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A passage from Ps.-Basil of Caesarea's ep. 366 contains verbatim parallels with a quotation of Valentinus given in Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 3.7.59.3. These parallels have rarely been recognized by scholars. Völker and Markschies have argued that Ps.-Basil was excerpting from Clement, but this paper argues that Ps.-Basil was independent of Clement and was likely Clement's source. Overlooked evidence includes (i) the coherence of the parallel passages in the context of ep. 366 and their relative incoherence in the context of Strom. 3.7.59.3; (ii) Valentinian theology that is found throughout ep. 366, including the notions of spiritual bodies and Charis as God's protological consort; (iii) grammatical errors in Clement that are not present in Ps.-Basil; and (iv) further textual evidence suggesting that ep. 366 has the original version of the passage. A plausible explanation of the evidence, this paper will argue, is that ep. 366 comes from the pen of Valentinus himself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, the author analyzes the way the teachings of Thomas Aquinas on Jesus Christ's propassion of fear relate to those on the passion of fear. He examines whether the former teachings land Aquinas in Docetism, rendering the related portion of the "Summa theologiae's" psychology of fear heretical. He discusses the prima secundae's teachings on Adam and investigates aspects of the "Summa's" Christology informing the teachings on Christ's propassion of fear.

Kur'an-ı Kerim kendisinin Tevrat, Zebur ve İncil gibi ilahi kitap zincirinin son halkası olduğunu, aynı zamanda bu kitapların doğrulayıcısı ve tashih edicisi olduğunu ifade eder. Bunun sonucu olarak diğer kutsal kitaplarla bazı ortak anlatılara sahip olduğu gibi onlarla ayrıştığı, onlardan farklı açıklamalar getirdiği hususlar da bulunmaktadır. Bu hususlar da tarih boyunca özellikle Yahudilik ve Hıristiyanlıkla polemik konusu olmuştur. Hıristiyanlığın teolojisinin temelini İsa Mesih’in çarmıha gerilmesi oluşturmuştur. Ancak çarmıh konusu aynı zamanda Hıristiyan toplulukların ilk yüzyıldan itibaren farklı açıklama ve yorumlar yaptıkları, buna bağlı olarak ayrıştıkları hususların en önemlilerinden birisi olmuştur. Konumuz olan doketikler, farklı görüşlere sahip pek çok gruba ayrılsalar da genel olarak İsa Mesih’in diğer insanlardan farklı yapıda olduğunu, ilahi bir tabiata sahip olduğunu, bu sebeple çarmıha gerilmesinin mümkün olmadığını kabul ederler. Kur'an-ı Kerim’de Hz. İsa’nın çarmıhı konusunun işlendiği tek âyette Hz. İsa’dan çarmıha gerilmediği şeklinde bahsedilmektedir. Bu nedenle tefsirlerdeki yorumların önemli bir kısmının doketiklerin görüşleriyle ilk bakışta bazı benzerlikleri söz konusu olup, tefsirlerdeki özellikle “ikameci yorum” denilen, Hz. İsa’nın yerine başka birisinin çarmıha gerildiği belirtilen yorumlarda sözü edilen benzerlikleri daha fazla görmek mümkündür. Zaten Hıristiyan dünyada İslam’ın Hıristiyan heretiklerin çokça bulunduğu Arabistan yarımadasında ortaya çıktığı ve bazı heretik hıristiyanların görüşlerinden etkilendiği iddiası sıklıkla dile getirilmektedir. Bu bağlamda yukarıda bahsedilen benzerliklerden hareketle ilk olarak 8.yy.’da Yuhanna ed-Dımeşkî ile başlayarak tarih boyunca pek çok Hıristiyan araştırmacı Kur'an-ı Kerim’in bu görüşünü doketiklerden aldığını iddia etmiştir. Bu çalışmada söz konusu iddialar incelenmeye çalışılmıştır. Bu bağlamda öncelikle doketiklerin kimler olduğu araştırılmış ve sonuç olarak Hıristiyanların erken dönemlerden itibaren birbirinden çok farklı görüşlere sahip grupları “doketik” olarak isimlendirdikleri ve Hıristiyan dünyada yüzyıllar boyunca doketik kavramının standart bir kullanımının olmadığı ortaya konularak bu ismin heretik kabul edilen gruplar için bir tür şemsiye kavram olarak kullanıldığı tespit edilmiştir. Daha sonra Kur'an-ı Kerim’deki âyetin farklı mealleri ve tefsirleri için, klasik ve modern dönem İslami literatürden belli başlı kaynaklar seçilerek tarih boyunca âyetin İslam dünyasında nasıl anlaşıldığı incelenmiştir. Bu bağlamda tefsirlerde yer alan bütün ikameci yorum çeşitleri, bu yorumların yer aldığı kaynaklar zikredilerek bir liste haline getirilmiş, sonrasında bu yorumlar ile doketiklerin görüşleri karşılaştırılmıştır. Tefsirlerde yer alan açıklama ve yorumlarla doketiklerin görüşlerindeki benzerlik ve farklılıklar