Peter and Acts of Thecla. Origen, a third century Christian scholar from Alexandria, did not view the polymorphic nature of Jesus as problematic, saying "although Jesus was one, he had several aspects, and to those who saw him he did not appear alike to all". Section C Section C recounts John's presumed death by natural causes after directing his companions to dig a trench in which he lies down and buries himself alive before he "[gives] up his spirit rejoicing". Dating and history Many scholars think that versions of the episode considered to belong to the Acts of John were already circulating in the second century. The names of any authors involved in the project are unknown. One older tradition associated the texts with one Leucius Charinus, a companion of John, but his name does not appear in the text and modern scholars do not think he was involved in composing them. Some version of the Acts of John containing at least portions of Section B and the Lycomedes episode was rejected as heretical by the Second Council of Nicaea in AD 787. The exact contents of the Acts of John known to participants in the Council is unknown. The Stichometry of Nicephorus, a ninth century stichometry, gives the length of an Acts of John text as 2,500 lines. Polymorphic christology, seen in Section B, developed mostly during the second century, lending credence to the second century development date. See also Acts of the Apostles (genre) Johannine literature John the Evangelist John of Patmos References Further reading Jan N. Bremmer (editor), The Apocryphal Acts of John (1995) brought together a series of eleven essays by various authors on the Acts of John and a bibliography (Kampen, Netherlands: Pharos). Online as a series of pdf files External links Early Christian Writings: Acts of John e-text consisting of 115 brief chapters, translated by M.R. James, and introductory material (1924). Glenn Davis, "The development of the Canon of the New Testament": Acts of John Gnostic Scriptures and Fragments: Acts of John David Trippett, "Gustav Holst (1874–1934)" Head, Raymond. "The Hymn of Jesus: Holst's Gnostic Exploration of Time and Space", July 1999 Church Fathers: Acts of John: abbreviated translation of the Latin version Mark Waterman, "Acts of John" in Japanese: a Japanese translation of Chs. 62 - 86. 2nd-century Christian texts John John the Apostle Johannine literature Christian saints from the New Testament Four