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Against the Valentinians

Tertullian

Chapter 27

About this work

Author: Tertullian

Chapter XXVII.—The Christ of the Demiurge, Sent into the World by the Virgin. Not of Her. He Found in Her, Not a Mother, But Only a Passage or Channel. Jesus Descended Upon Christ, at His Baptism, Like a Dove; But, Being Incapable of Suffering, He Left Christ to Die on the Cross Alone.

I now adduce (what they say) concerning Christ

‹ Chapter 26 Chapter 28 ›

,

upon

whom

some

of

them

engraft

Jesus

with

so

much

licence

,

that

they

foist

into

Him

a

spiritual

seed

together

with

an

animal

inflatus

.

Indeed

,

I

will

not

undertake

to

describe

these

incongruous

crammings

,

which

they

have

contrived

in

relation

both

to

their

men

and

their

gods

.

Even

the

Demiurge

has

a

Christ

of

His

own

—

His

natural

Son

.

An

animal

,

in

short

,

produced

by

Himself

,

proclaimed

by

the

prophets

—

His

position

being

one

which

must

be

decided

by

prepositions

;

in

other

words

,

He

was

produced

by

means

of

a

virgin

,

rather

than

of

a

virgin

!

On

the

ground

that

,

having

descended

into

the

virgin

rather

in

the

manner

of

a

passage

through

her

than

of

a

birth

by

her

,

He

came

into

existence

through

her

,

not

of

her

—

not

experiencing

a

mother

in

her

,

but

nothing

more

than

a

way

.

Upon

this

same

Christ

,

therefore

(

so

they

say

)

,

Jesus

descended

in

the

sacrament

of

baptism

,

in

the

likeness

of

a

dove

.

Moreover

,

there

was

even

in

Christ

accruing

from

Achamoth

the

condiment

of

a

spiritual

seed

,

in

order

of

course

to

prevent

the

corruption

of

all

the

other

stuffing

.

For

after

the

precedent

of

the

principal

Tetrad

,

they

guard

him

with

four

substances

—

the

spiritual

one

of

Achamoth

,

the

animal

one

of

the

Demiurge

,

the

corporeal

one

,

which

cannot

be

described

,

and

that

of

Soter

,

or

,

in

other

phrase

,

the

columbine

.

As

for

Soter

(

Jesus

)

,

he

remained

in

Christ

to

the

last

,

impassible

,

incapable

of

injury

,

incapable

of

apprehension

.

By

and

by

,

when

it

came

to

a

question

of

capture

,

he

departed

from

him

during

the

examination

before

Pilate

.

In

like

manner

,

his

mother’s

seed

did

not

admit

of

being

injured

,

being

equally

exempt

from

all

manner

of

outrage

,

and

being

undiscovered

even

by

the

Demiurge

himself

.

The

animal

and

carnal

Christ

,

however

,

does

suffer

after

the

fashion

of

the

superior

Christ

,

who

,

for

the

purpose

of

producing

Achamoth

,

had

been

stretched

upon

the

cross

,

that

is

,

Horos

,

in

a

substantial

though

not

a

cognizable

form

.

In

this

manner

do

they

reduce

all

things

to

mere

images

—

Christians

themselves

being

indeed

nothing

but

imaginary

beings

!

Notes

1
Reddo.
2
Nescio quæ.
3
Fartilia.
4
Farsura.
5
That which descended like a dove.
6
Æque insubditivam.
7
In delineationem.
8
Agnitionali.