User:Todd Andrea/Gnosticism

I'd love to work to continually work to expand Sophie's section in this article because it is what pertains most to gender and Gnosticism. For the rest of the article, I am planning to go in and edit phrasing to ensure clarity.

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Gnosticism (from Ancient Greek: γνωστικός, romanized: gnōstikós, Koine Greek: [ɣnostiˈkos], 'having knowledge') is a collection of religious ideas and systems that coalesced in the late 1st century AD among Jewish and early Christian sects. These various groups emphasized personal spiritual knowledge (gnosis) above the proto-orthodox teachings, traditions, and authority of religious institutions. Gnostic cosmogony generally presents a distinction between a supreme, hidden God and a malevolent lesser divinity (sometimes associated with the Yahweh of the Old Testament) who is responsible for creating the material universe. Consequently, Gnostics considered material existence flawed or evil, and held the principal element of salvation to be direct knowledge of the hidden divinity, attained via mystical or esoteric insight. Many Gnostic texts deal not in concepts of sin and repentance, but with illusion and enlightenment. This article provides information on the origins of Gnosticism, its principles, characters, and its development.

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*original* Sophia

Main article: Sophia (Gnosticism)

In Gnostic tradition, the term Sophia (Σοφία, Greek for "wisdom") refers to the final and lowest emanation of God, and is identified with the anima mundi or world-soul. In most, if not all, versions of the gnostic myth, Sophia births the demiurge, who in turn brings about the creation of materiality. The positive or negative depiction of materiality thus resides a great deal on mythic depictions of Sophia's actions. She is occasionally referred to by the Hebrew equivalent of Achamoth (this is a feature of Ptolemy's version of the Valentinian gnostic myth). Jewish Gnosticism with a focus on Sophia was active by 90 AD.

*Revised by me*

In Gnostic tradition, the name Sophia (Σοφία, Greek for "wisdom" ) refers to the final emanation of God, and is identified with the anima mundi or world-soul. In most, if not all versions of the gnostic myth, Sophia births the demiurge, who in turn brings about the creation of materiality. The positive and negative depictions of materiality depend on the myths depictions of Sophia's actions. Sophia's image in this highly patriarchal narrative is described to be unruly and disobedient; which is influenced by her bringing a creation of chaos into the world. The creation of the Demiurge was an act done without her counterpart's consent and because of the defined hierarchy between the two of them, this action contributed to the narrative that she was unruly and disobedient.

*original Moral and ritual practice

Gnostics tended toward asceticism, especially in their sexual and dietary practice. In other areas of morality, Gnostics were less rigorously ascetic, and took a more moderate approach to correct behaviour. In normative early Christianity, the Church administered and prescribed the correct behaviour for Christians, while in Gnosticism it was the internalised motivation that was important. Ritualistic behaviour was not important unless it was based on a personal, internal motivation. Ptolemy's Epistle to Flora describes a general asceticism, based on the moral inclination of the individual.

*Revised by me*

Gnostics tended toward asceticism, especially in their sexual and dietary practice. In other areas of morality, Gnostics were less rigorously ascetic, and took a more moderate approach to what they believed to be correct behavior. In proto-orthodox early Christianity, the Church administered and prescribed their version of correct behavior for Christians. In contrast to this, Gnosticism placed a larger focus on internal motivation. Ptolemy's Epistle to Flora describes a general asceticism, based on the moral inclination of the individual. For example, ritualistic behavior was not seen to possess as much importance as any other practice, unless it was based on a personal, internal motivation.

Demiurge[edit] **Kept original in main article by request in my notes from Dr. S:)

A lion-faced deity found on a Gnostic gem in Bernard de Montfaucon's L'antiquité expliquée et représentée en figures may be a depiction of Yaldabaoth, the Demiurge; however, cf.^{[clarification needed]} Mithraic Zervan Akarana.

