Ptolemy (Gnostic)
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Ptolemy the Gnostic, (
Biography
Ptolemy was probably still alive
Works
Ptolemy's works have reached us in an incomplete form in a fragment of an exegetical writing preserved by Irenæus;[2] as well as an epistle to Flora, a Christian[3] lady not otherwise known to us.
The epistle was found in the works of
This demiurge occupies a middle position between the Supreme God and the devil, and is the creator of the material universe; he is neither perfect nor the author of evil, but ought to be called 'just' and benevolent to the extent of his abilities. In his cosmogonic depiction of the universe, Ptolemy referred also to an extensive system of
In addition, Ptolemy subdivides the part of the Decalogue ascribed to the inferior god into three further sections:
- The absolutely pure legislation of the Decalogue which was not destroyed but fulfilled by the Saviour.
- The laws mixed with evil, including the right of retaliation, which were abolished by the Saviour because they were incompatible with His nature.
- The section which is typical and symbolical of the higher world. This part of the Decalogue includes such precepts as circumcision and fasting and was raised by the saviour from a sensible to a spiritual plane.
References
- Elaine Pagels. The Johannine Gospel in Gnostic Exegesis, ed. J. Ross (Atlanta, 1989)
- Bart Ehrman. Lost Christianities: The Battles for Scripture and the Faiths We Never Knew (Oxford, 2003)
Notes
- ^ Text. u. Untersuch. New. Ser. XIII, Anal. z. ält. Gesch. d. Chr.
- Adversus haeresesI, viii, 5.
- ^ Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). . Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
- ^ Hær. XXXIII, 3-7
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Ptolemy the Gnostic". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
External links
- "Ptolemy's Letter to Flora" from the online Ancient History Encyclopedia [1]
