The Incarnation is the belief in Christianity Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the New Testament. Christianity comprises three major branches: Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy (the two split from one another in 1054 A.D.), and Protestantism (which came into existence during the Protestant Reformation of the 16 that the second person in the Christian Godhead Godhead is a Middle English variant of the word godhood, and denotes the divine character of the Christian God. Godhead is also a title for God, or the Trinity, also known as the Son or the Logos Logos is an important term in philosophy, analytical psychology, rhetoric and religion. Originally a word meaning "word," "speech," "account," or "reason," it became a technical term in philosophy, beginning with Heraclitus (ca. 535–475 BC), who used the term for the principle of order and knowledge (Word), "became flesh" when he was miraculously conceived in the womb of the Virgin Mary. The word Incarnate derives from Latin Latin or sometimes Roman is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Although often considered a dead language, in view of the fact that it has no native speakers, a small number of scholars can fluently speak it and it continues to be taught in schools and universities and has been, and currently is, used in the process of (in=in or into, caro, carnis=flesh) meaning "to make into flesh" or "to become flesh". The incarnation is a fundamental theological Theology is the study of a god or, more generally, the study of religious faith, practice, and experience, or of spirituality teaching of orthodox (Nicene) Christianity The Nicene Creed is the creed or profession of faith (Greek: Σύμβολον τῆς Πίστεως) that is most widely used in Christian liturgy. It is called Nicene (pronounced /ˈnaɪsiːn/) because, in its original form, it was adopted in the city of Nicaea by the first ecumenical council, which met there in A.D. 325. The Nicene Creed has, based on its understanding of the New Testament The New Testament is the name given to the second major division of the Christian Bible, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament. Unlike the Old Testament, the contents of the New Testament deal explicitly with Christianity, although both the Old and New Testament are regarded, together, as Sacred Scripture. The New Testament. The incarnation represents the belief that Jesus, who is the non-created second hypostasis In Christian usage, the Greek word hypostasis has a complicated and sometimes confusing history, but its literal meaning is "that which stands beneath" of the triune God The Christian doctrine of the Trinity teaches the unity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as three persons in one Godhead. The doctrine states that God is the Triune God, existing as three persons, or in the Greek hypostases, but one being. Since the beginning of the third century the doctrine of the Trinity has been stated as "the one God, took on a human body and nature and became both man and God. In the Bible The Bible refers to collections of sacred scripture of Judaism and Christianity. There is no single version: both the individual books and their order vary. The Hebrew Bible contains 24 books that were rearranged into 39 by Christian denominations, while complete Christian Bibles range from the 66 books of the Protestant canon to 81 books in the its clearest teaching is in John 1:14: "And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us."^[1]

In the Incarnation, as traditionally defined, the divine nature of the Son was joined but not mixed with human nature^[2] in one divine Person, Jesus Jesus of Nazareth , also known as Jesus Christ or simply Jesus, is the central figure of Christianity, which views him as the Messiah foretold in the Old Testament. Christians believe that Jesus is the Son of God (in the concept of the Trinity, he is God [as] the Son), who came to provide humankind with salvation and reconciliation with God by his Christ, who was both "truly God and truly man". The Incarnation is commemorated and celebrated each year at Christmas, and also reference can be made to the Feast of the Annunciation The Annunciation is the Christian celebration of the announcement by the angel Gabriel to Mary that she would become the mother of Jesus Christ the Son of God. Despite being a virgin, Mary would miraculously conceive a child who would be called the Son of God. Gabriel told Mary to name her son Jesus, meaning "YHWH delivers". Most of; "different aspects of the mystery of the Incarnation" are celebrated at Christmas and the Annunciation [1].

This is central to the traditional faith held by most Christians. Alternative views on the subject (See Ebionites The Ebionites were a Jewish sect that regarded Jesus as the Messiah but not as divine, and insisted on the necessity of following Jewish religious law and rites.. The Ebionites used only the Jewish Gospels, revered James the Just as the head of the Jerusalem Church and rejected Paul of Tarsus as an apostate towards the Law. Their name suggests and the Gospel according to the Hebrews The Gospel according to the Hebrews, commonly shortened to the Gospel of the Hebrews, is a lost gospel preserved only in the writings of the Church Fathers . It was composed in Hebrew and is considered the most important of the apocryphal gospels because of the light it sheds on the origin and development of our Canonical gospels) have been proposed throughout the centuries (see below), but all were rejected by mainstream Christian bodies.