ortaya konduktan sonra bu âyetin bağlamı, siyak-sibakı ve Yahudi literatürü dikkate alınarak âyet, tarih boyunca yapılan geleneksel yorumunun dışında izaha çalışılarak konuya yeni bir bakış açısı kazandırılmak istenmiştir. Çarmıhtan bahseden ayetin başında ve hemen öncesindeki ayetlerde Hz. İsa ve Hz. Meryem ile ilgili çeşitli Yahudi iddialarına cevap verildiğini dikkate alarak bu ayette bahsedilen Hz. İsa’yı Yahudilerin öldürdüğü iddiaları hakkında Yahudi dini literatüründe yer bilgilere müracaat edilmiştir. Bu bağlamda Talmud’da Hz. İsa’nın akıbeti ile ilgili, onu önce öldürdükleri sonra da çarmıha gererek sergiledikleri şeklindeki Yahudi iddiaları zikredilmiş, âyette bulunan vemâ katelûhu vemâ salebûhu şeklindeki kullanımın, Yahudilerin Hz. İsa’yı önce öldürdükleri sonra da çarmıha gererek sergiledikleri şeklindeki iddialarına bir cevap olabileceği izah edilmeye çalışılmıştır. Ayrıca Yahudilerin Talmud’da yer alan söz konusu iddialarının o devrin siyasi şartları gereği mümkün olmadığı da açıklanmıştır. Bütün bu incelemelerle söz konusu ayette doketiklerin görüşlerinin Kur'an-ı Kerim’e etki ettiği iddialarının geçerli olmadığı ve ayetin muhatabının aslında Yahudiler olduğu ortaya konmaya çalışılmıştır.

This paper discusses "polemical triangulation," a common rhetorical and polemical device in Antiquity, through which an author attacks a person or a group of persons who are not the explicit addressees of a text or speech. It looks at its use and diversity with examples from Melito of Sardis and Ignatius, in the context of polemics against the Jews and the Docetists. In all cases, these models imply the existence of a marked anti-Judaism in Ignatius and his addressees. Some well-known methodological questions are addressed, such as the author's knowledge of the persons attacked, his or her relations with them, and other more or less consciously used sources of information. Finally, the paper draws conclusions about the relevance of the concerned statements for a historical study of the adversaries, their thinking or the arguments attributed to them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taking its cue from the story of a Cretan peasant who was reluctant to let go of a handful of his native soil in order to enter heaven, this article begins by exploring ideas concerning the afterlife in which this world is contrasted with the world to come. It then proceeds to discuss how Christians historically have frequently understood themselves to be in the world, but not of it; how dualistic tendencies have often pitted the soul against the body, and how such views have had an influence on how we understand the person of Christ, often preventing Christians from fully accepting the implications of the Incarnation. The article examines instances of a lingering docetic streak within Christianity, which lies uncomfortably with its central claim that God became fully human. Notwithstanding the difficulties some Christians may have with the idea of a fully human Jesus, there is also a very rich tradition within Christianity of bodily engagement with the material world, not only sacramentally, but also within many popular religious practices, including pilgrimage and relic veneration. Finally, the revival of interest in sacred natural sites, even in areas where church attendances continue to fall, is investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Cumhuriyet Ilahiyat Dergisi / Cumhuriyet Theology Journal is the property of Cumhuriyet Universitesi, Ilahiyat Fakultesi / Cumhuriyet University, Faculty of Theology and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Vox Patrum is the property of Wydzial Teologii KUL and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article argues that the quests for the historical Jesus have largely operated with an understanding of history hindered by a severely constricted range of divine and human possibilities. By outlining human 'self-understanding' as a historiographical question, it emphasises the determinative role in historical judgement played by the historian's assumptions about the range of possibility available to the processes of human thought. Highlighting three particular concerns that historians tend to connect to 'docetism', it suggests a couple of ways that metaphysical and theological forms of reasoning could expand the horizon of possibilities available to historical Jesus