The Other God: Dualist Religions from Antiquity to the Cathar Heresy

by Yuri Stoyanov

This fascinating book explores the evolution of religious dualism, the doctrine that man and cosmos are constant battlegrounds between forces of good and evil. It traces this evolution from late Egyptian religion and the revelations of Zoroaster and the Orphics in antiquity through the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Mithraic Mysteries, and the great Gnostic teachers to its revival in medieval Europe with the suppression of the Bogomils and the Cathars, heirs to the age-long teachings of dualism. Integrating political, cultural, and religious history, Yuri Stoyanov illuminates the dualist religious systems, recreating in vivid detail the diverse worlds of their striking ideas and beliefs, their convoluted mythologies and symbolism.  

Reviews of an earlier

“A book of prime importance for anyone interested in the history of religious dualism. The author’s knowledge of relevant original sources is remarkable; and he has distilled them into a convincing and very readable whole.”—Sir Steven Runciman

“The most fascinating historical detective story since Steven Runciman’s Sicilian Vespers. ”—Colin Wilson

“A splendid account of the decline of the dualist tradition in the East . . . both strong and accessible. . . . The most readable account of Balkan heresy ever.”—Jeffrey B. Russell, Journal of Religion 

“Well-written, fact-filled, and fascinating . . . has in it the making of a classic.”
—Harry T. Norris, Bulletin of SOAS

Genres: History, Religion, Nonfiction, Theology, Spirituality, Christianity, Research

490 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[Brian Griffith · Rating 4 out of 5]

It might seem fairly simple to view life as a competition between two opposing forces, be they good vs. evil, soul vs. body, male vs female, or whatever. But actually the types and degrees of dualistic religion get incredibly varied and psychologically complicated. We may see the tension of opposites as creative, and maybe the opposing forces are both part of one overarching unity. Or maybe we see ourselves locked in cosmic civil wars between light and darkness, however pre-destined the outcome may be. Soyanov examines the evolution of world views and moral orders, showing the shifts over time in what games people think they are playing.

[Kevin K · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book on dualism — roughly speaking, religions which reject the idea of a single overarching God, and instead posit two coeternal Gods, one good and one evil. This doctrine is frequently combined with gnostic beliefs, e.g.: the material world is evil, the creator of the material world (the demiurge, Jehovah) was the evil god, the physical body is a tomb or prison, extreme asceticism, and so forth.

Stoyanov starts with Zoroastrianism, the original dualist religion, and covers many interesting outcroppings/revivals of dualist ideas: Greek orphism, Manichaeism, Mithraism, Marionism, Paulicianism, gnostic Christianity. His story culminates in the complicated religious history of the Balkans, and the famous medieval dualist heresies of the Bogomils and Cathars.

This is a big book with lots of intriguing material. My main interest, however, is the religious side of dualism (the specific beliefs/myths of the various religions and cults), while this book is heavily weighted (about 80-to-20) toward history. Long swathes of history about, for example, the Bulgarian empire may not be of interest to readers with a religious focus. Chapter 6 is a good section to dip into if you are curious about Bogomil/Cathar myths, e.g., the idea that God had two sons, Satan the elder and Jesus the younger, and it was Satan who appears as the Jehovah of the Old Testament. I love the rich creativity of the medieval heresies. It reminds me of the Jewish midrash. It's a shame that medieval Christian orthodoxy stamped out these rich and beautiful forms of religious expression.

[John Aaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Profound, Challenging, and Magnificent Scholarly Study

The Other God - for my money - is what a truly scholarly book should be. Profound, challenging, with a depth of scholarship I've rarely encountered. I picked up the book expecting a study focused on Gnosticism - and that's not the main topic of the book. Stoyanov's focus is Dualism from the earliest times through the end of the Middle Ages - and encompasses an enormous amount of material that's hard to find. Stoyanov's approach ties together a number of important and often neglected ideas in the study of religion - and brings the many Dualist traditions back to light.

That's not to say that I found every aspect of the book equally fascinating. He focuses - in places - more on history than on doctrine, and that's not my interest. But it is the interest of other readers - and this book is intended, I suspect, to address the needs of many readers. That's as it should be.

Another strength is the extensive annotation - I've found ample support for my researches in Stoyanov's aptly chosen bibliographic references.

I can honestly say that this book has transformed my thinking on religion. I can think of no higher praise.

[C. Varn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yuri Stoyanov's recent on the dualist trends in Zoroastrianism, Gnosticism, Manichaeism, Bogomilism, and Catharism. If one is expecting lots of conjecture on Gnosticism, this is not what Stoyanov's puts on the table. Stoyanov's focus on dualism goes back into the sources of Slavic paganism as well as more obscure points of Zoroastrian Zurvanism, Mithraism, and Manichaeism. The scope of the book falls between antiquity to late medieval crusades. Chapters focus on different elements: pre-Christian dualism, crusades, Balkan dualism, etc.

