Criticism of The Da Vinci Code
Portrayal of Gnosticism
### Portrayal of Gnosticism

The novel claims [Constantine](/wiki/Constantine_I "Constantine I") wanted Christianity to unify the Roman Empire but thought it would appeal to pagans only if it featured a [demigod](/wiki/Demigod "Demigod") similar to pagan heroes, so he destroyed the Gnostic Gospels that said Jesus was a human prophet and promoted the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, which portray Jesus as divine.

Historically, however, [Gnosticism](/wiki/Fathers_of_Christian_Gnosticism "Fathers of Christian Gnosticism") did not portray Jesus as merely human. In fact, the Gnostic Jesus was less human than the Jesus of orthodox Christianity. While orthodox Christianity generally considered Christ both divine and human, many Gnostic sects considered Christ purely divine, his human body being a mere illusion (see [Docetism](/wiki/Docetism "Docetism")). Many Gnostics saw matter as evil, and believed that a divine spirit would never have taken on a material body. Some varieties of Gnosticism went so far as to hold that the [God of the Jews](/wiki/God_in_Judaism "God in Judaism") is only a [demiurge](/wiki/Demiurge "Demiurge") who has trapped humanity in a fleshly prison; and that Christ is an emanation of the true God, sent to free humanity from that bondage to the flesh. (See [Marcionism](/wiki/Marcionism "Marcionism"), [Aeon](/wiki/Aeon "Aeon"), [Archon](/wiki/Archon "Archon")).


Can you give an example of a Gnostic sect that holds this view?