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The first known exponent of Adoptionism in the 2nd century is [[Theodotus of Byzantium]]. He taught<ref>[[Hippolytus of Rome]], ''[[Philosophumena]]'', VII, xxxv.</ref> that Jesus was a man born of a virgin according to the counsel of Jerusalem, that he lived like other men, and was most pious; but that at his baptism in the Jordan the Christ came down upon the man Jesus in the likeness of a dove. Therefore wonders (''dynameis'') were not wrought in him until the Spirit (which Theodotus called Christ) came down and was manifested in Him. The belief was declared heretical by [[Pope Victor I]].
The first known exponent of Adoptionism in the 2nd century is [[Theodotus of Byzantium]]. He taught<ref>[[Hippolytus of Rome]], ''[[Philosophumena]]'', VII, xxxv.</ref> that Jesus was a man born of a virgin according to the counsel of Jerusalem, that he lived like other men, and was most pious; but that at his baptism in the Jordan the Christ came down upon the man Jesus in the likeness of a dove. Therefore wonders (''dynameis'') were not wrought in him until the Spirit (which Theodotus called Christ) came down and was manifested in Him. The belief was declared heretical by [[Pope Victor I]].


The 2nd-century work [[Shepherd of Hermas]] also taught that Jesus was a virtuous man filled with the Holy Spirit and adopted as the Son.<ref>"The Holy Pre-existent Spirit. Which created the whole creation, God made to dwell in flesh that he desired. This flesh, therefore, in which the Holy Spirit dwelt, was subject unto the Spirit, walking honorably in holiness and purity, without in any way defiling the Spirit. When then it had lived honorably in chastity, and had labored with the Spirit, and had cooperated with it in everything, behaving itself boldly and bravely, he chose it as a partner with the Holy Spirit; for the career of this flesh pleased [the Lord], seeing that, as possessing the Holy Spirit, it was not defiled upon the earth. He therefore took the son as adviser and the glorious angels also, that this flesh too, having served the Spirit unblamably, might have some place of sojourn, and might not seem to have lost the reward for its service; for all flesh, which is found undefiled and unspotted, wherein the Holy Spirit dwelt, shall receive a reward." [http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/shepherd-lightfoot.html]</ref> While Shepherd of Hermas was popular and sometimes bound with the canonical scriptures, it never achieved canonical status.
The 2nd-century work [[Shepherd of Hermas]] also taught that Jesus was a virtuous man filled with the Holy Spirit and adopted as the Son.<ref>"The Holy Pre-existent Spirit. Which created the whole creation, God made to dwell in flesh that he desired. This flesh, therefore, in which the Holy Spirit dwelt, was subject unto the Spirit, walking honorably in holiness and purity, without in any way defiling the Spirit. When then it had lived honorably in chastity, and had labored with the Spirit, and had cooperated with it in everything, behaving itself boldly and bravely, he chose it as a partner with the Holy Spirit; for the career of this flesh pleased [the Lord], seeing that, as possessing the Holy Spirit, it was not defiled upon the earth. He therefore took the son as adviser and the glorious angels also, that this flesh too, having served the Spirit unblamably, might have some place of sojourn, and might not seem to have lost the reward for its service; for all flesh, which is found undefiled and unspotted, wherein the Holy Spirit dwelt, shall receive a reward." [http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/shepherd-lightfoot.html]</ref> While Shepherd of Hermas was popular and sometimes bound with the canonical scriptures, it didn't retain canonical status, if it ever had it.