The book is dense and well-documented. The bibliography and footnotes are staggering, and the lack of unsourced conjecture is refreshing for the topic. Stoyanov avoids pitfalls of the topic, and while that makes for slow reading, the foot notes (and there are over a hundred pages of them) are themselves rewarding.

Strong recommend to anyone interested in religious studies or the transition from antiquity to medieval thought.

[Astralgravy · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book is DENSE. absolutely, incredibly comprehensive- but at times, a bit daunting. it's totally worth it though, especially after you get past all the back and forth with the achamenids. it's a necessary but rather boring bit that segways into the fascinating origins of bogomilism and catharism!
if you're interested in gnostic christianity, zoroastrianism, or any sort of fertile-crescent dualist religion, this book's got it covered backward, forward, and sideways.

[Alyosha · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was phenomenally researched by Yuri. A wealth of information on Gnosticism/dualism.

[Lukerik · Rating 5 out of 5]

I almost abandoned this in the first five pages because it was so tiffitute. I showed it to my friend Jo and she said there was something wrong with the author. But we can take that with a pinch of salt because she says the same about me. Anyway, I told myself that it wasn’t a proposition from Wittgenstein and pushed on. It really is just the first five pages that are very hard. Like any good philosopher Stoyanov is giving us his definitions first. Not that the book is easy. Stoyanov and the six line sentence are intimate lovers.

What we have here is a history of a religious idea, traced through the various religions that have made use of it. The whole is set in a chronological framework, but is initially rather abstract. Narrative history increases as we move further into the historical period. However, what narrative history there is is necessarily brief and solely in service of telling the history of the idea. I found it extremely useful having read a bit of history and history of religion as for much of the book I was able to orient myself in time and space. I was adrift and close to panic when he started talking about eastern Europe north of Greece and central Asia, areas about which I am entirely ignorant. I would not therefore recommend this as a first book on the history of religion.

But if you’re ready for it, or young enough to think you are, the riches within are beyond measure. I felt a bit like the pig who had pearls cast before him. The mind boggles at how one man can be an expert on so many subjects. Maybe this is something wrong with him.

I particularly enjoyed how it makes you see the history of Europe and Middle East from an entirely different perspective. There are so many though provoking things I can’t list everything, but it made me think about the definition of religion. Lots of people get killed over the course of the book in a variety of interesting ways. The killers appear to have a variety of motives, all of them dysfunctional. Yet whether as an excuse or because they really believed the dualists were evil, there’s an animosity to polytheism. Yet the doctrinal differences are so slight between say Catholicism and Catharism. I understand that in Catholicism Satan is not a god and the saints are not gods, but they are supernatural beings and the people who believe in them modify their behaviour as a result of that belief. For an outsider like me the distinction between Satan or a saint and a god needs to be explained very slowly. Functionally, Catholicism and polytheism are identical. Yet people kill over this kind of thing. Not a particularly pleasant insight into the human psyche, but very useful and interesting. I’m going to be much more careful around nuns from now on.

But it’s not all doom and gloom. I’d particularly recommend the book to anyone who haunts the esoterica bookshelves. Herein are – sensible – discussions of such things as witches, secret Anti-Popes, lost Cathar treasure and the marital status of Jesus Christ.

[Daniel Barrows · Rating 4 out of 5]

See also the review by Dorothea Weltecke. (8 January 2009). Stoyanov, The Other God. The Medieval Review. Retrieved from https://scholarworks.iu.edu/journals/...

[Keir · Rating 3 out of 5]

Concentrating more on the theological rather than the political and organisational, this was none the less an interesting survey of the history of dualism, including coverage of the Paulicans and Bogomils, who are difficult to find modern English language texts on. I was particularly struck by the prevalence and continuing influence of the slavic earth diviner myth.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

If this is really the "most readable book on the Bulgar heresy" ever produced, $DEITY help the people who had to read the others. We're talking neutron star dense here. to the point that fully half the book is endnote text.

A very thoroughly documented - as in the book is nearly 50% footnotes - exploration of mythologies of an ultimate struggle of polar forces of Good vs Evil. I had no idea Zoroastrianism & Manicheanism had made inroads so far east; but I was weirdly delighted to read that Confucian scholars were so appalled by Manicheans that they denounced them as “vegetarians & demon worshippers”, so villainous that they appear in historical novels as evil wizard masters of the martial arts.

[Daniel Lyons · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating book, engagingly written, unique content.

[T. Frohock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exquisitely researched history of dualist religions.

[Earl DeVere · Rating 5 out of 5]

Powerful. A deep look at religion from the losers' perspective. Excellent writing telling an important story of a forgotten part of history. To the victor goes the spoils of history, but this book enlightens the intentionally forgotten.

Excellent research covering religion from from ancient Egypt to modern times. The focus is on Christianity and Dualist beliefs, but Buddhism, Hinduism, Zoroasterianism, Islam, and Judaism are all touched on.


Pick this book up. It is worth your time. Any Christian simply must read this to understand your beliefs and why they exist as they exist. Enjoy. I enjoyed this amazing book.