In recent decades, an alternative doctrine known as "Oneness Oneness Pentecostalism refers to a grouping of denominations and believers within Pentecostal Christianity, all of whom subscribe to the theological doctrine of Oneness. This movement claims an estimated 24 million adherents today. Oneness Pentecostal denominations are listed at Oneness Pentecostal denominations. This movement first emerged around" has been espoused among various Pentecostal Pentecostalism is a renewal movement within Christianity that places special emphasis on a direct personal experience of God through the baptism in the Holy Spirit. The term Pentecostal is derived from Pentecost, a Greek term describing the Jewish Feast of Weeks. For Christians, this event commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the groups (see below), but has been rejected by the remainder of Christendom.

Description and development of the traditional doctrine

In the early Christian era, there was considerable disagreement amongst Christians regarding the nature of Christ's Incarnation. While all Christians believed that Jesus was indeed the Son of God, the exact nature of his Sonship was contested, together with the precise relationship of the "Father God the Father is the title and attribution given to God in many monotheist religions. In Judaism, God is called Father because he is the creator, law-giver, and protector. In Christianity, God is called Father because of the mystery of the Father-Son relationship revealed by Jesus Christ and because of the reasons mentioned above," "Son" and "Holy Ghost In Christianity, the Holy Spirit, is the spirit or essence of God. In Trinitarian Christian belief, the Holy Spirit is third person of the Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Pneumatology is the theology of the Holy Spirit" referred to in the New Testament. Though Jesus was clearly the "Son," what exactly did this mean? Debate on this subject raged most especially during the first four centuries of Christianity, involving Gnostics Gnosticism refers to diverse, syncretistic religious movements in antiquity consisting of various belief systems generally united in the teaching that the material cosmos was created by an imperfect god, the demiurge with some of the supreme God's pneuma; this being is frequently identified with Yahweh, (as opposed to the Gospel according to the, followers of the Presbyter Arius Arius was a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt. His teachings about the nature of the Godhead, which emphasized the Father's Divinity over the Son, and his opposition to the Athanasian or Trinitarian Christology, made him a controversial figure in the First Council of Nicea, convened by Roman Emperor Constantine in 325 A.D. After Emperor of Alexandra, and adherents of St. Athanasius the Great Athanasius of Alexandria (c. 293 – 2 May 373), also given the titles Athanasius the Great, Pope Athanasius I of Alexandria, and Athanasius the Apostolic, was a Christian theologian, bishop of Alexandria, Church Father, and a noted Egyptian leader of the fourth century. He is best remembered for his role in the conflict with Arius and Arianism, among others.

Eventually, the Christian Church accepted the teaching of St. Athanasius and his allies, that Christ was the incarnation of the eternal second person of the Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity teaches the unity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as three persons in one Godhead. The doctrine states that God is the Triune God, existing as three persons, or in the Greek hypostases, but one being. Since the beginning of the third century the doctrine of the Trinity has been stated as "the one God, who was fully God and fully a man simultaneously. All divergent beliefs were defined as heresies Heresy is a controversial or novel change to a system of beliefs, especially a religion, that conflicts with established dogma. It is distinct from apostasy, which is the formal denunciation of one's religion, principles or cause, and blasphemy, which is irreverence toward religion. The founder or leader of a heretical movement is called a. This included Docetism In Christianity, docetism 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, which said that Jesus was a divine being that took on human appearance but not flesh; Arianism Arianism is the theological teaching of Arius , a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt, concerning the relationship of the entities of the Trinity ('God the Father', 'God the Son' and 'God the Holy Spirit') and the precise nature of the Son of God. Deemed a heretic by the First Council of Nicaea of 325, Arius was later exonerated in 335 at, which held that Christ was a created being; and Nestorianism Nestorianism is a Christological doctrine advanced by Nestorius, Patriarch of Constantinople from 428–431. The doctrine, which was informed by Nestorius's studies under Theodore of Mopsuestia at the School of Antioch, emphasizes the disunion between the human and divine natures of Jesus. Nestorius' teachings brought him into conflict with some, which maintained that the Son of God and the man, Jesus, shared the same body but retained two separate natures. The Oneness belief held by certain modern Pentecostal Pentecostalism is a renewal movement within Christianity that places special emphasis on a direct personal experience of God through the baptism in the Holy Spirit. The term Pentecostal is derived from Pentecost, a Greek term describing the Jewish Feast of Weeks. For Christians, this event commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the churches is also seen as heretical by most mainstream Christian bodies.

