The Gospel according to Heretics

Discovering Orthodoxy through Early Christological Conflicts

Wilhite, David E.

• Publisher: Baker Academic
• Year: 2015
• ISBN:
  9781441223517
• Topic: Theologie & Religion
• Subtopic: Systematische Theologie & Ethik

Since what Christian doctrine denies can be as important as what it affirms, it is important to understand teachings about Jesus that the early church rejected. Historians now acknowledge that proponents of alternative teachings were not so much malicious malcontents as they were misguided or even misunderstood. Here a recognized expert in early Christian theology teaches orthodox Christology by explaining the false starts (heresies), making the history of theology relevant for today's church. This engaging introduction to the christological heresies is suitable for beginning students. In addition, pastors and laypeople will find it useful for apologetic purposes.

1
Marcion

Supersessionism

Marcion . . . a wolf from Pontus.

—Justin Martyr

Marcion . . . a mouse from Pontus.

—Tertullian

We should not mistake the accusations of Marcion’s opponents for the substance of his opinions.

—Joseph R. Hoffman

Summary: Marcionites

Key Doctrine: Supersessionism

• Jesus = God 2.0
• The God of the Old Testament = bad, mean, judging; but the Jesus-God of the New Testament = good, nice, loving

Key Date

• 144: Marcion is condemned by Christians in Rome

In the middle of the second century, Marcion approached the highly revered bishop Polycarp, asking for approval and “recognition.” In response, Polycarp retorted, “I ‘recognize’ you. You’re the firstborn of Satan!”1

What did Marcion do or teach to deserve such a biting one-liner? From Polycarp’s perspective (and the perspective of the orthodox party that would emerge), Marcion blasphemed God, meaning he taught the following.

1. Marcion denounced the God of the Old Testament; and so he
2. rejected the Jewish Scriptures, and so he also
3. claimed creation to be evil.

Such teachings, however, must not have been seen as blasphemy or heresy by all. For example, many Christians—called “Marcionites” by their opponents—followed Marcion. In fact, some in the early church bemoaned the spread of Marcion’s teachings over the whole earth.2 It is telling that an outsider would hardly be able to distinguish “catholic” churches from “Marcionite” churches.3 For that matter, long after Marcionism had been rejected by the catholic party, bishops worried that new converts would not be able to tell the difference between a Marcionite church and a “catholic” one.4 Our outline of Marcion’s “blasphemies,” of course, is the version told by the non-Marcionite Christians. We must, then, try to hear Marcion’s side of the story. Before we can do so, let us begin with what we know of Marcion’s life.

“Catholic”

In the early Christian centuries, the term “catholic” did not mean Roman Catholic. The word more simply meant “universal” or, literally, “according to the whole” (Greek kata + holos). Early Christian writers claimed to belong to the whole church in order to distinguish themselves from the heretics, who were understood as belonging to rogue sects. Before long, “catholic” becomes the precise title for churches that are non-Marcionite, or non-Gnostic, or some other such distinction. The catholic party is said to be the one true church. On the other hand, these sects claim the opposite: they belong to the true church, and their opponents have deviated from the true teachings of the true church. In general the term “catholic” will be used here to refer to those who were considered such by later generations, although there will be times when the problems with the label will be called to the reader’s attention.

Just the “Facts,” Marcion, Just the “Facts”

Marcion comes from the town of Sinope in the region of Pontus, which was located on the southern shore of the Black Sea (modern-day Turkey), but his impact on Christian history occurs when he arrives in Rome.5 Exactly when he was born and died cannot be known, but he arrived in Rome by 144.6 As for his background, we can list not so much facts as accusations, since all we know of him comes from his opponents. The “facts” are as follows.

a. He was wealthy. Or, this may be a way to discredit him (cf. Matt. 19:16–22; James 5:1).

b. His wealth came from being a shipowner. Or, this too could be a contrast with Jesus’s first disciples (cf. Mark 1:20).

c. He gave a very large gift to the church in Rome on his arrival there. Or, this could be portraying Marcion as one who bribes (cf. Exod. 23:8; Acts 8:20).7

d. His mentor was a renowned heretic named Cerdo. Or, Marcion’s ideas sound like Cerdo’s ideas, and this connection is the surest way to discredit him.8

e. His father was a bishop, who excommunicated him in Sinope for raping a virgin.9 Or, Marcion’s teachings violated the “virgin Bride” (i.e., the church)—later Christians simply misunderstood.

f. Marcion repented of his teachings late in life, but died before making things right with the church. Or, no one knows what happened to him, and reports of Marcion’s own rejection of Marcionism would refute any who might be tempted by this heresy.

g. Marcion was a pescetarian.10 Or, . . . well, there is no “or” this time. What motive could someone have for making this up? Perhaps, since Christians are “little fish” (i.e., they have the fish symbol of ICHTHUS on their chariots),11 Marcion gobbles them up.12 No “orthodox” opponent, however, used this “fact” against him.

Most scholars accept points (a)–(c) as facts, while (d) is debated, leaving (e) and (f), which are generally assumed to be slander. The last point, (g), is just mentioned here because it might one day win the reader a game of Church History Trivial Pursuit.

In Rome Marcion may have been accepted into the church, only later being declared a heretic when he presented his teachings to the leaders of the church. Why and how he presented these matters is unclear. Whether Marcion himself was even “excommunicated” (or for that matter, whether anyone could function as a “pope” or “bishop” of some sort in order to excommunicate him at this time) is itself debatable at best. Perhaps Marcion simply left Rome when his teachings were attacked by others. We cannot be sure. What we do find in the sources, however, is an immediate and outright rejection of his teachings as “heresy.”

The Heresy: A Portrait or Caricature?

When it comes to his teaching, we can proceed on firmer ground for the following reason. While his opponents attempt to show the absurdities in his thinking, they nevertheless portray Marcion as having his own consistent logic. Since Marcion’s teachings make sense on their own terms, we can understand both why he would have held such beliefs and why his opponents rejected them.

Tertullian (ca. 160–220)

Tertullian wrote the most extensive work against Marcion (uncreatively entitled Against Marcion). He writes from Carthage in North Africa and is famous for his wit and biting rhetoric. He was formerly understood to have been a Roman lawyer, a priest, one who despised philosophy, and he was even said to have converted to the Montanist heresy later in life. This picture of Tertullian, however, has been heavily revised in recent decades. Because he writes so extensively against Marcion and because he is relatively close to Marcion’s time, he is the primary source for our understanding of the Marcionite heresy. Most other “orthodox” opponents of Marcion provide only a few paragraphs about him and his teaching. Thus, Tertullian’s work will be used repeatedly throughout this chapter.

Because the anti-Marcionite writers used rhetorical flourish to discredit Marcion, we must take a critical stance toward their claims. For example, we will explore how Marcion allegedly cut and pasted the New Testament to fit his teachings. When Tertullian—the most elaborate source on Marcion—first reports this in his work Against Marcion, he does so in highly embellished terms: after reporting how cold the climate of Pontus is, and how barbaric the people of Pontus are, he exclaims, “Even so, the most barbarous and melancholy thing about Pontus is that Marcion was born there . . . !”13 He then likens Marcion to the vermin said to infest the region, claiming Marcion is a “Pontic mouse” that “gnaws” away at good things, namely the holy books. Clearly, Tertullian ridicules Marcion in order to discredit him. Of course, we need not fault Tertullian; this approach represents the norm for debate in the ancient world; we can probably assume that Marcion would have used similar rhetoric in response. We can ignore Tertullian as far as Marcion’s barbarity. Can we also dismiss Te...