scholarship in a way that will augment access to the historical figure of Jesus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Overlapping community detection, dynamic community identification and community evolution analysis are the three important problems for social network analysis. It is a challenging task to simultaneously address all these three problems with one single method, thus most traditional studies focus on only one or two of them. This paper proposes a novel Dynamic Overlapping Community Evolution Tracking (DOCET) method to solve the three problems simultaneously with one single model, i.e. topology potential field. Specifically, the proposed DOCET method first detects the initial overlapping community structure based on node location analysis in the peak-valley structure of the topology potential field; then it incrementally updates the dynamic community structure based on influence scope analysis in the topology potential field; finally it tracks community evolution events based on the variation of core nodes in the topology potential field. Experiment results on both synthetic and real-world networks show that our proposed method achieves remarkable performance over the existing state-of-the-art methods. It can both accurately partition dynamic overlapping social networks and efficiently track all kinds of community evolution events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to its strong condemnation of traditores within the church, the pseudo-Cyprianic letter Cyprianus plebi Cartagini consistenti has long been considered a late Donatist forgery. Such a diagnosis has largely sidelined the letter from serious academic consideration beyond supporting the Augustinian claim that the Donatists were willing to alter the Cyprianic corpus in order to advance their cause. In this article, I will offer both an English translation of this short document and a new interpretation as to its origin. Cyprianus plebi Cartagini consistenti is not, I argue, a Donatist forgery, but rather a misattributed early witness to the origins of the Donatist-Caecilianist schism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to demonstrate in what way and for what reason Dogmatic Theology cannot possibly embrace the docetic idea of a phantasmic Christ shaped by Marcion and traced by Tertullian in his Adversus Marcionem. We will conclude that the concept of 'phantom' --in its extreme version, i.e., irreducible to the polarized dichotomies in Western theology and metaphysics: matter and spirit, tangible and intelligible, soul and body, etc.-- is the true Antichrist and the blind spot in the Christological dogma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This scientific article works out the possibility of relationship between the docetic's doctrine grounded at the first century and what is called the negative historical doctrine hold by theologian Rudolf Bultmann. The issue is divided into three subject: 1) a basic portrait of the Bultmann's hermeneutics; 2) a designation of some points concerning docetism; 3) a attempt to show the relation among both doctrines. Done that, the authors concluded that exists some connection points. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gnostic studies mainly depended on the Church Fathers' approach to heresies until the discovery of the Coptic Nag Hammadi codices in 1945. As we are slowly moving away from this patristic approach to Gnosticism, docetism is still defined as a tendency to regard Jesus' body as an appearance, and not as a real incarnate body. Irenaeus' refutation of all heresies presents the Valentinian and Basilidian Christologies as clearly docetist. A comparison of direct Valentinian sources such as the Extracts of Theodotus with Valentinian tractates from Nag Hammadi shows on the contrary that Valentinians had a clear notion of the incarnation. As for the Basilidians, the Elenchos of Ps.