|
The Gospel of Marcion Marcion was the editor of a compilation of
works he entitled The Gospel of Marcion.
These works were actually various books of the New
Testament. Before we go any further, however, let us
take a look at Marcion and his views of God and the Bible.
They played a very important part in the heresy he taught later in his
life. Marcion was born around 110 A.D. and died
about fifty years later, around 160 A.D.
He was born in Sinope, Pontus (in what is now Sinop, Turkey).
He was most likely the son
of the bishop of Sinope, but we don’t know this for sure.
Marcion left his native country in about 140 A.D. and traveled to Rome.
There he became quite influential in the Roman Church. Marcion felt that Judaism was evil, and he
hated the Jewish Scriptures along with the god described in them, therefore
rejecting the Old Testament writings and most of the New Testament.
Marcion felt that the God of the Old Testament was cruel, unfeeling and
hardhearted. In turn, he believed
the God of the New Testament was kind, loving and merciful.
Marcion made his own gospel, basing his
teachings on ten of the letters of Paul and an altered version of Luke. He entitled it The
Gospel of Marcion.
Back in the Roman Church,
Marcion was expelled for his preposterous ideas.
He then formed his own church in 144 AD.
It was, as is clear, a heretical sect.
He said that there were two
gods (one in the Old Testament and one in the New Testament, as I mentioned
earlier), and thus rejected the Old Testament teachings and a good part of the
New Testament ones. He taught that the only way you could be
saved was to be baptized and also to practice complete celibacy. Polemicists such as Tertullian, Irenaeus
and Manichean openly attacked his views and teachings in countless literary
works. Irenaeus, in his work Against
Heresies wrote, “In so doing, he [Marcion] advanced the most daring
blasphemy against Him who is proclaimed as God by the law and the prophets,
declaring Him to be the author of evils, to take delight in war, to be infirm of
purpose, and even to be contrary to Himself.” In Tertullian,
Against Marcion, Tertullian showed that Marcion misinterpreted Paul’s
position concerning the law and the Gospel abhorrently.
He also pointed out many other things regarding Marcion’s heretical
doctrine. Marcionism prospered in the West until
about the fourth century, and traces of this sect remained in the East into
Medieval times. © 2003 by Terra A. Mandrell ~ Please do not reprint or duplicate without permission. |
Home Making Skills for Keepers at Home For You Unmarried Folks- Like Me! Terra's Helpful Household Hints Amish Cooking, Baking & History
|