Incarnation (Christianity)

=== 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>