Incarnation (Christianity)

== Alternative views ==

=== Michael Servetus ===
During the Reformation, [[Michael Servetus]] taught a theology of the incarnation that [[Antitrinitarianism|denied trinitarianism]], insisting that classical trinitarians were essentially [[tritheist]]s who had rejected Biblical [[monotheism]] in favor of [[Greek philosophy]]. The Son of God, Servetus asserted, is not an eternally existing being, but rather the more abstract ''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.<ref>[http://godglorified.com/errors_of_the_trinity.htm 'De trinitatis erroribus'], Book 7.</ref>

In describing Servetus' theology of the ''Logos'', Andrew Dibb (2005) comments: "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."<ref>Andrew Dibb, ''Servetus, Swedenborg and the Nature of God'', University Press of America, 2005, p 93. Online at [https://books.google.com/books?id=_wdOqoatAJcC&q=%22servetus+swedenborg+and+the+nature+of+god%22 Google Book Search]</ref>

Condemned by both the Roman Catholic and Protestant churches on account of his heterodox [[Christology]], Servetus was burnt at the stake for [[Christian heresy|heresy]] in 1553, by the [[Reformed Protestant]]s in [[Geneva, Switzerland]]. The French reformer [[John Calvin]], who asserted he would ensure the death of Servetus if he set foot in Geneva because of his non-Reformed views on the Trinity and the sacrament of baptism, requested he be beheaded as a traitor rather than burned as a heretic, but the authorities insisted on executing Servetus by fire.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Cottret |first=Bernard |title=John Calvin |publisher=W.B.Eerdmans |year=2000 |location=Grand Rapids |pages=222–225 |translator-last=McDonald |translator-first=M. Wallace |author-link=Bernard Cottret}}</ref>

===English Arians===
Post-Reformation Arians such as [[William Whiston]] often held a view of the incarnation in keeping with the personal [[pre-existence]] of Christ. Whiston considered the incarnation to be of the Logos Who had pre-existed as "a Metaphysick existence, in potentia or in the like higher and sublimer Manner in the Father as His Wisdom or Word before His real Creation or Generation."<ref>James E. Force ''William Whiston, honest Newtonian'' 1985 p16</ref>

=== Jacob Bauthumley ===
[[Jacob Bauthumley]] rejected that God was "onely manifest in the flesh of Christ, or the man called Christ". Instead, he held that God "substantially dwells in the flesh of other men and creatures" rather than solely Christ.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Bauthumley|first=Jacob|title=The Light and Dark Sides of God, Or, A Plain and Brief Discourse of the Light Side|year=1650|location=London, English Commonwealth|pages=11}}</ref>

=== Socinian and Unitarian ===
Servetus rejected [[Arianism]] because it denied Jesus' divinity<ref>''Restitución'', p. 137.</ref> 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]], [[Marcin Czechowic]] and [[Johann Ludwig von Wolzogen]] saw the incarnation as being primarily a function of [[fatherhood]]. Namely that Christ was literally both 'Son of Man' from his maternal side, and also literally 'Son of God' on his paternal side. The concept of the incarnation —"the Word became flesh and dwelt among us"— was understood as the literal ''word'' or ''logos'' of {{Bibleref2|Ps.|33:6}} having been made human by a virgin birth. Sozzini, Przypkowski and other Socinian writers were distinct from Servetus in stating that Jesus having "come down from heaven" was primarily in terms of Mary's miraculous conception and not in Jesus having in any literal sense been in heaven.<ref>[[George Huntston Williams]] ''The Radical Reformation''</ref><ref>[[Roland H. Bainton]]. ''The Reformation of the Sixteenth Century''</ref> Today the number of churches with Socinian Christology is very small, the main group known for this are the [[Christadelphians]], other groups include [[Church of God General Conference (Abrahamic Faith)|CoGGC]] and [[Church of the Blessed Hope|CGAF]]. Modern [[Socinian]] or "[[Biblical Unitarian]]" 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.<ref>A.D. Norris, ''The Person of the Lord Jesus Christ'', [[The Christadelphian]], Birmingham 1982</ref>

=== Oneness Pentecostalism===
In contrast to the traditional view of the incarnation cited above, adherents of [[Oneness Pentecostalism]] believe in the doctrine of Oneness. Although both Oneness and traditional Christianity teach that God is a ''singular'' Spirit, Oneness adherents reject the idea that God is a Trinity of persons. Oneness doctrine teaches there is one God who manifests Himself in different ways, as opposed to a Trinity, where God is seen as one being consisting of three distinct persons.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Boyd |first1=Gregory A. |title=Oneness Pentecostals and the Trinity |date=1992 |publisher=Baker Books |location=Grand Rapids |isbn=9781441214966 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SnVhHShvOgwC |access-date=9 January 2023}}</ref>

