In the mystery of that moment, all the powers of heaven and earth and hell are shaken. The sun withholds its light, and the whole creation, which longs for its redemption, utters its astounded cry, as the earth quakes, and the rocks are rent. In that moment, all the hopes and expectations of religion are confounded, and the veil of the Temple is rent in twain from the top unto the bottom. Many bodies of the saints arise and go about the city.

The quotation of Jesus from this gospel, "You will be greater than all the others, Judas. You will sacrifice the roan that clothes me," is a clear indication of the Gnostic alternative to Christianity. According to this gospel, Jesus' "body" is sacrificed, but his spiritual self is unscathed. This belief builds on an earlier heresy, Docetism, that taught that Jesus did not really suffer on the cross but only seemed to suffer and seemed to die.

I. Freedom in the Body of Christ

It is important to note two political factors that should limit our understanding of both the actual and intended influence of this Report. First, the Commission that was chosen to write it was extraordinarily unrepresentative of ECUSA (let alone of Communion-oriented members of ECUSA), and highly over-represented by those who favor the decisions of GC 2003 that precipitated the crisis this Commission was designed to address.