-Hippolytus, the Second Logos of the Great Seth and the Coptic Apocalypse of Peter can be used to demonstrate that docetism is not the proper category to interpret Basilidian Christology and Soteriology because the purification of the real body of the Saviour lies at the heart of that system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is no credible evidence that Marcion was a docetist. Marcion's alleged belief that Christ was a phantasm is found in accusations made by Tertullian, but these accusations are a form of reductio ad absurdum and not firsthand information on Marcion's Christology. There are in fact remnants of data in Tertullian's Adversus Marcionem, which point to Marcion's teaching about the material flesh of Christ, a flesh that suffers and dies on the cross. Tertullian dismisses these artifacts as proof that Marcion was foolishly inconsistent: he taught docetism, but still accepted Christ's suffering and death. Scholars should no longer accept Tertullian's caricature uncritically, especially in light of the overwhelming amount of other second and third century sources that are unanimously silent about any docetic thinking in Marcion. Moreover, much of the confusion in modern scholarship is shown to derive from Adolf von Harnack's equivocating explanations about Marcion's alleged docetism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A Course in Miracles represents a modern-day neo-gnostic scripture that reflects significant trends in contemporary Western religiosity, especially the quest for alternative forms of esoteric "spiritual" knowledge and experience in a nominally Christian or post-Christian Western world. While this text has largely been ignored or marginalized in mainstream scholarship, a critical evaluation of the Course , its editing, reception, and contemporary interpretation not only represents a fascinating case study in how "texts" become invested with "scriptural" authority, but illustrates how the Course 's claims about Jesus and God exemplify the gnosticizing trajectories in the contemporary New Age movement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Antioch is the second oldest church after that of Jerusalem; it is where the followers of Jesus were first called “Christians”. Antioch is also home to one of the two crucial schools of religious thought (the other being Alexandrian School) known as the “Antiochian Exegetical School”: This school, during its fight against various religions such as paganism, Judaism and Gnosticism, constructed a Christian theology that argued for humanity of Jesus against His divinity and denied his eternal being; this Antiochene theology later became rival to those of Alexandria, Rome and Constantinople. Various ecumenical councils were held to find solutions to the conflicts among these various schools of thought; which eventually brought about many schisms that caused the creation of sects such as Nestorians, the Syriac, the Armenian and Coptic churches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hilary of Poitiers's discussion of Christ's human experience and suffering in De trinitate has caused immense problems for modern interpreters, who often accuse him of docetic tendencies. The focus on docetism has silenced the true significance of Hilary's argument. His view of Christ's human experience actually serves to enhance, not diminish or deny, the reality of Christ's humanity. Stoic psychological categories allow Hilary to speak of Christ's suffering without pain as legitimately human, and Hilary's christological framework enables his discussion of Christ's experience to have immense implications for all humanity, developing an anthropology based upon the lived experience of Christ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author discusses the notion of tangible church and challenges the apparitions of the ghost of Christmas present. The author provides an overview of the historic and momentous events of Jesus of early Constantinianism and how the early legacy of Emperor Constantine started to defy the tenets of docetism. He also outlines the promise of the Scripture on Noachic renewal and Nicene renewal as well as the role of tangible incarnational church in expelling the ghost of Christmas present.

The author discusses the notion of tangible church and challenges the apparitions of the ghost of Christmas yet to come. He explores the identity and theology of early Christians from storied confessions built around martyrs and the perspective of life and suffering, imminence and conscience to avoid the pitfalls of Docetism. He also outlines the Mennonite Christology, the shift in Jewish-Christian relations, and ghost of Christmas yet to come as the ghost of invisibility of different Jesus.

The table of contents for the September 1, 2013 issue of the periodical "Archiv für Religionsgeschichte" is presented.

