The impersonal God

[Inevitable Droid]

Some theists like to postulate an impersonal God, which would be some force or factor that governs the universe and causes the universe to exist in its current form and state, without willing, thinking, emoting, perceiving.  It occurred to me today that science has long been well aware of this force or factor.  Do you now what it is?  

[Matt]

Yeah, that one's kind of old.  So old that Aristotle is the earliest person I can think of to propose it.  He called it the Demiurge, a pretty nifty name.

[Inevitable Droid]

He called it the Demiurge, a pretty nifty name.

That means physicists, even atheist ones, can call themselves Demiurgists!

[tunghaichuan]

He called it the Demiurge, a pretty nifty name.

That means physicists, even atheist ones, can call themselves Demiurgists!

Keep in mind that early gnostic Christians borrowed the term demiurge for their own use. To the gnostics the demiurge was the creator of the earth. Marcion (labeled as a heretic early on) equated the demiurge with the devil. Valentinus took the view that he was more foolish and delusional than evil.

When I first came across  this concept in the Nag Hammadi library, it was eye-opening. It answers the question, why do we live in a fucked up world? Because it was created by a fucked up being. An interesting interpretation as to why there is evil in the world.

[Inevitable Droid]

Keep in mind that early gnostic Christians borrowed the term demiurge for their own use.

Curses!  They ruined it!  Foiled again!  

When I first came across  this concept in the Nag Hammadi library, it was eye-opening. It answers the question, why do we live in a fucked up world? Because it was created by a fucked up being. An interesting interpretation as to why there is evil in the world.

I've noted elsewhere that Christian theology would make more sense if God the Father was allowed to be seen as a mean-spirited ogre.  Then Jesus could be the omnibenevolent one.  Sort of a twist on Zoroastrian dualism.  The evil God would be the Creator and the good God would be the Savior.  At least this way the problem of suffering would have a solution.  God the Father enjoys our pain.