On the Worship of the Demiurge
This comes from a thread on the PTG forum– thought I’d share it here, edited for non-forum relevance.
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Okay, so here’s the deal, and ya’ll can take this to the bank. This is a “Palm Tree Garden” interpretation of the Demiurge, and its relationship with people who “worship” it. Whether this is the historical position is a moot point that we can debate forever, but this is my interpretation of the ‘official unofficial’ position on the Demiurge that we take, and why claiming that traditional religionists “worship” it is tantamount to religion-bashing.
The idea that people who are not Gnostic are “worshipping the demiurge” is a huge misinterpretation of what is a very nuanced position. The ancient Gnostics were not completely in agreement about the nature of the Demiurge. Some sects undoubtedly considered the Demiurge a literal “Tyrant in the Skies,” whereas some considered it a simple intermediary with no real moral qualifiers, positive or negative. Our position on the PTG is a modern syncretic position which generally includes aspects from various interpretations of Gnostic descriptions of the Demiurge, but also depends upon an understanding of the metaphorical and psychological interpretations of Gnostic mythology. Rather than a false deity worshipped by the mythical “deluded masses,” our understanding is that the relationship between an individual and the Demiurge is just as personal as the relationship between an individual and God.
The Demiurge is a false and irrational image that we construct of the relationship between the Self and God based on the imperfect knowledge of the World of Forms. As such, the Demiurge resides in every person in the same sense that Sophia and the Christos reside in every person. It’s simply a matter of degree. When an individual castigates another for an accident of the World of Forms (for example, when someone is racist or bigoted), they are “worshipping the Demiurge,” as they are acting upon impulses which are clearly based on images they have of what “should” or “shouldn’t” be. These images may be derived from following precepts taught by a religion. They may be socio-cultural and learned. Nonetheless, when we negatively judge based on an image we have created, we are giving Yaldabaoth a nod. When, however, that very same person commits an act of kindness, compassion or love, they are worshipping the true, Unknown God of Sophia and the Christos.
The Demiurge is not a concept that can readily be applied to an entire religion. Some aspects of all religions are Demiurgic, when they support the judgement of individuals based on legalistic proscription. Some aspects of all religions are also, however, Sophianic, and representative of the true spiritual path we recognize as gnosis. For every Crusades (Demiurgic), we have a Catholic Social Services (Sophianic). For every Tomas de Torquemada, we have a St. Francis of Assisi. Gnostics can worship the Demiurge, too. Some Gnostic scripture contains legalism and judgement on others based on images. Some Gnostics were terribly anti-Judaic and elitist. Some modern so-called “Gnostics” use Gnostic mythology as an excuse for anti-Semitism. These are perfect examples of Demiurge worship within the Gnostic tradition.
The Gnostic message always contained the message, “Don’t worship the Demiurge.” This did not, however, ever indicate that one should abandon one’s spiritual Path. Remember, the Gnostics were called to task by Tertullian for accepting people of other faiths. What was meant by “Don’t worship the Demiurge” is “Don’t worship false images.” Don’t judge people unduly. Don’t put words into God’s mouth. Don’t be a jerk.
Finally, as we can see, claiming that such-and-such a religion consists of people worshiping the Demiurge commits the error of collectivist irrationality, judging an entire body of persons based upon what may be a single aspect of a single individual one has encountered. We tend to base our judgements on experience; those who claim that this or that religion is Demiurgic usually qualify this judgement by pointing to examples from the media or people they have met. The problem with this approach is that one casts aspersions onto millions of people based on one’s experiences with a handful of representatives of these belief systems. Judging the interior spiritual life of millions of people based on a handful of examples, no matter how extreme the examples, is an irrational act. So, claiming that people who are not Gnostics are worshippers of the Demiurge is in and of itself a Demiurgic Act. It is the creation of an interpretation of a reality based on the imperfect information of the World of Forms.
