Polymorphic Jesus, Polymorphic Texts

Abstract

In the apocryphal Acts of John, Jesus is »polymorphic«: he is a »shapeshifter,« who appears to his disciples in different physical forms at different times. This protean Jesus is likely unfamiliar to readers of the canonical New Testament – and yet the idea makes good sense as one possible way to reckon with the theological proposition that Jesus was simultaneously God and human. What kind of body did God-made-flesh have? Early Christians wrestled with this question. The answer presented in the apocryphal Acts of John is that Jesus possessed a constantly changing body with infinite possibility. This is just one example of how  theological ideas – both compatible with and contrary to what is found in canonical texts – were developed in non-canonical Christian literature.