Chap 1: Demiurgy and Other Approaches to World Generation 1-17.

• O’Brien examines the distinctly Platonic concept of demiurgy as determined by the interpretation of the Timaeus
• He defines demiurgy as “world-generation via the ordering of pre-existing matter by an entity, sometimes represented as endowed with only limited abilities, according to some sort of model, so that the activity is generally regarded as intellective,” not just by will. 2.
• Gnostic demiurgy is “in many ways the ultimate development of Numenius’ insistence” on distinguishing First God and creator. 2-3.
• Different representations of demiurgy is the result of divergent readings of Plato’s Timaeus. 4.
• “It is particularly problematic for Christian thinkers, who adopt the Demiurge, to explain the Demiurge’s intermediate status, before the exact position of Christ within the Trinity had been defined” 11.
• “The separation of the demiurgic function from the role of the highest principle, beginning with Numenius (although it can be traced right back to the Young Gods of the Timaeus), leads to the emergence of an increasingly elaborate chain of entities insulating the highest principle from the Demiurge. In a sense, both the Christian tradition and Platonism brings this development to an end. For Christianity, multiple creators could easily be accommodated by the framework of the Trinity (although careless formulations can seem to undermine the role of the Father as final cause)” 17.