Crucifixion of Jesus

=== Gnosticism ===
Some scriptures identified as Gnostic reject the atonement of  Jesus's death by distinguishing the earthly body of Jesus and his divine and immaterial essence. According to the [[Second Treatise of the Great Seth]], [[Yaldabaoth]] (the Creator of the material universe) and his [[Archon (Gnosticism)|Archons]] tried to kill Jesus by crucifixion, but only killed ''their own man'' (that is the body). While Jesus ascended from his body, Yaldabaoth and his followers thought Jesus to be dead.<ref>John Douglas Turner, Anne Marie McGuire ''The Nag Hammadi Library After Fifty Years: Proceedings of the 1995 Society of Biblical Literature Commemoration [in Philadelphia]'' Brill 1997 {{ISBN|978-9004108240}} p. 54</ref><ref>Tuomas Rasimus''Paradise Reconsidered in Gnostic Mythmaking: Rethinking Sethianism in Light of the Ophite Evidence'' Brill, 2009 {{ISBN|978-9047426707}} p. 13</ref> In [[Gnostic Apocalypse of Peter|Apocalypse of Peter]], Peter talks with the savior whom the "priests and people" believed to have killed.<ref>John Douglas Turner, Anne Marie McGuire ''The Nag Hammadi Library After Fifty Years: Proceedings of the 1995 Society of Biblical Literature Commemoration [in Philadelphia]'' Brill 1997 {{ISBN|978-9004108240}} p. 55</ref>

[[Manichaeism]], which was influenced by Gnostic ideas, adhered to the idea that not Jesus, but somebody else was crucified instead.<ref name="gil1992">{{Cite book| volume = 12| pages = 9–58|editor= Joel L. Kraemer | last = Gil| first = Moshe| title = Israel Oriental Studies| chapter = The Creed of Abū ‘Āmir| date = 1992}}</ref>{{rp|41}} Jesus suffering on the cross is depicted as the state of ''light particles'' (spirit) within matter instead.<ref>Willis Barnstone, Marvin Meyer ''The Gnostic Bible: Revised and Expanded Edition'' Shambhala Publications 2009 {{ISBN|978-0-834-82414-0}} p. 596</ref>

According to [[Bogomilism]], the crucifixion was an attempt by [[Lucifer]] to destroy Jesus, while the earthly Jesus was regarded as a prophet, Jesus himself was an immaterial being that can not be killed. Accordingly, Lucifer failed and  Jesus's sufferings on the cross were only an illusion.<ref>Willis Barnstone, Marvin Meyer ''The Gnostic Bible: Revised and Expanded Edition'' Shambhala Publications 2009 {{ISBN|978-0-834-82414-0}} p. 751</ref>