Meanings
plural adoptionisms
- countableuncountableChristianityA form of Christianity which maintains that Jesus is divine only in the sense that God the Father adopted him, either at Jesus' birth, or at his death, as opposed to the orthodox understanding of the nature of the Trinity.
1 more example
This account is close to Matthew 3:13–17 and its parallels in Mark and Luke, with one key difference—the addition of the phrase, “This day I have begotten you.” The Ebionites chose the moment of Jesus’ baptism by John as the key moment in which Jesus became God’s son, rather than the moment of Jesus’ birth. Jesus became God’s son by being “adopted” by him (a “spiritual birth,” so to speak) rather than by being literally fathered by God and born of a virgin. This idea is called adoptionism.
2000, Keith Akers, “[3] A VOICE IN THE WILDERNESS”, in The lost religion of Jesus: simple living and nonviolence in early Christianity, New York, NY: Lantern Books, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 46
Origin
Translations
Italian adozionismo
- adozionismoform of Christianity which maintains that Jesus is divine only in the sense that God adopted him
Polish adopcjanizm
- adopcjanizmform of Christianity which maintains that Jesus is divine only in the sense that God adopted him
Portuguese adocionismo
- adocionismoform of Christianity which maintains that Jesus is divine only in the sense that God adopted him
Cite this entry
adoptionism. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/adoptionism
“adoptionism.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/adoptionism. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “adoptionism,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/adoptionism.
Source: adoptionism on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.