The most widely-accepted definitions of the Incarnation and the nature of Jesus were made by the early Christian Church at the First Council of Nicaea The First Council of Nicaea was a council of Christian bishops convened in Nicaea in Bithynia by the Roman Emperor Constantine I in A.D. 325. The Council was historically significant as the first effort to attain consensus in the church through an assembly representing all of Christendom in 325, the Council of Ephesus The First Council of Ephesus was the third ecumenical council of the early Christian Church, held in 431 at the Church of Mary in Ephesus, Asia Minor. The council was called amid a dispute over the teachings of Nestorius, Patriarch of Constantinople. Nestorius' doctrine, Nestorianism, which emphasized the disunity between Christ's human and divine in 431, and the Council of Chalcedon The Council of Chalcedon is considered by the Roman Catholics, the Eastern Orthodox, the Old Catholics, and various other Western Christian groups to have been the Fourth Ecumenical Council . It was held from 8 October to 1 November 451 at Chalcedon . The ancient city has been absorbed by greater Istanbul and is now the neighbourhood of Kadıköy, in 451. These councils declared that Jesus was both fully God: begotten from, but not created by the Father; and fully man: taking his flesh and human nature from the Virgin Mary The Blessed Virgin Mary, sometimes shortened to the Blessed Virgin or the Virgin Mary, is a traditional title used by most Christians and most specifically used by liturgical Christians such as Roman Catholics, Anglicans, Lutherans, Eastern Orthodox, Eastern Catholics and Oriental Orthodox, and some others to describe Mary, the mother of Jesus. These two natures, human and divine, were hypostatically Hypostatic union is a technical term in Christian theology employed in mainstream Christology to describe the union of two natures, humanity and divinity, in Jesus Christ. A brief definition of the doctrine of two natures can be given as: "Jesus Christ, who is identical with the Son, is one person and one hypostas in two natures: a human and united into the one personhood of Jesus Christ.^[3]

The significance of the Incarnation has been extensively discussed throughout Christian history, and is the subject of countless hymns A hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word hymn derives from Greek ὕμνος , which means "a song of praise." Collections of hymns are known as hymnals or hymnbooks and prayers Prayer is a form of religious practice that seeks to activate a volitional connection to a God, deity or spirit, through deliberate practice. Prayer may be either individual or communal and take place in public or in private. It may involve the use of words or song. When language is used, prayer may take the form of a hymn, incantation, formal. For instance, the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, as used by Eastern Orthodox Christians and Byzantine Catholics The Eastern Catholic Churches are autonomous, self-governing particular Churches in full communion with the Bishop of Rome—the pope. They preserve the centuries-old liturgical, devotional, and theological traditions of the various Eastern Christian Churches with which they are associated historically. While doctrinal differences divide these, includes this "Hymn to the Only Begotten Son":

O only begotten Son and Word of God,

Who, being immortal,

Deigned for our salvation The theological study of salvation is called soteriology. It covers the means by which salvation is effected or achieved, and its results. Salvation may also be called "deliverance" or "redemption" from sin and its effects

To become incarnate

Of the holy Theotokos Theotokos is the Greek title of Mary, the mother of Jesus used especially in the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Catholic Churches. Its literal English translations include God-bearer and the one who gives birth to God. Less literal translations include Mother of God. Roman Catholics, Anglicans, and some Protestants use the title and ever-virgin (wheyy) Mary,

And became man without change;

You were also crucified,

O Christ our God,

And by death have trampled Death,

Being one of the Holy Trinity,

Glorified with the Father and the Holy Spirit—

Save us!

