A Popular Dictionary of Judaism
A philosophical or religious doctrine which posits two ultimate beings. The universe is perceived as a cosmic struggle between the forces of good and the forces of evil, or *God and the *Devil.
Although this doctrine was found among the *gnostics and the Zoroastrians, it was condemned by the Jewish authorities on the grounds that God is the ultimate power. Nonetheless dualism can be found in some *kabbalistic texts. The term dualism is also used for the belief in a radical opposition between matter and spirit as is found in the writings of Greek philosophers. This idea was influential on *Philo and medieval Jewish philosophers.
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