In the 3rd century, [[Paul of Samosata]], [[Patriarch of Antioch]], promoted adoptionism. He said Jesus had been a man who kept himself sinless and achieved union with God. His views, however, did not neatly fit in either of the two main forms of Monarchianism.{{Citation needed|date=April 2007}}<!--why not?-->
In the 3rd century, [[Paul of Samosata]], [[Patriarch of Antioch]], promoted adoptionism. He said Jesus had been a man who kept himself sinless and achieved union with God. His views, however, did not neatly fit in either of the two main forms of Monarchianism.{{Citation needed|date=April 2007}}<!--why not?-->

Revision as of 00:34, 8 December 2010

Francesco Albani's The Baptism of Christ, when Jesus became one with God according to Adoptionism

Adoptionism, sometimes called dynamic monarchianism, is a minority Christian belief that Jesus was born of Joseph and Mary in the normal way. Jesus was adopted as God's son (Son of God) at his baptism. By Jewish-Christian accounts,[1] Jesus was chosen because of his sinless devotion to the will of God. Early Jewish Christians understood Jesus as the Messiah and the Son of God in terms of the anointing at his baptism which some see as in line with the radical monotheism of 1st century Judaism. The Jewish-Christian Gospels make no mention of a supernatural birth. Rather, they detail his experience in the River Jordan.

Adoptionism was declared heresy at the end of the 2nd century, and was rejected by the First Council of Nicaea, which wrote the orthodox doctrine of the Trinity and identifies Jesus as eternally begotten of God. [2]

Some scholars see Adoptionist concepts in the Gospel of Mark and in the writings of the Apostle Paul. Mark has Jesus as the Son of God, occurring at the strategic points of 1:1 ("The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God", but not in all versions, see Mark 1) and 15:39 ("Surely this man was the Son of God!"), but the Virgin Birth of Jesus has not been developed.[3] [4]

By the time the Gospels of Luke and Matthew were written, Jesus is portrayed as being the Son of God from the time of birth, and finally the Gospel of John portrays the Son as existing "in the beginning". [5]

History

Early Primary Writings

In The Orthodox Corruption of Scripture, Bart D. Ehrman argues that the Adoptionist Theology may date back almost to the time of Jesus and his view is shared by many other scholars. The first leader of the Church was James the Just who succeeded his brother Jesus of Nazareth. [6] They were located in and about Jerusalem, perhaps in the Cenacle, and proclaimed that Jesus was the promised Messiah. These early Jewish Christians were thought to have been called Nazarenes. The term Nazarene was first applied to Jesus.[7] and later to the Jewish Sect that believed Jesus was the Messiah.[8] It is close to an historical certainty that Matthew belonged to this group.[9] Some believe that the Gospel of the Hebrews or the Gospel of the Apostles [10][11] [12] [13][14] was an early account of the life and teachings of Jesus, written by a person named Matthew.[15] According to the Church Fathers, he was the same person as the Apostle Matthew. No copies exist: what is known about this book is from quotes, including by that of the church leader Papias ca. 125. In what remains of the Gospel of the Hebrews when Jesus is baptized it states, "Jesus came up from the water, Heaven was opened, and He saw the Holy Spirit descend in the form of a dove and enter into Him. And a voice from Heaven said, ‘You are my beloved Son; with You I am well pleased.’ And again, ‘Today I have begotten You.’ Immediately a great light shone around the place" [16][17][18]

The Gospel of Mark was composed around or shortly after the fall of Jerusalem and is generally believed to be is the first Canonical Gospel written.[19][20][21][22][22][23] [24] [25] [26] [27] The phrase "Son of God" is not present in some early manuscripts at Mk 1:1. Bart D. Ehrman uses this omission to support the notion that the title "Son of God" is not used of Jesus until his baptism, and that Mark reflects an adoptionist view. Furthermore, a Virgin Birth is not mentioned. However because the words "Today I have begotten you", are omitted from the Gospel of Mark and is therefore generally believed to have less adoptionist tendencies than the Gospel of the Hebrews[5]

Even by the time of the Paul the Apostle adoptionist Christology was still being embraced. Paul's writings do not mention a Virgin birth of Christ and it would appear that Paul had never heard of it. Paul wrote that Jesus was ordinarily "born of a woman, born under the law" and "as to his human nature was a descendant of David" in the Epistle to the Galatians and the Epistle to the Romans. The Epistle to the Hebrews states [28] that God said "You are my son. Today I have begotten you" , a phrase that shows adoptionist tendencies and no specific reference to the Virgin Birth. It is also almost a direct quote from the Gospel of the Hebrews [29] [30]

