Marcion thought paul was a genuine apostle but peter a false one. While none of marcions writings have survived to the present, we know of his teachings through several early christian writers including justin martyr ad 100165, irenaeus of lyons ad 200 and hippolytus ad 170235. The first scholar to raise the question independently of dogmatics was none other than johann semler, the founder of canon criticism, and probably the most important biblical scholar of the. Beyond chapters 1 and 2 of luke, marcion also removed luke 4. Often, protestant historians try to obscure the real nature of marcions heresy. Marcion taught that the god of the old testament was the author of evil, oppressive, and a lesser and distinct entity from the god of the new testament who exhibited love and forgiveness.
This volume seeks to spur a lively discussion on marxist feminist analysis of biblical texts. By the time marcion finished editing the scriptures, his bible consisted of nothing. Marcionism is the theological doctrine known after the heretic marcion of sinope, a ship owner from pontus in asia minor1 who died around 160 a. Download marxist feminist criticism of the bible pdf free. Im with marcion, and so was about half of christianity in the late second century. Marcions theological errors and there were many came from one main root. Beduhn, associate professor of religious studies, wrote. Pdf marcion and his critics for oxford handbook on early. Marcion and the invention of the new testament bible interp.
A version of luke, minus the infancy narrative, was acceptable to marcion since luke was the loyal companion of paul and faithfully handed on pauls words. About the middle of the second century 140155 he traveled to rome, where he joined the syrian gnostic cerdo marcion believed that jesus was the savior sent by god, and paul the apostle was his. Marcion believed that jesus was the savior sent by god, and paul the apostle was his chief apostle, but he rejected the hebrew bible and the god of israel. Interpretation addresses the fact that all these various methods, and those who have utilized. The canon of the new testament, by milton fisher, in the origin of the bible, ed. The text of the new testament in the apostolic fathers 282 paul foster 16. Then, all of a sudden, without warning, professor hengel rose to his feet and thanked me for the evening. Dictionary of biblical criticism and interpretationed.
The hebrew bible, composed between the 14th and 5th centuries bce, is the main source for the history of ancient israel. He considered himself a follower of paul the apostle, who he believed to have been the only true apostle of. Marcions canon included only pauls letters and an edited version of lukes gospel. Browse other questions tagged bibletranslation referencerequest textualcriticism niv or ask your own question. I welcome the invitation to honor professor metzger, and follow the lead he has given in this commentary. Yet, because he did not merely make occasional quotations from or allusions to their content as other apostolic fathers did, but compiled and disseminated complete editions of them, marcion far exceeds such other early witnesses in the extent of evidence he. Although it is a book for specialists, the text of marcion s gospel is sure to be a standard reference work for those studying marcion, textual criticism, and secondcentury christianity for many years.
Marcion redacted a text of luke much as we now know it, or made use of a protoluke, is one of the founding debates of modern biblical studies. Gospel of marcion encyclopedia of the bible bible gateway. Marcion s teaching was condemned as heresy in the year 144. The contents of the marcionite bible was established sometime in the early to mid second century, a full two centuries before the catholics established the contents of. A dictionary of the bible contains accessibly written entries for topics covering the religious, historical, and social. Marcion of sinope edinburgh research explorer the university. Tatians diatessaron and the greek text of the gospels 336 tjitze baarda 19. How the continuing church of god differs from most. In the end, tertullian even suggested paul is the apostle of the heretics. The development of the canon of the new testament marcion. Distinguish papyri from uncial from minuscule greek mss. The christian church has preserved a collection of twentyseven books which form the nt section of the scriptures. Full text of marcion original bible the fully restored bible.