In his Letter to the Smyrnaeans, Ignatius of Antioch condemns his opponents to a 'bodiless' and 'daimonic' afterlife, and also quotes an apocryphal resurrection tradition wherein the risen Jesus eschews the label 'bodiless daimon.' Ignatius, therefore, defines both Jesus' and his opponents' physiology in terms of the 'daimonic'; but what would such an existence have entailed in antiquity? In what follows, I explore the rhetorical functions of Ignatius' daimonic terminology by situating it within larger discourses surrounding daimonic physiologies. I contend that Ignatius' daimonological terminology not only caricatures the docetic belief in a bodiless risen Jesus, but also condemns Ignatius' opponents to a morose afterlife that runs directly counter to their anticipations. When contextualized within his letters more generally, Ignatius' derisive rhetoric solidifies his construction of 'docetic' Christians: they are evil, sub-human, and daimonic, the epitome of the 'other,' doomed to inhabit the cosmic and societal margins, and unworthy of interaction with Ignatius' fellow 'orthodox' Christians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hebrews 4.14–16 is used to explore the idea that Jesus was free from sin. The text raises both pastoral and theological questions, hinting at docetism and making God seem remote from human beings. The writer’s aim is a worthy one, but is best served by not asserting Jesus’ moral perfection and by bringing divine and human closer together. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Why does correlation work perfectly between the Eucharist and Christ, whereas neither the notion of transubstantiation nor Chalcedonian Christology appears in Scripture? Although Vermigli keeps repeating that Scripture provides no basis for transubstantiation based on the distinction between substance and accidents, he relies on the Chalcedonian Formula. At least in the Treatise and in the Disputation Vermigli does not question to what extent these distinctions are 'according to the Scriptures.' Is it because Chalcedonian Christology is older than transubstantiation defined by the fourth Lateran Council in 1215? This should not be viewed as the proper explanation for Vermigli's position against transubstantiation. Rather, the human nature of Christ is not just an accident. Human nature does not need to be understood that way in order to secure the real presence of God in Jesus Christ. Likewise, the 'nature and substance' of bread does not need to 'go away' or be 'cast away' in order to make room for the substance of Christ and thus ensure the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Otherwise, transubstantiation could be viewed as only a continuation-or a revival-of docetism: to contend that through transubstantiation 'it seems to be bread, but is not' amounts to saying that Christ's flesh and body was not true flesh, but only an appearance. The analysis of this controversy regarding the presence of Christ in the Eucharist can be best understood as a chapter of what can be called 'indirect Christology.' [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article re-examines the statements by Tertullian about Mary's virginity in the act of giving birth (in partu). It was found that Tertullian's vehement anti-docetism explains his rejections of the notion that Mary's virginity did not relate only to the question of the conception of Jesus. According to him, the insistence of Mary's virginity in the act in partu and after (post partum), weakens the argument that Jesus was possessed of true humanity in his flesh. In this regard, the author argues that it would be Tertullian's handling of Scripture that allows him to use reference to Mary's virginity as part of his anti-docetic position, which is illustrated in a close examination of the rhetoric of his "De Carne Christi."

The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has issued a Notification criticising Jon Sobrino's Christology. In their criticism of Sobrino's description of Jesus as a man of faith, they risk introducing a semi-Docetism by emphasising Jesus' closeness to his divine Father and his relative distance from us. Paul, on the other hand, brings Christ and believers very close together – he gives them a ‘spiritual identification’ in a common experience of death, burial, sonship, heirdom and resurrection. A parallel is also drawn between the faith/faithfulness of Christ and all Christian believers who, according to Paul, are made righteous (justified) through their faithfulness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Gospel of Peter was the first non-canonical gospel to be rediscovered during the modern period. This nine page fragment from a larger text narrates a version of events dealing with the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. Some of the document's more striking features include its increased anti-Jewish tendency, the heightening of miraculous elements, Jesus' cry from the cross 'my power, the power, you have left me', and perhaps most strikingly the vision of a talking cross emerging from the tomb. This text represents a later popularizing trend in handling gospel traditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

If we affirm against recent criticism the authenticity of the Middle Recension of the Ignatian letters, we are nevertheless left with the enigma of Ignatius' relations with Polycarp. This paper explains that enigma hi terms of two distinct cultural worlds of early second-century Christianity that come together in the meeting of these two church leaders. Ignatius was the first great missionary bishop who reinterpreted church order, the eucharist and martyrdom against the backcloth of the Second Sophistic in Asia Minor, with its pagan processions, cult and embassies that celebrated the social order of the Greek city state in relation to imperial power. Much of Ignatius' iconography was alien to Polycarp, though the latter was finally to canonise both him and his writings by focusing on his impressively enacted refutation of Docetism throagh his portrayal of his forthcoming martyrdom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Explains how theologian Karl Barth's understanding of Ebionite and Docetic Christology shaped his trinitarian theology. Relation of Barth's insights to the views of several prominent theologians; Problematic conclusions reached by these theologians due to their misleading christological reflections; Importance of grounding Christ's uniqueness in Christ himself.