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==Profile== | ==Profile== | ||
===Origin=== | ===Origin=== | ||
The | The Demiurge,{{Note|Greek: δημιουργός ''dēmiourgós''}} literally meaning "craftsman" or "artisan," is a concept in Platonic philosophy. The Demiurge is the benevolent creator of the universe who seeks to create a world as good as possible. Plato first described this concept in his dialogue ''[[wikipedia:Timaeus (dialogue)|Timaeus]]''. | ||
The term was later applied to the creator of the material world in Gnosticism. Marcion, while not a Gnostic, held a dualistic belief in two gods | The term was later applied to the creator of the material world in Gnosticism. Marcion, while not a Gnostic, held a dualistic belief in two gods: the harsh God of the Old Testament, whom he called the Demiurge, and the higher, loving Good God of the New Testament, of whom Jesus preached. Valentinus, an early Gnostic, would use this term as well, from whom other Gnostic sects adopted the term. | ||
Gnostic interpretations of the Demiurge vary. To Valentinus, the Demiurge was the God of the Old Testament, but he diverges from Marcion in that he believed the Demiurge was part of a complex cosmology consisting of a series of emanations from the Pleroma (the fullness). The Demiurge is the son of Sophia (wisdom). | Gnostic interpretations of the Demiurge vary. To Valentinus, the Demiurge was the God of the Old Testament, but he diverges from Marcion in that he believed the Demiurge was part of a complex cosmology consisting of a series of emanations from the Pleroma (the fullness). The Demiurge is the son of Sophia (wisdom). | ||