While there are different creation myths for different sects of Gnosticism, they all share the same foundation. It is important to first understand that all religions have some sort of creation myth or cosmogony story. The majority of religions today teach that the world is flawed and that humans are continually suffering. It is indeed an important aspect for religions to acknowledge the flawed nature of the world. Of course, there must be someone or something to blame for the imperfect world that is currently inhabited. This is what separates Gnosticism from many other mainstream religions. Given, there are many other details that distinguish Gnosticism from other religions, but the fact that the Gnostics believe that the world was created in an imperfect way by an imperfect and false God is what causes the Gnostics to stand apart from the traditional religions.

Orthodox Christianity believes that there is “one God, the maker of Heaven and Earth, of all that is seen and unseen”. The Gnostics believe otherwise. According to Gnostic scripture, the world was created by a demiurge, a false god. Out of ignorance, the demiurge created the material world, trapping human spirits in their fleshly bodies. In Gnostic tradition, it is the knowledge of the True God that provides salvation of the individual – not worship of the god that created the material world.