ABSTRACT
This work cannot unfold without reference to the various 'Christianities' which bear such titles as 'Catholic' or 'Orthodox', 'Nestorian', and 'Monophysite' or 'Jacobite'. Then too we have that self-declared form of purified and enlightened Christianity known as 'Manichaeism' as well as the widely-held understanding of the world and of human existence called 'Gnosticism'. While it may not be necessary to spell out the details of Hindu, Buddhist, Zoroastrian and Muslim beliefs, it is important that we grasp the essentials of the forms of Christianity or quasi-Christianity which we shall meet. This we will attempt to do as painlessly and clearly as possible.
