In the first centuries of Christianity, when the ideological basis of the new teaching was being formed, theologians faced a very difficult task - to "reconcile" the Old and New Testaments among themselves. There was only one way to do this - to smooth out the contradictions between the holy book of the Jews and the holy book of Christians as much as possible. But it was an extremely difficult task …
Not all theologians and philosophers of that time agreed to “reconcile” both Testaments. Marcion of Sinope was one of the first to raise his voice against such an unnatural combination of texts. His arguments were so convincing that his numerous followers soon showed up.
They are called marcionites.
The son of a sailor
Very little is known about Marcion's life. It is believed that he was born in 1985 into the family of a wealthy Sinop shipbuilder.
Sinop was a large port of that time and played an important role in the Asia Minor trade. Marcion's father not only built ships, but was also a major ship owner. In Sinop, he was considered a Christian and a respected person, so it is not surprising that, having made a large monetary donation, he became the head of the Sinop community of co-religionists and became the so-called bishop. Probably, Marcion received a very good education at that time. He was an inquisitive person and inclined to analyze contemporary philosophical and religious movements. Raised in the Christian faith, he nevertheless carefully read the works of the Epicureans and Stoics. From his father, Marcion inherited a business that brought good income and did not need money. He could have taken the same position in the community of Sinop Christians as his parent,but "bookish" knowledge attracted him much more than a high position. So the young Marcion went headlong into comparing the texts of the Old and New Testaments, for he did not understand how these two sacred books could be related. For Marcion, the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament were two completely different deities. The first is a cruel and ruthless Creator, in front of whom a person had to fall on his knees and not dare to look up at him, and the second is a merciful God, who sent his only Son to them to save people. Trying to find answers, Marcion became a student of the philosopher Curdon. For Marcion, the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament were two completely different deities. The first is a cruel and ruthless Creator, in front of whom a person had to fall on his knees and not dare to look up at him, and the second is a merciful God, who sent his only Son to them to save people. Trying to find answers, Marcion became a student of the philosopher Curdon. For Marcion, the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament were two completely different deities. The first is a cruel and ruthless Creator, in front of whom a person had to fall on his knees and not dare to look up at him, and the second is a merciful God, who sent his only Son to them to save people. Trying to find answers, Marcion became a student of the philosopher Curdon.
Kerdon was a Gnostic and follower of Simon Magus, that is, at that time he was considered a heretic. In Rome, where Kerdon came from Syria, his teaching was not at first recognized, but over time, the Roman Christians realized that what Curdon preached did not correspond to their understanding of Christianity. The philosopher was going to be solemnly anathematized and excommunicated, but he managed to be separated from the Roman Christians before being subjected to this procedure. There was no unity among the Christians there, and the teachings of Curdon attracted many, which sowed such horror among the leadership of the church that the Roman bishop eventually embodied the threat - he excommunicated the philosopher, and he had to flee. Somewhere during these events, the rich shipbuilder Marcion joined the ranks of the Kerdonian. He turned out to be a good student and subsequently even eclipsed the glory of his teacher.
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Until 140, that is, until the quite venerable age of 55, Marcion continued to live in Asia Minor and Syria, and then appeared in Rome. By that time, he had already developed his own teaching. Marcion hoped that he could force the Roman Christians to revise some of the fundamental tenets of the faith. True, he hoped not only for the gift of persuasion, but also for a large investment in the Roman church: Marcion donated 200 thousand sesterces to her - a colossal amount at that time. But the union with the Roman Church did not work out. Marcion practically repeated the fate of Kerdon - he was excommunicated, anathematized, returned the donation and expelled from Rome. And for all who could be tempted by his teachings, they came up with a terrible legend: allegedly in his youth, Marcion raped and corrupted a virgin in his native Sinope, a faithful Christian,for which he was expelled from the city by his own father and wandered throughout the Middle East. There he met the Gnostics, completely fell under their influence and set himself the goal of confusing the minds of Christians and corrupting their daughters. He was even called nothing less than "the offspring of Satan." And a century after his death, when it became clear that the teachings of Marcion still had adherents, they came up with another lie: supposedly sensing the approach of death, Marcion repented, reconciled with the church and even tried to return to the bosom of this church all those whom he tempted with his thoughts … Both the legend of the "creation of Satan" and the invention of the "repentant sinner" were unsuccessful. He was even called nothing less than "the offspring of Satan." And a century after his death, when it became clear that the teachings of Marcion still had adherents, they came up with another lie: supposedly sensing the approach of death, Marcion repented, reconciled with the church and even tried to return to the bosom of this church all those whom he tempted with his thoughts … Both the legend of the "creation of Satan" and the invention of the "repentant sinner" were unsuccessful. He was even called nothing less than "the offspring of Satan." And a century after his death, when it became clear that the teachings of Marcion still had adherents, they came up with another lie: supposedly sensing the approach of death, Marcion repented, reconciled with the church and even tried to return to the bosom of this church all those whom he tempted with his thoughts … Both the legend of the "creation of Satan" and the invention of the "repentant sinner" were unsuccessful.
