Marcion actually grew up in a Christian home. His father was a bishop in Sinope in Pontus. So far so good. As Marcion grew, he developed a strong dislike towards Judaism and a strong affinity with Gnosticism. He then decided to to take his anti-Jewish views, his anti-materiel views, and his Christian views, and mix them together. Out came what we know today as Marcionism.
As he began to spread his teachings, Marcion actually became more of a threat to the orthodox church than the gnostics. Why? Several reasons: First, like the gnostics, he reinterpreted the doctrines of creation, incarnation, and resurrection. Unlike the gnostics, he was able to organize a church with its own bishops and own scriptures (we will talk about this shortly).
In 144 A.D., he went to Rome and gathered a following, However, the orthodox church there had serious issues with his teachings, and rejected him. That didn't stop Marcion. He went on to found his own church, which lasted for several centuries as a rival to the orthodox church. So successful was this movement, that even after it was long defeated, it still hung around for centuries.
Now let's turn to his actually teachings. What made him such a bad guy? For starters, his gnostic leanings caused him to view the world as evil. Because of this, the creator of this world must either be evil or ignorant (this would be what philosophers call the logical fallacy of a false dilemma).
For the gnostics, they solved this problem by having a long chain of emanations or spiritual beings. Marcion didn't see a need for all of that. His solution was much, much simpler. He suggested that the God and Father of Jesus is not the same as the Yahweh of the Old Testament. Yes, Yahweh, made this world, but the Father's purpose was that there only be a spiritual world. Yahweh, either through being defiant and evil, or ignorant, made this world and placed humanity in it.
This has profound implications for Marcion's view of scripture. If you were to ask Marcion, "Hey M, do you believe in the inspiration of scripture?" He would have said, "Yeah bro, I do. The Old Testament was inspired by a god who was either ignorant or evil. He is arbitrary, and I can't stand all that talk about election. Yahweh choosing particular people over and above others is just mean and vindictive." This view of Yahweh lead Marcion to reject the Old Testament. To him, Yahweh was an inferior god who should be despised. His writings should not be read in churches, nor should they be used in Christian instruction.
So, what was Marcion's God, the Father, like? The Father is the Father of Christians and the Father of Jesus Christ. This God is not a vindictive tyrant, but loving. The God of Marcion requires absolutely nothing from us, but gives everything freely. The Father does not seek to be obeyed, but loved. The Father has compassion on these creatures that Yahweh has made, and thus sends His Son to save us. Oh, but Jesus really wasn't born of Mary, since this flies in the face of his gnosticism, and not to mention, would put Jesus as being subject to Yahweh. So how did Jesus get here? He just appeared out of nowhere during the reign of Tiberius (like all those many sci-fi movies that I have watched where the aliens just show up), And the final judgment? There isn't one. The Supreme God, the Father is all loving and will forgive everyone no matter what (eat your heart out. Rob Bell).
Since Marcion rejected the Hebrew scriptures, he needed to find something to replace them, so he compiled a little list of books that he considered to be the true Christian writings. These books included the letters of Paul (who, according to Marcion, was one of the few who really understood the message of Jesus), and the Gospel of Luke. All the other books that were considered authoritative and were written by the other apostles, were diseased with Jewish teachings and were to be rejected.
But wait a minute, doesn't Paul and Luke quote from the Old Testament in their writings? Yes, and Marcion had an answer for that. These OT quotations were simply interpolations- the awful shenanigans of Judaizers who were seeking to pervert the original message.
In the next post, we will look at how the early church responded to the heresies of the gnostics and Marcion.
As he began to spread his teachings, Marcion actually became more of a threat to the orthodox church than the gnostics. Why? Several reasons: First, like the gnostics, he reinterpreted the doctrines of creation, incarnation, and resurrection. Unlike the gnostics, he was able to organize a church with its own bishops and own scriptures (we will talk about this shortly).
In 144 A.D., he went to Rome and gathered a following, However, the orthodox church there had serious issues with his teachings, and rejected him. That didn't stop Marcion. He went on to found his own church, which lasted for several centuries as a rival to the orthodox church. So successful was this movement, that even after it was long defeated, it still hung around for centuries.
Now let's turn to his actually teachings. What made him such a bad guy? For starters, his gnostic leanings caused him to view the world as evil. Because of this, the creator of this world must either be evil or ignorant (this would be what philosophers call the logical fallacy of a false dilemma).
For the gnostics, they solved this problem by having a long chain of emanations or spiritual beings. Marcion didn't see a need for all of that. His solution was much, much simpler. He suggested that the God and Father of Jesus is not the same as the Yahweh of the Old Testament. Yes, Yahweh, made this world, but the Father's purpose was that there only be a spiritual world. Yahweh, either through being defiant and evil, or ignorant, made this world and placed humanity in it.
This has profound implications for Marcion's view of scripture. If you were to ask Marcion, "Hey M, do you believe in the inspiration of scripture?" He would have said, "Yeah bro, I do. The Old Testament was inspired by a god who was either ignorant or evil. He is arbitrary, and I can't stand all that talk about election. Yahweh choosing particular people over and above others is just mean and vindictive." This view of Yahweh lead Marcion to reject the Old Testament. To him, Yahweh was an inferior god who should be despised. His writings should not be read in churches, nor should they be used in Christian instruction.
So, what was Marcion's God, the Father, like? The Father is the Father of Christians and the Father of Jesus Christ. This God is not a vindictive tyrant, but loving. The God of Marcion requires absolutely nothing from us, but gives everything freely. The Father does not seek to be obeyed, but loved. The Father has compassion on these creatures that Yahweh has made, and thus sends His Son to save us. Oh, but Jesus really wasn't born of Mary, since this flies in the face of his gnosticism, and not to mention, would put Jesus as being subject to Yahweh. So how did Jesus get here? He just appeared out of nowhere during the reign of Tiberius (like all those many sci-fi movies that I have watched where the aliens just show up), And the final judgment? There isn't one. The Supreme God, the Father is all loving and will forgive everyone no matter what (eat your heart out. Rob Bell).
Since Marcion rejected the Hebrew scriptures, he needed to find something to replace them, so he compiled a little list of books that he considered to be the true Christian writings. These books included the letters of Paul (who, according to Marcion, was one of the few who really understood the message of Jesus), and the Gospel of Luke. All the other books that were considered authoritative and were written by the other apostles, were diseased with Jewish teachings and were to be rejected.
But wait a minute, doesn't Paul and Luke quote from the Old Testament in their writings? Yes, and Marcion had an answer for that. These OT quotations were simply interpolations- the awful shenanigans of Judaizers who were seeking to pervert the original message.
In the next post, we will look at how the early church responded to the heresies of the gnostics and Marcion.