BOOK SUMMARY: KNOW THE HERETICS - CHAPTER 3 - MARCION

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

Marcion (85 AD - 160 AD) was the son of a Christian bishop in Rome. He was a wealthy ship owner and donated some wealth to the church. By 144 AD he had been excommunicated. Prior to this Marcio was involved with a Gnostic teacher named Cerdo. Gnostics taught a spirit/flesh dualism. They viewed the spiritual realm as good and the physical world as bad. It was this aspect of Gnosticism that fascinated Marcion. He imposed this heresy on Scripture and began to teach that the God of the Old Testament was wrathful and vengeful while Jesus Christ in the New Testament was sent by the real supreme God to show us love and peace. Church historian, Henry Chadwick, calls Marcion the most radical and formidable heretic of the church.  He continued to be condemned by later Christians nearly 100 years after his death. A meeting took place between Polycarp (a disciple of the Apostle John) and Marcion. Marcion asked Polycarp if he remembered him. Polycarp answered, "I do know you, the firstborn of Satan." After he was excommunicated, Marcion traveled around to start churches that agreed with him. His influence spread to the Mediterranean and lasted for several centuries until Christian emperor Justinian I made Marcionism illegal. 

HERETICAL TEACHING

Marcio wrote a book called Antithesis. He believed the Old Testament showed a God who doesn't know everything as opposed to Jesus in the New Testament who knew everything. Today, many people wrestle with Scripture and come to a similar conclusion: that there is one God in the OT (Yahweh) and another in the NT (Jesus). Marcion's taught that Jesus Christ was sent by an unknown Father to save us from Yahweh's evil wrath. In his book, Marcio clearly pits the OT against the NT.

• Genesis 3:9 versus Luke 5:22
• 2 Kings 1:9 versus Luke 9:54-55
• Isaiah 45:7 versus 1 John 4:16
• Exodus 20:5 versus 1 Corinthians 13:4

Marcion's negative view of Yahweh led him to become anti-Jewish. He believed the church was misguided in their belief that they were True Israel. Thus, he wanted to rid Christianity of all traces of Judaism. Tertullian, a Christian apologist in the 2nd and 3rd century, said that Marcion's main work is the separation of the law and the gospel--in other words, Marcion wanted the completely separate OT and NT. This led Marcion to pick and choose what books of the Bible he wanted to keep as canon (Holy Scripture). Marcion onl allowed for literalistic readings of Scripture. He cut out the entire OT, believing that the OT was only law and that Christ ushered in a new gracious era. Marcion even took out all references to Jesus' Jewishness from the NT books. His Bible was composed of 10 of Paul's letters and a mutilated version of Luke's gospel. He loved Paul and believed Paul was an enemy of the OT Law. The unknown Father of the NT was kind, forgiving, and gracious, unlike the God of the OT.

Marcion's teaching led to a destruction of the humanity of Christ. His dualistic view led him to believe that the material realm was bad. Thus, Marcion was skeptical that a divine redeemer could be born of a woman. If Christ's humanity is denied, then this means that salvation is only for the soul. 

ORTHODOX RESPONSE

Marcion's heresy led the early church to write a lot against him and his teachings. Tertullian wrote Against Marcion (composed of 5 books) and fought against this heresy from 207 AD - 208 AD. Tertullian knew that if Christ's humanity is denied then there's no reason to have faith in Christ. A phantom or a ghost could not truly suffer in the flesh and pay the penalty for our sin. Even the apostle John dealt with the early seeds of Gnosticism and Docetism. See 1 John 4:2-3. 

Tertullian questioned Marcion's authority because he was not connected to the early church and apostolic tradition. Tertullian rightly rejected dualism and argued for the goodness of the material creation (Genesis 1). Tertullian mocked Marcion who ridiculed God's insects but was himself incapable of duplicating their skills. Tertullian pointed out the hypocrisy of Marcion's followers who relied heavily on astrology. 

Opposed to Marcion, Tertullian argued that God is both good and just (Micah 6:8). He taught that justice is seen as an agent of goodness rather than as the enemy of goodness. Tertullian showed how this was relevant for the gospel. If there was no punishment from God for our evil, then how could God deliver us from sin and death? In other words, if God is truly loving and gracious in salvation, then that requires that there be a justice and wrath to be rescued from.

Tertullian also set out to prove that Christ was Creator, rather than opposing the Creator of the OT. Christ promoted Yahweh's laws, gave reality to Yahweh's promises, expressed His attributes, precisely because Christ is Yahweh (John 5:39).

A Greek pastor and theologian before Tertullian, Irenaeus, also spoke against Marcion.  He said that Marcio mutilated the Gospel of Luke and only left a fragment of Luke--having removed all references to Jesus saying that the God of the OT was his Father. He said that Marcio had thus elevated himself above apostolic teaching. Marcion's mutilated New Testament (the first NT "compilation) forced the church to recognize the true canon of Scripture. Marcion's canon was theological--compiled to reflect his teachings. The church's canon was historical--received from the apostles along with the OT that Jesus used. So Marcion's "bible" forced the church to defend the Bible they already had. The church didn't invent the Bible as some people teach. 

• 1st-2nd Century - All NT books were used but no fixed list existed
• 2nd-3rd Century - Core books were widely but other NT books (Hebrews, James, Revelation) were disputed in other regions
• 367 - Athanasius' Festal Letter contained a liste of the 27 NT books we have today
• 382 - The Council of Rome gave an official decision on the 27 NT books
• 393 - The Council of Hippo formally declared the 27 NT books
• 397 & 419 - The Councils of Carthage reaffirmed the same 27 NT books

CONTEMPORARY RELEVANCE

In The God Delusion, Richard Dawkins says that the God of the OT is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction. This is a Marcionistic view of God. But by keeping the OT as Scripture: 

1. The church is forced to reconcile both the wrath and love of God. Marcio tried to eliminate the God of wrath. But love that never faces the demands of justice is not Christian love. Gospel love addresses both the good wrath of God and the good love of God (Romans 3:25-26). 
2. The church underscored the history of the Christian faith. God has always been involved in world history. He didn't suddenly appear on the scene when Christ came.

If Christ was not truly human, then he did not truly suffer for every aspect of us. If he was not truly human, then he could not identify with us sinners and could not save us by his bodily death and bodily resurrection. 

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1.    Why is it an oversimplification to say that the OT is about justice and wrath while the NT is about grace with no justice?

2.    Where do we see grace and mercy in the OT?

3.    Where do we see justice and wrath in the NT?

4.    What is lost if the church disregards the OT?

5.    How is the gospel destroyed if dualism is true and God did not assume human flesh?

6.    Consider Romans 11:11-24. Like Marcion, did Paul want to ride the church and Bible of everything related to Israel? How should we think about people who are ethnically Jewish?