The Incarnation as Cosmic Disturbance in the Long Second Century

Within adiverse body of early Christian texts, the incarnational event is identified as a trigger for major cosmic disturbance. As God became human, astral bodies abandoned their ceremonious circuits, inaugurating a new age. This paper examines the various presentations of this tradition in five texts dated to the long second century: Ignatius's Star Hymn (Ign. Eph. 19), the Excerpts from Theodotus 69–78, the Protevangelium of James, the Trimorphic Protennoia, and the Second Treatise of the Great Seth. As the use of this motif transcends the constructed theological boundaries of (proto-)orthodox, Valentinian, and Sethian, this study utilizes a network approach to early Christian literature, calling into question the validity and usefulness of traditional labels and taxonomies in the field.