Heikki raisanen, marcion and the origins of christian antijudaism, temenos 33 1997. Now, however, the work of clabeaux and schmid would seem to tip the balance back in favour of the thesis that tertullian knew and used a. Keep in mind, that they were vehement opponents of him. Well, it also skips the baptism, with the effect that john himself seems to come on the scene rather suddenly in marcion, as the subject of an inquiry in luke 5. The marcionite bible was not divided into old and new testaments like the modern bible, and was dramatically shorter. And while marcion, like the protestants and many of the roman catholics, believed that most are lost, the church of god believes that the bible reveals that the plan of the true god, the god of love, is that nearly all will be saved which is also documented in the article hope of salvation. Yet at times this interpretation seemed imperative. According to young earth creationism, which takes a literal view of the book of genesis, the universe and all forms of life on earth were created directly by god sometime between 5,700 and 10,000 years ago. Mainstream christianity has criticized believers for keeping the seventhday. Most scholars involved in the task think we have recovered the. Irenaeus describes the day in which marcion was rejected by the church in rome in adversus haereses 3. A major difficulty for scholars is that any reconstruction of marcions biblical text or antithetical statements is entirely dependent on the words of his critics, given. For the last two thousand years or more the church of jesus christ has been plagued by heresies. The churchs scripture and functional marcionism daniel l.
Marcion came under the influence of the gnostic teacher cedro who believed that the god of the old testament was different from the god and father of the lord jesus christ. We spoke about christology, william wrede, textual criticism, marcion, and other topics. They did so by combing through citations of marcions bible by orthodox. Long considered to be the perfect word of god by devout christians and the jewish parts by devout jews, scholars and scientists have endeavored for centuries to scrutinise the texts to. Marcion and the marcionites 144 3rd century ce at the end of july, 144 ce, a hearing took place before the clergy of the christian congregations in rome.
Just looking at the distribution of bible by the united bible societies for 2011 they distributed over 32. More recent information about the content of the canon of marcion and textual criticism. The gospel of marcion lost books bible apocryphal enoch. Marcionism was an early christian dualist belief system that originated in the teachings of marcion of sinope in rome around the year 144 marcion was the son of a bishop of sinope in pontus. Developing some eccentric theological views, he eventually taught that the god of the old testament was not the true god but rather that the true and higher god had been revealed only with jesus christ. Pdf marcion, the bishop in the early church 85160 ad, who was acclaimed. Gilles quispel, marcion and the text of the new testament, vigiliae christianae 52. Download free ebook of marxist feminist criticism of the bible in pdf format or read online by roland boer,jorunn okland published on 2008 by sheffield phoenix press limited. Download fulltext pdf download fulltext pdf rhetoric and biblical criticism article pdf available in quarterly journal of speech 663.
With the new developments in biblical criticism such as that brought forward by richard pervo in his dating acts and joseph tysons marcion and lukeacts. Allegorical interpretation places on biblical literature a meaning that, with rare exceptions, it was never intended to convey. Criticism of the bible is an interdisciplinary field of study concerning the factual accuracy of the claims and the moral tenability of the commandments made in the bible, the holy book of christianity. The gospel of alien god has been translated into english but with the omission of the valuable appendices containing the notes regarding the text of marcion. Criticism addresses the variety of methods that have been developed, especially since the enlightenment, to help us as biblical interpreters to come to terms with the issues surrounding reading the bible. The longest criticism of marcions views is to be found in tertullians invective against marcion, written in 207 and the following years. The bible refers to one of two closely related religious texts central to judaism and christianitythe hebrew or christian sacred scriptures respectively.
The gospel of marcion, called by its adherents the gospel of the lord, was a text used by the mid2nd century christian teacher marcion of sinope to the exclusion of the other gospels. Pdf israel in marcions theology and the challenge of. Marcionism was an early church heresy that lasted long after its founder had passed on. The person himself, or, where the meaning is unambiguous, the gospel attributed to him. For a summary of marcion s opinions see the cross reference table. Think not that i come to destroy the law, or the prophets. Interestingly, the jesus of marcion was not human but docetic. Marcion denied the resurrection of the body because flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of god 1 cor. Marcion s canon accelerated the process of fixing the churchs canon, which had already begun in the first half of the 2nd century.
