The central claim
Christ only seemed to be human.
ClassificationHeresy
PeriodApostolic & Post-Apostolic
DatesLate 1st–2nd centuries
Doctrine affectedChristology (the humanity of Christ)
A heresy denies the Gospel or the God it reveals (Galatians 1:8).
Historical origins
Where It Began
The apostle John already warned against those who would not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh. Early in the second century, Ignatius, bishop of Antioch, urged the congregations he wrote to reject teachers who said Christ suffered only in appearance. Many Gnostic systems, and Marcion's teaching, were docetic.
Major figures
The People Involved
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In a sentence
Why This Is Dangerous
If Christ only seemed to be human, then He only seemed to die and rise, and no one has been saved. John says that every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God (1 John 4:3).