The Athanasian The Athanasian Creed is a Christian statement of belief, focusing on Trinitarian doctrine and Christology. The Latin name of the creed, Quicumque vult, is taken from the opening words "Whosoever wishes." The Athanasian Creed has been used by Christian churches since the sixth century AD. It is the first creed in which the equality of the and Nicene Creeds The Nicene Creed is the creed or profession of faith (Greek: Σύμβολον τῆς Πίστεως) that is most widely used in Christian liturgy. It is called Nicene (pronounced /ˈnaɪsiːn/) because, in its original form, it was adopted in the city of Nicaea by the first ecumenical council, which met there in A.D. 325. The Nicene Creed has contain a comprehensive traditional definition of the Incarnation.

Fortuitous and Necessary Incarnation

The link between the Incarnation and the Atonement within systematic theological thought is complex. Within traditional models of the Atonement, such as Substitution, Satisfaction or Christus Victor, Christ must be Divine in order for the Sacrifice of the Cross to be efficacious, for human sins to be "removed" and/or "conquered". In his work The Trinity and the Kingdom of God, Jurgen Moltmann differentiated between what he called a "fortuitous" and a "necessary" Incarnation. The latter gives a soteriological emphasis to the Incarnation: the Son of God became a man so that he could save us from our sins. The former, on the other hand, speaks of the Incarnation as a fulfilment of the love of God, of his desire to be present and living amidst humanity, to "walk in the garden" with us.

Moltmann favours "fortuitous" incarnation primarily because he feels that to speak of an incarnation of "necessity" is to do an injustice to the life of Christ. Moltmann's work, alongside other systematic theologians, opens up avenues of liberation Christology Christology is the field of study within Christian theology which is primarily concerned with the nature and person of Jesus Christ. Primary considerations include the relationship of Jesus' nature and person with the nature and person of God. As such, Christology is generally less concerned with the details of Jesus' life (what he did) or.

Alternative views of the Incarnation

Michael Servetus

During the Reformation, Michael Servetus Michael Servetus was a Spanish theologian, physician, cartographer, and humanist. He was the first European to describe the function of pulmonary circulation. His interests included many sciences: mathematics, astronomy and meteorology, geography, human anatomy, medicine and pharmacology, as well as jurisprudence, and the scholarly study of the taught a theology of the Incarnation that denied Trinitarianism, insisting that Trinitarians were Tritheists who had rejected Biblical monotheism Monotheism is the belief in theology that only one deity exists. The concept of "monotheism" tends to be dominated by the concept of God in the Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity and Islam, the Platonic concept of God as put forward by Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, as well as the Advaita, Dvaita and Vishishtadvaita in favor of Greek philosophy Greek philosophy focused on the role of reason and logic. Many philosophers today concede that Greek philosophy has shaped the entire Western thought since its inception. As Alfred Whitehead once noted, with some exaggeration, "Western philosophy is just a series of footnotes to Plato." Clear, unbroken lines of influence lead from. The Son of God, said Servetus, was not an eternal being, but rather the Logos (a manifestation of the One True God, not a separate person) incarnate. For this reason, Servetus refused to call Christ the "eternal Son of God" preferring "the Son of the eternal God" instead.^[4]

In describing Servetus' theology of the Logos, Andrew Dibb explained: "In Genesis God reveals himself as the creator. In John he reveals that he created by means of the Word, or Logos, Finally, also in John, he shows that this Logos became flesh and 'dwelt among us'. Creation took place by the spoken word, for God said 'Let there be…' The spoken word of Genesis, the Logos of John, and the Christ, are all one and the same."^[5]