His suggested emendation of the new testament constituted the earliest textual criticism of the. If the literal sense, on which heretics such as the 2ndcentury biblical critic marcion and antichristian polemicists such classification in hermeneutics. The marcionite bible the marcionite bible was assembled by marcion of sinope, sometime in the earlymid second century. Scholars generally now recognize this is a valid criticism of pauls claims. The text of marcion s gospel new testament tools, studies. Tertullian states that marcion was that shipmaster of pontus adv. Marcionism was a religious movement based on the teachings of the 2ndcentury heretic marcion of sinope. The sect which he founded spread widely, and was for a time a serious menace to the church. Marxist feminist criticism of the bible pdf download.
The twentyseven books comprising the nt section of the bible and which are regarded by the christian church as inspired and authoritative for doctrine and life. Marcion did this by appealing to the antitheses which do not appear in luke but matthew. Strongly antijewish, he distinguished the merely just god of the ot from the loving god and. Although the church at rome expelled him, he remained an influential leader for many years. Marcion and getting unhitched from the old testament. Marcions teaching was condemned as heresy in the year 144.
In this bold undertaking, jason beduhn sets forth, for the first time, a complete english translation of the bible of marcion. Like any library, christianity stack exchange offers great information, but does not offer personalized advice, and does not take the place of seeking such advice from your pastor, priest, or other trustworthy counselor. The reception of the canon by the modern church is inhibited, it seems to me, by functional marcionism. With a useful introduction to all relevant issues, a readable translation of this first new testament, and copious notes supporting each textual decision, beduhn has provided a work of scholarship that is sure to be both welcomed and. Mar 14, 2017 the editorial practices conventionally identified through redaction criticism are part of a much wider continuous activity encompassing both marcion and luke and different textual trajectories. Allegorical interpretation biblical criticism britannica. A gnostic christian who attempted to establish a christian scripture distinct from the hebrew bible, which he rejected. Tertullian and clement of alexandria also wrote about marcion. Rodgers of all the books on my shelf relating to new testament textual criticism, none is in more constant use than bruce m. Marcion of pontus, flourished 2nd century ce, christian heretic.
Heikki raisanen, marcion, muhammed and the mahatma. Gard the scriptures are collected in what is known as the it canon, that is, a grouping of writings received as authoritative and normative for faith and life. A common point of criticism against the bible is the genesis creation narrative. After his mothers death in 1857, he became especially connected to his father, theodosius andreas harnack, who was a teacher of homiletics and church history at the lutheran university in dorpat a part of east prussia. Many atheists, agnostics and secular humanists agree with marcions examples of bible atrocities, and cite. Marcion, the son of the bishop of sinope a seaport of pontus along the black sea who had become a wealthy shipowner, stood before the presbyters to expound his teachings in order to win others to his point of view. Preface this monograph is a revision and significant expansion of my 2009 ph. Exploring the bible harris terms flashcards quizlet. Imposing latesecondcentury mores on an earlysecondcentury figure leads to great misunderstanding. This document has been generated from xsl extensible stylesheet language source with renderx xep formatter, version 3. Marcion and the early new testament text 302 dieter t. It is often rightly said that the bible is the bestselling book of all time. Dictionary of biblical criticism and interpretation. Higgins, the latin text in marcion and tertullian, vigchr 5 1951, 142, and t.
For him it was the true account of the history of the jews, but spoke of the demiurge. Free online bible library the canon of the new testament. Marcion, by dermot mcdonald, in the history of christianity, at 104105. His teaching made a radical distinction between the god of the old testament the creator and the father of jesus.
The subtle heresy of marcion santa barbara community church. The reception of the canon by the modern church is inhibited, it. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of oxford university press british library cataloguing in publication data new testament textual criticism i. Oct 28, 20 ancient critics thought marcion cut out texts he didnt like from an already existing canon, but this is not true.
Marcions criticism culminated in his demonstration that the old testament god had been an instigator of wars, a breaker of promises, and a master of malice. Marcion and the idea of heresy bible interpretation. The word heresy literally means choice, and refers to a choice a person makes when he wanders from the teaching of the bible in favor of his own choice. Marcion, the canon, the law, and the historical jesus. Marcion s canon included only pauls letters and an edited version of lukes gospel.
