Editing Adoptionism (section)

====Theodotus of Byzantium====
[[Theodotus of Byzantium]] ({{abbr|fl.|[[floruit]]}} late 2nd century), a [[Valentinianism|Valentinian]] [[Gnosticism|Gnostic]],<ref name="Boukema"/> was the most prominent exponent of adoptionism.<ref>CARM, [https://carm.org/adoptionism ''Adoptionism'']</ref> According to [[Hippolytus of Rome]] (''[[Philosophumena]]'', VII, xxiii) Theodotus taught that Jesus was a man born of a virgin, according to the Council of Jerusalem, that he lived like other men, and was most pious. At his baptism in the Jordan the "Christ" came down upon the man Jesus, in the likeness of a dove (''[[Philosophumena]]'', VII, xxiii), but Jesus was not himself [[God]] until after his [[resurrection]].<ref name="Boukema">{{cite book|last=Roukema|first=Riemer|title=Jesus, Gnosis and Dogma|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AfcRBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA53|date=18 February 2010|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|isbn=978-0-567-61585-5|page=53|chapter=Jesus′ Origin and Identity - Theodotus &#91;of Byzantium&#93;|quote=The Saviour, jesus Christ, who from the fullness (the ''pleroma'') of the Father descended on earth, is identified with the Logos, but initially not entirely with the Only Begotten Son. In john 1:14 is written, after all, that his glory was ''as'' of the Only Begotten, from which is concluded that his glory must be distinguished from this (7, 3b). When the Logos or Saviour descended, Sophia, according to Theodotus, provided a piece of flesh (''sarkion''), namely a carnal body, also called 'spiritual seed' (1, 1).}}</ref><ref>{{Bulleted list|{{cite book|last=Dirks|first=Jerald F.|editor=F. Kamal|title=Easily Understand Islam: Finally I Get It!: a Collection of Articles|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C48FMQAACAAJ|year=2006|publisher=Desert Well Network LLC|isbn=978-1-59236-011-6|page=219f|chapter= Jesus: Man and God?|quote=[Per Jesus and Adoptionism] how does one understand the title "Son of God" when it is applied to Jesus? The answer is to be found in the Adoptionist movement within early Christianity. The Adoptionist trajectory in early Christianity begins with the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist. According to the usual Adoptionist formulations, it was at his moment of baptism that Jesus moved into this special relationship or metaphorical "sonship" with God – not at his conception or virgin birth.{{nbsp}}[...] the oldest Greek manuscripts of and quotations from ''Luke'' render the key verse in question as follows. "Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, "You are my son; today I have begotten you" (''Luke'' 3:21-22)."{{nbsp}}[...] the wording regarding the baptism of Jesus is also to be found in Hebrews 1:5a, Hebrews 5:5, and Acts 13:33. This same wording is also found in Psalms 2:7 in reference to David and in the apocryphal Gospel of the Ebionites in reference to Jesus' baptism.}}|{{cite book|last=Steyn|first=Gert Jacobus|title=A Quest for the Assumed LXX Vorlage of the Explicit Quotations in Hebrews|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QGk5oSoKJDYC&pg=PA38|year=2011|publisher=Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht|isbn=978-3-525-53099-3|page=38|quote=Ps 2:7-8 is also quoted in 1 ''Clem'' 36:4 and in Just. ''Dial''. 122:6, whilst only verse seven of Ps 2 is found in the Ebionite Gospel (fr. 4) and in Just. ''Dial''. 88:8, 103:6. The quotation from Ps 2:7 that occurs in Heb 1:5 and 5:5 found its way into Hebrews via the early Jewish and early Christian traditions.}}}}</ref>

Adoptionism was declared [[Heresy in Christianity|heresy]] at the end of the 3rd century and was rejected by the [[Synods of Antioch]] and the [[First Council of Nicaea]], which defined the [[Orthodoxy|orthodox doctrine]] of the [[Trinity]] and identified the man Jesus with the eternally begotten Son or [[Logos (Christianity)|Word of God]] in the [[Nicene Creed]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Harnack|first=Adolf Von|title=History of Dogma|year=1889|url=http://www.ccel.org/ccel/harnack/dogma1.II.III.III.html}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=iAvGNlIWg9IC&q=adoptionism+heresy&pg=PA23 |title= The Popular Encyclopedia of Church History: The People, Places, and Events That Shaped Christianity |author1= Edward E. Hindson |author2=Daniel R. Mitchell | page=23|publisher= Harvest House Publishers|year= 2013 |isbn= 978-0-7369-4807-4 |access-date=29 April 2014}}</ref> The belief was also declared heretical by [[Pope Victor I]].