Gnostic questions

[David19]

I'm hoping someone can help me. Are gnostics polytheistic, for example, do they believe that there are many gods because i read on one site there was the creater god and then from it, came archons/aeons (gods) and that Yahweh was one of the ones but him (and others) are power obsessed (but not evil).

Is this kind of right because if it is, it suits my beliefs a bit (although i'm not sure if i'd be christian) since i believe there is a distant creater and the gods came from that and Yahweh isn't evil (but i do think he is a bit obsessed with power).

Thanks

[Christo Pagan]

To be honest, Gnosticism is really a tough nut to crack, but I'll certainly try to answer your questions as best I can.

There were/are many types of Gnostics and not all of the believed the same things. The most popular group within Gnosticism would have to be the Valentinians, who believed that everything emanated from the "Unknowable God" or the "source". These emanations, or "Aeons" could be thought of as lesser gods (hence polytheistic) or as different personalities of the divine source (making them monotheistic). It's all subjective.

One of these Aeons, Sophia, created a being known as the "demiurge". The demiurge is believed by many Gnostics to be the same God as Yahweh in the Old Testament, but not all of them agree as to whether or not he was good or evil (most believed him to be neither). The demiurge thought himself the only god because he couldn't see the divine source and wanted worship from his creations - us.

The Archons are beings who are under the demiurge and work with him to maintain his rule over the world. Many of them have been associated with demons, as well as angels.

If you're interested and want to know more about Gnosticism, you should really check out www.gnosis.org for some very detailed articles on Gnostic beliefs and practices.

I hope I was able to answer your question. :)