Later Secondary Documents

The Gospels of Matthew and Luke were written several years after Paul. [31] Neither gospel was written by eyewitnesses to Jesus[citation needed]. The authors composed their gospels based on earlier Christian documents such as the Gospel of Mark.[32][33] Both Luke and Greek Matthew now clearly reject the Jewish Christian Adoptionist theology that Jesus became the Son of God at his baptism and state that he was begotten by God at his birth.[34]

In the 2nd century, adoptionism was one of two competing doctrines about the nature of Jesus Christ, the other (as in the Gospel of John) being that he pre-existed as a divine spirit (Logos).[35]

Historically, there were three waves of Adoptionist speculation if we exclude the hypothetical beliefs of the primitive church that cannot be determined with certainty. The first, which dates from the 2nd century, differs significantly from the subsequent two (dating respectively from the 8th and the 12th century), which follow the definition of the dogma of the Trinity and Chalcedonian Christology.

Adoptionism and Christology

Adoptionism is one of two main forms of monarchianism (the other is modalism, which regards "Father" and "Son" as two aspects of the same subject). Adoptionism (also known as dynamic monarchianism) denies the pre-existence of Christ and although it does not deny his deity many Trinitarians claim that it does. Under Adoptionism Jesus is currently divine and has been since his adoption, although he is not equal to the Father.

Adoptionism was one position in a long series of Christian disagreements about the precise nature of Christ (see Christology) in the developing dogma of the Trinity, an attempt to explain the relationship between Jesus of Nazareth, both as man and (now) God, and God the Father while identifying as monotheistic. It differs significantly from the doctrine of the Trinity that was later affirmed by the ecumenical councils.

Second century: pre-Nicene Christology

The first known exponent of Adoptionism in the 2nd century is Theodotus of Byzantium. He taught[36] that Jesus was a man born of a virgin according to the counsel of Jerusalem, that he lived like other men, and was most pious; but that at his baptism in the Jordan the Christ came down upon the man Jesus in the likeness of a dove. Therefore wonders (dynameis) were not wrought in him until the Spirit (which Theodotus called Christ) came down and was manifested in Him. The belief was declared heretical by Pope Victor I.

The 2nd-century work Shepherd of Hermas also taught that Jesus was a virtuous man filled with the Holy Spirit and adopted as the Son.[37] While Shepherd of Hermas was popular and sometimes bound with the canonical scriptures, it didn't retain canonical status, if it ever had it.

In the 3rd century, Paul of Samosata, Patriarch of Antioch, promoted adoptionism. He said Jesus had been a man who kept himself sinless and achieved union with God. His views, however, did not neatly fit in either of the two main forms of Monarchianism.[citation needed]

Adoptionism: Hispanicus error

In the late 8th century, adoptionism, called the Hispanicus error, was espoused by Elipandus, bishop of Toledo in the Caliphate of Cordoba, and by Felix, bishop of Urgell in the foothills of the Pyrenees. Ascaric, bishop of either Astorga or Braga in the Kingdom of Asturias, was also implicated in the heresy. Alcuin, the leading intellect at the court of Charlemagne, was called in to write refutations against both of the bishops. Against Felix he wrote:

As the Nestorian impiety divided Christ into two persons because of the two natures, so your unlearned temerity divided Him into two sons, one natural and one adoptive.

Beatus of Liébana, from the Kingdom of Asturias, also fought adoptionism, which was a cause of controversy between Christians under Muslim rule in the former Visigothic capital of Toledo and the peripherical kingdom. The doctrine was condemned as heresy by the Council of Frankfurt (794).

12th century and later: Neo-adoptionism

A third wave was the revived form ("Neo-Adoptionism") of Abelard in the 12th century. Later, various modified and qualified adoptionist tenets emerged from some theologians in the 14th century. Duns Scotus (1300) and Durandus of Saint-Pourçain (1320) admit the term Filius adoptivus in a qualified sense. In more recent times the Jesuit Gabriel Vásquez, and the Lutheran divines Georgius Calixtus and Johann Ernst Immanuel Walch, have defended adoptionism as essentially orthodox.

