In Christianity, Docetism (from the Greek δοκέω [dokeō], "to seem") is the belief that Jesus' physical body was an illusion, as was his crucifixion; that is, Jesus only seemed to have a physical body and to physically die, but in reality he was incorporeal, a pure spirit, and hence could not physically die. This belief treats the sentence "the Word was made Flesh" (John 1:14) as merely figurative. Docetism has historically been regarded as heretical by most Christian theologians [1]. Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      Christianity is... This article is about Jesus of Nazareth. ... For other uses, see Crucifixion (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Gospel of John (disambiguation). ... Heresy, as a blanket term, describes a practice or belief that is labeled as unorthodox. ...

Christology and theological implications

This belief is most commonly attributed to the Gnostics, many of whom believed that matter was evil, and hence that God would not take on a material body. This statement is rooted in the idea that a divine spark is imprisoned within the material body, and that the material body is in itself an obstacle, deliberately created by an evil lesser god (the demiurge) to prevent man from seeing his divine origin. This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... This article discusses the term God in the context of monotheism and henotheism. ... Demiurge (from the Greek , Latinized , meaning artisan or craftsman, literally worker in the service of the people, from of the people + work) is a term for a creator deity, responsible for the creation of the physical universe. ...

Docetism could be further explained as the view that, because the human body is temporary and the spirit is eternal, the body of Jesus therefore must have been an illusion and his crucifixion as well. Even so, saying that the human body is temporary has a tendency to undercut the importance of the belief in resurrection of the dead and the goodness of created matter, and is in opposition to this orthodox view. Docetism was rejected by the ecumenical councils and mainstream Christianity, largely dying out during the first millennium A.D. . Other surviving gnostic movements, such as Catharism incorporated docetism into their beliefs, but the movement was destroyed by the Albigensian Crusade (1209-1229). Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all variously describe a resurrection of the dead, usually a resurrection of all people to face God on Judgment Day. ... Separate articles treat Eastern Orthodox Christianity and Orthodox Judaism. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Relation to other religions Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Athanasius · Augustine · Constantine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas Calvin · Luther · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      An... Events Sweyn I of Denmark invades England. ... Cathars being expelled from Carcassonne in 1209. ... The Albigensian Crusade or Cathar Crusade (1209 - 1229) was a 20-year military campaign initiated by the Roman Catholic Church to eliminate the heresy of the Cathars of Languedoc. ...

Texts including docetism

New Testament

• Gospel of John(John 20:17)

For other uses, see Gospel of John (disambiguation). ...

Non-canonical Christian texts

• Gospel of Phillip
• Second Treatise of the Great Seth
• Gnostic Apocalypse of Peter
• Gospel of Judas
• In the contra epistulam fundamenti, Augustine of Hippo makes reference to the Manichaeans believing that Jesus was Docetic.

Canonical is an adjective derived from canon. ... The Gospel of Phillip is one of the texts of the New Testament apocrypha. ... An apocryphal Gnostic writing discovered in the Codex VII of the Nag Hammadi Codices. ... The Gnostic Apocalypse of Peter, not to be confused with the Apocalypse of Peter, is a text found amongst the Nag Hammadi codices, and part of the New Testament apocrypha. ... The Gospel of Judas is a Gnostic gospel. ... Augustinus redirects here. ... Manichaeism was one of the major ancient religions. ... This article is about Jesus of Nazareth. ...

Qur'an

• The Qur'an(^{[Qur'an 4:157]})—Islam teaches that Jesus was a fully human prophet, but also asserts that Jesus's crucifixion was an illusion: "They did not kill him and they did not crucify him, but it was made to seem so to them...".

The Qur’ān [1] (Arabic: , literally the recitation; also sometimes transliterated as Quran, Koran, or Al-Quran) is the central religious text of Islam. ... The Qur’ān [1] (Arabic: , literally the recitation; also sometimes transliterated as Quran, Koran, or Al-Quran) is the central religious text of Islam. ... For people named Islam, see Islam (name). ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ...

See also

• Christology
• Adoptionism
• Adoptivi
• Arianism
• Binitarianism
• Monophysitism
• Avatar
• Christian heresy

Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      Christology is a field of study... Adoptionism is a minority Christian belief that Jesus was born merely human and that he became divine later in his life. ... The Adoptivi, or Adoptiani, were an ancient religious sect whose name comes from the manner in which they understood Jesus to be the son of God in Christianity. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Relation to other religions Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Athanasius · Augustine · Constantine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas Arminius · Calvin · Luther · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box... Binitarianism is a theology of two in one God, as opposed to one (unitarianism) or three (trinitarianism). ... Monophysitism (from the Greek monos meaning one, alone and physis meaning nature) is the christological position that Christ has only one nature, as opposed to the Chalcedonian position which holds that Christ has two natures, one divine and one human. ... This article is about the concept in Hindu philosophy. ... Heresy, as a blanket term, describes a practice or belief that is labeled as unorthodox. ...

External links

• Docetae in the Catholic Encyclopedia