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.