academically little value, just because they baptize is what I heard in this vid. I don't think gnostics are understood, hope you find out how they are connected with it, one of the few clues.