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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 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 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. | The term was later applied to the creator of the material world in Gnosticism. Unlike Plato's Demiurge, the Gnostic Demiurge is typically seen in a negative light. Marcion, while not a Gnostic himself, 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 theologian, would use this term as well, from whom other Gnostic sects adopted the term. | ||
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 Aeons, a series of emanations from the Father, the Bythos (the depth), and together they form the Pleroma (the fullness). The Aeon Sophia (wisdom) tried to emulate the unknowable Bythos and create an offspring, resulting in the Demiurge. Sophia was cast from the Pleroma. The Demiurge, ignorant of the Aeons and the Pleroma, proceeded to create the material world, and believes himself to be the supreme deity. | |||
===Design=== | ===Design=== | ||