Theological Word of the Day

Docetism

February 24th, 2013

[doe''-suh-tiz''-um] (Greek dokeo, “to seem”)

Early Christian heresy heavily influenced by Gnosticism that affirmed Christ as God, but not man. Because of their dualistic philosophy (i.e., spiritual is good, physical is evil), docetism promoted that Christ could not have been truly man, for that would mean that he was physical, and hence, evil. Therefore, it only “seemed” that Christ was man. It would seem that a seed form of this heresy existed in the first century and may be evidenced in the epistle of 1 John (1:1-4).

Sponsors

Get Email Updates Email Newsletter icon, E-mail Newsletter icon, Email List icon, E-mail List icon

For Email Marketing you can trust

Our Classes

Theological Word of the Day

Eternal Security
The doctrine that salvation, once attained, is eternally secure and therefore cannot be lost. Calvinists refer to this doctrine as perseverance of the saints, placing the emphasis on the instrumental cause of one’s security–God”s sovereign electing will. This sovereign will is evidenced in the perseverance of the faith of the believer. Passages that adherents would [...] continue reading