Why didn't God create Adam and Eve to be perfect beings like himself?

@helenS yes that would be my conclusion

@helenS that would imply free will is the problem in itself

@James25 There are many decent sites on the web which explain gnosticism, such as
http://gnosis.org/gnintro.htm

@Whyme I think it's not about free will. Gnosticism is about redemption of the soul; and that redemption (or salvation) cannot come from the creator of this world because he is flawed, and his moral is inferior (based on revenge and justice). He's called the demiurge by the gnostics. Salvation can only come from the "Alien God" who has nothing to do with the creation of this world. Some see Christ as the messenger of the Alien God; some say the Alien God sacrificed Christ to the demiurge to redeem mankind from the chains. Almost all see the Jewish God as the demiurge.
There is a deep connection between early, pre-Catholic Christianity and Gnosticism.

@helenS if your view is gnostic u should know that the creators are the Elohim/ the sons of god that are still worshipped today. They are the angels that didn’t want to bow down to Adam and cursed them for having Wisdom of the knowledge of good and evil..

The Most High is not flawed.

@Heavenlywarrior There are so many Gnostic sects that it's difficult to maintain an overview. To me, the Fall of Sophia myth is the most fascinating sub-genre.

@helenS nag hammadi library? if so it is one that has definitely shed light on my understanding especiallY with the tree of knowledge and of good and evil

@Heavenlywarrior No, "Pistis Sophia" was discovered in 1773 already. But there is a papyrus codex at Nag Hammadi which has an earlier, simpler Sophia.

@helenS I’ll check it out.

@Heavenlywarrior You might be interested in the book "The Gnostic Religion: The Message of the Alien God and the Beginnings of Christianity" by a certain Hans Jonas.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gnostic-Religion-Hans-Jonas/dp/0807058017
The book contains perhaps the most competent scientific study on Gnosticism.