num_pages: 224
description: This book examines the origins of the evil creator idea chiefly in light of early Christian biblical interpretations. It is divided into two parts. In Part I the focus is on the interpretations of Exodus and John. Firstly ancient Egyptian assimilation of the Jewish god to the evil deity Seth-Typhon is studied to understand its reapplication by Phibionite and Sethian Christians to the Judeo-catholic creator. Secondly the Christian reception of John 8:44 (understood to refer to the devil's father) is shown to implicate the Judeo-catholic creator in murdering Christ. Part II focuses on Marcionite Christian biblical interpretations. It begins with Marcionite interpretations of the creator's character in the Christian Old Testament analyzes 2 Corinthians 4:4 (in which the god of this world blinds people from Christ's glory) examines Christ's so-called destruction of the Law (Eph 2:15) and the Lawgiver and shows how Christ finally succumbs to the curse of the Law inflictedby the creator (Gal 3:13). A concluding chapter shows how still today readers of the Christian Bible have concluded that the creator manifests an evil character.
language: English
title: The Evil Creator: Origins of an Early Christian Idea
publisher: Oxford University Press