In other words, the traditional way of defining the marcionite antitheses was to argue that hethey. Christian use of the old testament 347 writings are lost, but we know his viewpoint from tertullians fivebook refutation, against marcion, written in the early third century. The nw new world translation emerges as the most accurate of the translations compared. With a useful introduction to all relevant issues, a readable translation of this first new testament, and copious notes supporting each textual decision, beduhn has provided a work of scholarship that is sure to be. He denied that christ was truly incarnate because flesh, like. Marcion also figures in the history of textual criticism of the new testament, although recent scholarship has tended to see his work less as that of an independent witness and more as a testimony to one branch of the textual tradition. Specific text in marcions gospel the g is used to make it possible to distinguish marcions gospel from his versions of the pauline epistles, e. Edwards, on using the textual apparatus of the ubs greek new testament, bible translator 28 1977. Marcion s criticism culminated in his demonstration that the old testament god had been an instigator of wars, a breaker of promises, and a master of malice. The primary task of textual criticism is to establish the most accurate form of the biblical texts possible. The dinner was two pretzels, a bit of mustard, and hot tea.
A native of sinope in pontus, marcion came to rome c. Harnacks text is actually in three languages german, greek, and latin, so all of them are translated for easier study. The charge heretic has been leveled, sometimes justly and sometimes unjustly, at a myriad of perceived errors and wanderings from orthodoxy. Its reconstructed fragments now appear among the new testament apocrypha. Harnack was born in 1851, in a lutheran family, as the older of a set of twins. Although it is a book for specialists, the text of marcions gospel is sure to be a standard reference work for those studying marcion, textual criticism, and secondcentury christianity for many years. Jason david beduhn the myth of marcion as redactor. Although the general public and many bible scholars assume that the differences in the new world translation are the. Such radicalism may have encouraged marcions orthodox opponents to consider which christian writings were authoritative for the life. The five books of the torah compromise the legal code and origins of the israelite nation.
Finds the earliest examines the reference to the similarities and the differences in the tradition being accounts of the investigated. Tradition has it that marcion was born in sinope, asia minor around 85ce. It was in opposition to marcion s criticism that the church first became fully conscious of its inheritance of apostolic writings. Of the gospels, he accepted only an abbreviated version of luke. Setting the law and the gospel against each other in his book entitleddntitheses, marcion concluded that the god of the ot could not be the god of the new.
Marcions views on scripture and hermeneutics led to a separation from the church in rome and the creation of a concurrent marcionite community. On this model, the hypothesis that marcion received, and probably edited, a predecessor of canonical luke seems most likely. A defining struggle, what john knox was saying back in the late 30s and early 40s of the 20th century is even more relevant today. Thus to say that marcion was faced with an authoritative canon of four gospels, selected from one of the four, excised large chunks of material from it, and elevated it to a level above the others, in full consciousness of having chosen a practice opposed to the worldwide church, is. Most of our information about marcion comes from the early church fathers, iranaeus, tertullian, and hippolytus.
Marcion, gospel of definition and meaning bible dictionary. Marcions church was rigorous, demanding, inspiring, wellorganized, and for about a century fairly successful. What was marcions contribution to the question of early nt canonicity. Marcion refused pointblank to allegorise the ot text37 instead he rejected it completely. Very similar to the gnostic beliefs as in the gospel of judas. Marcionism was an early christian dualist belief system that originated in the teachings of marcion of sinope in rome around the year 144. Metzgers a textual commentary on the greek new testament. Marcion joins the ranks of the socalled apostolic fathers as a witness to the very earliest recoverable forms of new testament texts. This has always been regarded by the orthodox as a most brilliant piece of work. Christian use of the old testament abarc american bible. Although marcion is known only through reports and quotations from his orthodox opponents, especially tertullians adversus marcionem against marcion, the principal outlines of his teaching seem clear.