The Gospel of Marcion

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This document, used by Marcion a famous heretic of his time so it’s dated around 130-150AD. We do not have a copy of the text, but the church fathers and apologists such as Tertullian extensively criticised such a Gospel. Marcion’s Gospel scholars suggest is a clear alteration of Luke’s Gospel and a slicing out of all the Jewish references. 

Reasons for rejection/non-inclusion

  1. Written outside the apostolic age, is not an eyewitness to Jesus and has no bearing on the New Testament Canon
  2. Church Fathers at the time of his writing rejected him and his words such as Polycarp and later Irenaeus. Later Clement of Alexandria, Hippolytus, Origen, Rhodo, Bardesanes, Dionysus of Corinth, Theophilus of Antioch, Philip of Gortyna and Ephraim of Syria joined in on labelling him a heretic
    1. Tertullian wrote an entire volume responding to his heresies (called “Against Marcion”
  3. Rejects the Jewish roots of Jesus and Messianic status
  4. There is no evidence Paul penned a Gospel, Marcion, looking for a loophole in the market, claimed he did
  5. Rejected the Old Testament which Jesus clearly affirms the majority of in his quotations
  6. Assumes duelling Gods, a good and evil one
  7. Jesus only had an immaterial body

Useful external attestation details 

  1. Jesus is a miracle worker
  2. Jesus taught disciples
  3. Jesus was crucified on a cross
  4. Jesus rose from the grave

Most of Luke’s gospel in general is there with Marcion literally trimming out the theology that displaced his position (Anything Jewish basically). The existence of this document attests strongly to the reliability of Luke being prior to Marcion,Interestingly, Marcion’s Gnostic rallying call, made the Christians who were wholly familiar with the writings of the Apostles, formalise a single list. We see in just the first century, the earliest church fathers quote the majority of New Testament books and Johns works early on in the second century.     https://coldcasechristianity.com/writings/why-shouldnt-we-trust-the-non-canonical-gospel-of-marcion/


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