Docetism

/doʊˈsɛtɪzəm/ noun

Definition

An ancient heretical Christian and Gnostic belief that Jesus Christ did not have a truly physical body but only appeared to have one.

Etymology

From Greek 'doketes' (appearing), from 'dokein' (to seem). The '-ism' suffix indicates a doctrine, belief system, or movement. This theological position emerged in the 2nd century CE.

Kelly Says

Docetism was so influential that mainstream Christianity had to explicitly write refutations of it into church doctrine—the Incarnation became one of Christianity's core doctrines partly as a response to Docetism!

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