19th century, Psilanthropism

A form of adoptionism surfaced in Unitarianism during the 18th as the virgin birth was increasingly denied by Unitarians [citation needed]. In the 19th Century the term Psilanthropism, was applied by such as Samuel Taylor Coleridge who so called his own view that Jesus was the son of Joseph.[38])

Notes

  1. ^ "They too accept Matthew's gospel, and like the followers of Cerinthus and Merinthus, they use it alone. They call it the Gospel of the Hebrews, for in truth Matthew alone in the New Testament expounded and declared the Gospel in Hebrew using Hebrew script. After saying many things, this Gospel continues: “After the people were baptized, Jesus also came and was baptized by John. And as Jesus came up from the water, Heaven was opened, and He saw the Holy Spirit descend in the form of a dove and enter into Him. And a voice from Heaven said, ‘You are my beloved Son; with You I am well pleased.’ And again, ‘Today I have begotten You.’ “Immediately a great light shone around the place; and John, seeing it, said to Him, ‘Who are you, Lord? And again a voice from Heaven said, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.’ Then John, falling down before Him, said, ‘I beseech You, Lord, baptize me!’ But He forbade him saying, ‘Let it be so; for thus it is fitting that all things be fulfilled.’” Epiphanius, Panarion 30:3 & 30:13
  2. ^ "Jesus was either regarded as the man whom God had chosen, in whom the Deity or the Spirit of God dwelt, and who, after being tested, was adopted by God and invested with dominion, (Adoptian Christology); or Jesus was regarded as a heavenly spiritual being (the highest after God) who took flesh, and again returned to heaven after the completion of his work on earth (pneumatic Christology)." Adolf von Harnack, History of Dogma [1]
  3. ^ Bruce M. Metzger, A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament (New York : United Bible Societies, 1994). Mark 1:1.
  4. ^ Ben Witherington III, What Have They Done With Jesus? (San Francisco: Harper Collins, 2006), p. 7.
  5. ^ a b Ehrman, Bart D., The Orthodox Corruption of Scripture: The Effect of Early Christological Controversies on the Text of the New Testament. New York: Oxford University Press, 1996. p.74-55.
  6. ^ Jerome, Illustrious Men 3
  7. ^ Gospel of Matthew 2:23
  8. ^ F.L. Cross and E.A. Livingston, The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, Oxford University Press, (1988-92) p. 597&722.
  9. ^ Both the Gospels (pro-Christian and seen by some as anti-Judaism) and the early Talmud (part of Judaism and seen by some as anti-Christian) affirm this to be true. Bernhard Pick The Talmud: What It Is and What It Knows of Jesus and His Followers, BiblioBazaar, LLC, 2009 116
  10. ^ Eusebius Church History 3:39 .
  11. ^ Origen explains, "The very first account to be written was by Matthew, once a tax collector, but later an apostle of Jesus Christ. Matthew published it for the converts from Judaism and composed it in Hebrew letters." Eusebius Church History, 6:25 Eusebius adds insight by explaining that the apostles "were led to write only under the pressure of necessity. Matthew, who had first preached the Gospel in Hebrew, when on the point of going to other nations, committed the gospel to writing in his native language. Therefore he supplied the written word to make up for the lack of his own presence to those from whom he was sent." Eusebius Church History, 3:24
  12. ^ Irenaeus gives us further insight into the date and circumstances of this gospel by explaining, "Matthew also issued a written Gospel of the Hebrews in their own language while Peter and Paul were preaching at Rome and laying the foundations of the Church." Irenaeus, Against Heresies, 3:1
  13. ^ Matthew, the tax collector and later an Apostle, composed his gospel near Jerusalem for Hebrew Christians. It was then translated into Greek but the Greek copy was lost. The Hebrew original was preserved at the Library of Caesarea, which Pamphilus diligently gathered. The Nazarenes transcribed a copy for Jerome which he used in his work. "Jerome, On Illustrious Men 3">Jerome, On Illustrious Men 3 [2]
