A Manichaean view of our parable would take the side of the political and religious leaders who have nothing to do with the half-dead man and leave the Christ figure to die by the side of the road. Manichaeism rejected interdependence. Their worldview was dualistic; there were good and evil forces and you don’t mix the two. A number of years ago Glenn Greenwald, a journalist and author, coined the term “Manichean politics,” which, he said, pervades our political discourse.23 Greenwald argued that this dualism took root some time ago in American politics as it made the case for the defeat of
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