To a Oneness Pentecostal, Jesus is seen as both fully divine and fully human. The term Father refers to God Himself, who caused the conception of the Son in Mary, thus becoming the father of the child she bore. The term Son refers to the fully human person, Jesus Christ; and the Holy Ghost refers to the manifestation of God's Spirit inside of and around His people. Thus the Father is ''not'' the Son – and this distinction is crucial – but is ''in'' the Son as the fullness of His divine nature.<ref>David K. Bernard (1994-09-30). The Oneness View of Jesus Christ (Kindle Locations 362-367). World Aflame Press. Kindle Edition.</ref> 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 form for the first, last and only time in history.<ref>Oneness doctrine is explained in detail in [[United Pentecostal Church International|UPCI]] minister Dr. David K. Bernard's [http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/pentecostal/One-Top.htm The Oneness of God] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080216034825/http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/pentecostal/One-Top.htm |date=2008-02-16 }}, David K. Bernard (1994-09-30);The Oneness View of Jesus Christ (Kindle Locations 362-367). World Aflame Press. Kindle Edition; David S. Norris (2013-11-12). I AM: A Oneness Pentecostal Theology (Kindle Locations 190-192). Word Aflame Press. Kindle Edition.</ref>

=== Jehovah's Witnesses===
The [[Jehovah's Witnesses]] believe Jesus to be the only direct creation of God through whom God created everything else.<ref name="Jesus Christ">{{cite web |title=Jesus Christ |url=https://www.jw.org/en/library/books/Insight-on-the-Scriptures/Jesus-Christ/ |website=Jehovah's Witnesses |access-date=5 January 2023}}</ref><ref name="In Jesus Humanity and Divinity Unit"/> His incarnation is considered to be temporary, after which Christ, accordingly, resumed his spiritual and angelic form. Christ is not seen as divine or co-equal with God the Father.<ref name="Jesus Christ"/> After resurrection, Jesus is seen as assuming temporary human forms, though resuming his spirit form eventually.<ref>{{cite web |title=After Jesus' Resurrection, Was His Body Flesh or Spirit?
 |url=https://www.jw.org/en/bible-teachings/questions/jesus-body/ |website=Jehovah's Witnesses |access-date=5 January 2023}}</ref>

===The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormonism)===
{{main article|Mormonism|List of Latter Day Saint movement topics}}
According to [[Latter-day Saint theology]], two of the three [[List of Latter Day Saint movement topics#Latter Day Saint doctrines regarding deity|divine beings]] of the [[God in Mormonism|Godhead]] have perfected, glorified, physical bodies, namely [[God the Father]] ([[Mormonism and Judaism#Nature of God|Elohim]]) and [[God the Son]] ([[Jehovah]]). Instead of considering the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost as one in ''substance'' or ''essence'' with one another, Latter-day Saints understand the oneness of the Godhead as symbolic of Their perfectly united characteristics and purpose, while yet acknowledging that they are three separate and distinct beings.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/eng/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/130|title=Doctrine and Covenants 130|website=www.churchofjesuschrist.org|accessdate=December 22, 2021}}</ref> To explain this divergence from Trinitarian oneness as literal rather than symbolic, Latter-day Saints commonly cite <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://abn.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2007/10/the-only-true-god-and-jesus-christ-whom-he-hath-sent?lang=eng&adobe_mc_ref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.churchofjesuschrist.org%2Fstudy%2Fgeneral-conference%2F2007%2F10%2Fthe-only-true-god-and-jesus-christ-whom-he-hath-sent%3Flang%3Deng&adobe_mc_sdid=SDID%3D79043BC462C4403C-490D1F185E7FA996%7CMCORGID%3D66C5485451E56AAE0A490D45%2540AdobeOrg%7CTS%3D1631896676|title=The Only True God and Jesus Christ Whom He Hath Sent|accessdate=December 22, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/eng/general-conference/2013/04/the-father-and-the-son|title=The Father and the Son| first=Elder Christoffel Jr. | last=Golden |website=www.churchofjesuschrist.org|accessdate=December 22, 2021}}</ref> Christ's Intercessory Prayer in John 17:20-23, which reads:
*"I do not ask for these [disciples] only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%2017&version=ESV|title=Bible Gateway passage: John 17 - English Standard Version|website=Bible Gateway|accessdate=December 22, 2021}}</ref>

This conception of the Godhead differs from the [[Trinitarian]] view of the Incarnation in which only [[God the Son]], temporarily possessed an incarnated, physical body while God the Father is and has always remained unembodied. Despite these differences, Latter-day Saint doctrine accepts a similar version of so-called [[ethical monotheism]] (which developed out of the [[Jewish tradition]]), in that Latter-day Saints believe that the Light of Christ (alternatively referred to as the Spirit of Christ) emanates from God the Son throughout the world, thereby influencing all people everywhere to do good and eschew evil. This teaching is best exemplified in the Book of Mormon in Moroni 7:13-19, which states:
* "Wherefore, all things which are good cometh of God; and that which is evil cometh of the devil; for the devil is an enemy unto God, and fighteth against him continually, and inviteth and enticeth to sin, and to do that which is evil continually. But behold, that which is of God inviteth and enticeth to do good continually; wherefore, every thing which inviteth and enticeth to do good, and to love God, and to serve him, is inspired of God...For behold, the Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil; wherefore, I show unto you the way to judge; for every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God. But whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do evil, and believe not in Christ, and deny him, and serve not God, then ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of the devil...Wherefore, I beseech of you, brethren, that ye should search diligently in the light of Christ that ye may know good from evil; and if ye will lay hold upon every good thing, and condemn it not, ye certainly will be a child of Christ."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/eng/scriptures/bofm/moro/7|title=Moroni 7|website=www.churchofjesuschrist.org|accessdate=December 22, 2021}}</ref>