  14. ^ Matthew's gospel was called the Gospel of the Hebrews or sometimes the Gospel of the Apostles, and was written in the Chaldee and Syriac language but in Hebrew script. It is thought to have been used by the Nazarene communities. Jerome, Against Pelagius 3:2 [3]
  15. ^ Bernhard Pick, The Talmud: What It Is and What It Knows of Jesus and His Followers, Kessinger Publishing, 2006 pp. 122, 125-129
  16. ^ Epiphanius, Panarion 30:13
  17. ^ James R. Edwards, The Hebrew Gospel & the Development of the Synoptic Tradition, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. 2009, pp. 1-376
  18. ^ Pierson Parker A Basis for the Gospel According to the Hebrews Journal of Biblical Literature, Vol. 59, No. 4 (Dec., 1940), pp. 471.
  19. ^ Crossan, John Dominic (1991). The historical Jesus: the life of a Mediterranean Jewish peasant. San Francisco, California: HarperSanFrancisco. ISBN 0060616296. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  20. ^ Eisenman, Robert H. (1998). James the Brother of Jesus: The Key to Unlocking the Secrets of Early Christianity and the Dead Sea Scrolls. Penguin Books. p. 56. ISBN 014025773X. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  21. ^ John Robinson, Redating the New Testament, 1976, Wipf & Stock Publishers: ISBN 1579105270. p.352
  22. ^ a b Brown, Raymond E. (1997). Introduction to the New Testament. New York: Anchor Bible. p. 164. ISBN 0-385-24767-2.
  23. ^ Millard, A. R. (2000). Reading and Writing in the Time of Jesus. NYU Press. p. 56. ISBN 0814756379. C.P. Thiede drew on papyrology, statistics and forensic microscopy to try to prove O'Callaghan's case, yet without convincing the majority of leading specialists.
  24. ^ R. Helms, Who Wrote the Gospels?, Millennium Press 1997 p. 8
  25. ^ Irenaeus, Against Heresies 3:1
  26. ^ G.A. Williamson, Papias, quoted in Eusebius, Penguin Books, 1965 p. 103
  27. ^ Bernd Kollmann, Joseph Barnabas, Liturgical Press, 2004, p. 30
  28. ^ http://net.bible.org/verse.php?book=heb&chapter=1&verse=5
  29. ^ William Christie, Discourses on the Divine Unity Publisher Eaton by Stower, 1810 p.113
  30. ^ Ramacharaka, Mystic Christianity, Publisher Cosimo, Inc., 2006 p.21
  31. ^ Dating, Early Christian Writings
  32. ^ Gospel of Matthew, Early Christian Writings
  33. ^ Gospel of Luke, Early Christian Writings
  34. ^ Virgin Birth of Jesus
  35. ^ "Jesus was either regarded as the man whom God hath chosen, in whom the Deity or the Spirit of God dwelt, and who, after being tested, was adopted by God and invested with dominion, (Adoptian Christology); or Jesus was regarded as a heavenly spiritual being (the highest after God) who took flesh, and again returned to heaven after the completion of his work on earth (pneumatic Christology)." Adolf von Harnack, History of Dogma [4]
  36. ^ Hippolytus of Rome, Philosophumena, VII, xxxv.
  37. ^ "The Holy Pre-existent Spirit. Which created the whole creation, God made to dwell in flesh that he desired. This flesh, therefore, in which the Holy Spirit dwelt, was subject unto the Spirit, walking honorably in holiness and purity, without in any way defiling the Spirit. When then it had lived honorably in chastity, and had labored with the Spirit, and had cooperated with it in everything, behaving itself boldly and bravely, he chose it as a partner with the Holy Spirit; for the career of this flesh pleased [the Lord], seeing that, as possessing the Holy Spirit, it was not defiled upon the earth. He therefore took the son as adviser and the glorious angels also, that this flesh too, having served the Spirit unblamably, might have some place of sojourn, and might not seem to have lost the reward for its service; for all flesh, which is found undefiled and unspotted, wherein the Holy Spirit dwelt, shall receive a reward." [5]
  38. ^ Cyclopædia of Biblical, theological, and ecclesiastical literature, Volume 2 By John McClintock, James Strong

See also

References

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article "Adoptianism".
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