This was part of the larger Gnostic dualist system that strictly separated spiritual from physical realms.
One god (Ialtabaoth) was the god of evil, physical reality and was identified by many as the God of Old Testament. The other god was good and purely spiritual.
Thanks for clarifying that! We learned a little about Gnosticism when we studied Colossians. I was aware that they believed in a strict separation of spiritual and physical but did not realize that they attributed this separation to two separate deities.
1:16 pm
Elizabeth
I hadn’t heard that Gnostics believed in two gods. Would this qualify as a type of dualism or is it different in some way?
6:43 am
Timothy Jones
This was part of the larger Gnostic dualist system that strictly separated spiritual from physical realms.
One god (Ialtabaoth) was the god of evil, physical reality and was identified by many as the God of Old Testament. The other god was good and purely spiritual.
2:16 pm
Elizabeth
Thanks for clarifying that! We learned a little about Gnosticism when we studied Colossians. I was aware that they believed in a strict separation of spiritual and physical but did not realize that they attributed this separation to two separate deities.