For defending his belief, Servetus was burnt at the stake in 1553 by Protestants Protestantism is one of the four major divisions within Christianity together with the Eastern Orthodox churches, the Oriental Orthodox churches, and the Roman Catholic Church. The term is most closely tied to those groups that separated from the Catholic Church in the sixteenth-century Protestant Reformation in Geneva Geneva (Arpitan: Genèva, IPA: [ˈd͡zənɛva]; French: Genève, IPA: [ʒənɛv]; German: Genf, IPA: [ˈɡɛnf] ; Italian: Ginevra; Romansh: Genevra) is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and is the most populous city of Romandie (the French-speaking part of Switzerland). Situated where the Rhône River exits Lake Geneva ( at the instigation of John Calvin John Calvin (10 July 1509 – 27 May 1564) was an influential French theologian and pastor during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system of Christian theology later called Calvinism. Originally trained as a humanist lawyer, he broke from the Roman Catholic Church around 1530. After religious tensions.

The Oneness view of the Incarnation

In contrast to the traditional view of the Incarnation cited above, adherents of Oneness Pentecostalism Oneness Pentecostalism refers to a grouping of denominations and believers within Pentecostal Christianity, all of whom subscribe to the theological doctrine of Oneness. This movement claims an estimated 24 million adherents today. Oneness Pentecostal denominations are listed at Oneness Pentecostal denominations. This movement first emerged around believe in the doctrine of Oneness. Although both Oneness and Christianity teach that God is a singular Spirit, Oneness deny that God is a Trinity of persons as in the traditional understanding. Jesus is indeed seen as both fully divine and fully human, but his divine nature is believed to be the Father himself (who is also the Holy Ghost in their theology; "Father", "Son" and "Holy Ghost" being merely titles reflecting the different manifestations of the One True God in the universe) united to Christ's human nature to form one Person: the Son. Thus the Father is not the Son—and this distinction is crucial─ut is in the Son as the fullness of his divine nature.^{[Col. 2:9]} Traditional Trinitarians believe that the Son always existed as the eternal second person of the Trinity; Oneness adherents believe that the Son did not come into being until the Incarnation, when the one and only true God took on human flesh for the first, last and only time in history. Oneness doctrine is explained in detail in UPCI minister Dr. David K. Bernard's The Oneness of God.

Michael Servetus is held in high regard by Oneness adherents, since his theology definitely reflects a Oneness perspective. In Chapter Ten of The Oneness of God, Bernard refers to Servetus as "a true Oneness believer."^[6] However it is possible that Servetus would have classified Oneness views as Sabellianism In Christianity, Sabellianism, is the nontrinitarian belief that the Heavenly Father, Resurrected Son and Holy Spirit are different modes or aspects of one God, as perceived by the believer, rather than three distinct persons in God Himself, which he rejected because confused the Father with the Son.^[7]

Socinianism

Servetus rejected Arianism Arianism is the theological teaching of Arius , a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt, concerning the relationship of the entities of the Trinity ('God the Father', 'God the Son' and 'God the Holy Spirit') and the precise nature of the Son of God. Deemed a heretic by the First Council of Nicaea of 325, Arius was later exonerated in 335 at because it denied Jesus' divinity^[8] so it is certain that he would have also rejected Socinianism as a form of Arianism which both rejects that Jesus is God, and, also that Jesus consciously existed before his birth, which most Arian groups accept. Fausto Sozzini and writers of the Polish Brethren such as Samuel Przypkowski saw incarnation as being primarily a function of fatherhood. That Christ was literally 'Son of Man' from his maternal side, and literally 'Son of God' on his paternal side. The concept of incarnation─"the Word became flesh and dwelt among us"─was understood as the literal word or logos of Ps. 33:6 having been made human by a virgin birth. Sozzini, Przypkowski and other Socinian writers were far more clear than Servetus that Jesus having "come down from heaven" was primarily in terms of Mary's miraculous conception and not Jesus having in any literal sense been in heaven.^{[9] [10]} Today the number of churches with Socinian Christology is very small, the main group known for this are the Christadelphians, other groups include CoGGC and CGAF. Modern Socinian writers generally place emphasis on "made flesh" not just meaning "made a body", but incarnation (a term these groups would avoid) requiring Jesus having the temptable and mortal nature of his mother.^[11]

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