Main article: Demiurge

The term demiurge derives from the Latinized form of the Greek term dēmiourgos, δημιουργός, literally "public or skilled worker". This figure is also called "Yaldabaoth", Samael (Aramaic: sæmʻa-ʼel, "blind god"), or "Saklas" (Syriac: sækla, "the foolish one"), who is sometimes ignorant of the superior god, and sometimes opposed to it; thus in the latter case he is correspondingly malevolent. Other names or identifications are Ahriman, El, Satan, and Yahweh.

The demiurge creates the physical universe and the physical aspect of humanity. The demiurge typically creates a group of co-actors named archons who preside over the material realm and, in some cases, present obstacles to the soul seeking ascent from it. The inferiority of the demiurge's creation may be compared to the technical inferiority of a work of art, painting, sculpture, etc. to the thing the art represents. In other cases, it takes on a more ascetic tendency to view material existence negatively, which then becomes more extreme when materiality, including the human body, is perceived as evil and constrictive, a deliberate prison for its inhabitants.

Moral judgements of the demiurge vary from group to group within the broad category of Gnosticism, viewing materiality as being inherently evil, or as merely flawed and as good as its passive constituent matter allows.

*Revised by me*

*Cut first bit because it is not clear

The term demiurge derives from the Latinized form of the Greek term dēmiourgos, δημιουργός, literally "public or skilled worker". This figure is also called "Yaldabaoth", Samael (Aramaic: sæmʻa-ʼel, "blind god"), or "Saklas" (Syriac: sækla, "the foolish one"), who is sometimes ignorant of the superior god, and sometimes opposed to it; thus in the latter case he is correspondingly malevolent. Other names or identifications are Ahriman, El, Satan, and Yahweh.

The demiurge creates the physical universe and the physical aspect of humanity. The demiurge typically creates a group of co-actors named archons who preside over the material realm and, in some cases, present obstacles to the soul seeking ascent from it. The negativity surrounding the creation of the demiurge's may be compared to the technical inferiority of a work of art, painting, sculpture, etc. to the thing the art represents. In other cases, it takes on a more ascetic tendency to view material existence negatively, which then becomes more extreme when Gnostic materiality, which includes the human body, is perceived as evil and constrictive - seen as a deliberate prison for its inhabitants.

Moral judgements of the demiurge vary depending on ones affiliations within the broad category of Gnosticism: some viewing materiality as being inherently evil, or as merely flawed and others viewing materiality as good as its passive constituent matter allows.

*Revised by me post Peer Review based on StrawwberryShortcake's comment that this paragraph may be perceived as negative*

The term demiurge derives from the Latinized form of the Greek term dēmiourgos, δημιουργός, literally "public or skilled worker". This figure is also called "Yaldabaoth", Samael (Aramaic: sæmʻa-ʼel, "blind god"), or "Saklas" (Syriac: sækla, "the foolish one"), a figure in Gnosticism that acts in opposition to a superior god. Whether this opposition was purposeful or not is based upon personal interpretation of Gnostic text. Other names or identifications are Ahriman, El, Satan, and Yahweh.

The demiurge creates the physical universe and the physical aspect of humanity. The demiurge typically creates a group of co-actors named archons who preside over the material realm and, in some cases, present obstacles to the soul seeking ascent from it. The negativity surrounding the creation of the demiurge's may be compared to the technical inferiority of a work of art, painting, sculpture, etc. to the thing the art represents. In other cases, it takes on a more ascetic tendency to view material existence negatively, which then becomes more extreme when Gnostic materiality, which includes the human body, is perceived as evil and constrictive - seen as a deliberate prison for its inhabitants.

Moral judgements of the demiurge vary depending on ones affiliations within the broad category of Gnosticism: some viewing materiality as being inherently evil, or as merely flawed and others viewing materiality as good as its passive constituent matter allows.

*Added by me

Female Representation in Gnosticism

It is difficult to find real women represented in sources characterized as 'Gnostic.' The few that are mentioned are portrayed to be chaotic, disobedient, and even enigmatic. However, significant Gnostic texts like the Nag Hammadi place women in roles of leadership and heroism - contradicting the narrative that women in Gnostic spaces were mere victims to their circumstance. , , The role women played in the evolution of Gnosticism is an area of study still being explored.