Bitter fruits of skill
Marcion was a thoughtful reader with an excellent memory. Therefore, he read both Testaments very carefully and remembered all the inaccuracies and contradictions that he encountered as he read. Much of what Jesus Christ preached was fundamentally at odds with the mode of action of the Jewish God Yahweh, which was supposed to be Jesus the Father. From this, Marcion drew a simple conclusion: God the Father of the New Testament and the God of the Old Testament are not at all identical to each other, therefore he called God the Father a Christian god, and Yahweh - a Jewish god. Marcion was convinced that the God who drove Adam out of the Garden of Eden for his thirst for knowledge could not be the God who gave birth to Jesus, because he patronized goodness and knowledge in its purest form.
He outlined his view of the contradictions between the two Testaments in the Antithesis, based on similar remarks by the Apostle Paul. On this basis, they, apparently, agreed with Kerdon: he also believed that in Judaism and Christianity there are different "God-Fathers". The Jewish God not only embodies severity and law, but is, in fact, the embodiment of evil, and the Christian God guarantees forgiveness to sinners and bestows upon them mercy and love, that is, he is the embodiment of good. Since these two principles - evil and good - are incompatible, then Judaism and Christianity are also incompatible. Proceeding from such incompatibility of texts, Marcion created his Gospel, selecting from both Testaments what should, in his opinion, correspond to the true teaching of Christ. Marcion believed that after the death of Christ and the first apostles, the teaching was distorted,many mistakes have crept into him. Therefore, he proposed a book that could precede the New Testament. It included the Gospel and the Apostle. Of the four church-recognized texts, he chose one - the Gospel of Luke, with the exception of the first two chapters. In the Apostle, the New Testament letters were grouped to the Galatians, Corinthians, Romans, Thessalonians, Ephesians, Colossians, Philippians and to the Apostle Philemon.
Another Jesus
Regarding Jesus himself, Marcion also had a special opinion, incompatible with church dogmas. According to his version, Jesus was a purely spiritual creation, the body of Christ had no material nature, it was ghostly, but at the same time visible. He was never born and never experienced physical suffering. Jesus was sent into the world by his Father to bring salvation to all sinners - both living and dead, for the sake of the latter the Savior descended into Hell. Since the world is ruled by two Gods - good and bad, there is no coordination of actions between them. This is why the Old Testament prophets did not give any prophecy about Christ - Jesus was not the Messiah of the Old Testament. Therefore, the adherents of that Covenant took up arms against him and put him to death on the cross. The Messiah of the Old Testament will not bring people happiness, he is the messenger of evil, that is, the Antichrist. And when he comesbliss will be received only by those who recognize an evil God, but the Antichrist cannot do anything with those who believe in a good God, since they are already saved.
Both Marcion himself and his followers led the most ascetic lifestyle, they took a vow of celibacy, and every Saturday they had a fast. They also practiced three times baptism with water for the glory of Jesus Christ, and during each of these baptisms they were freed from all their sins. The Marcionites recognized the main idea of Marcion about two incompatible Gods, but over time, the teaching split into two branches - the Middle East and the Egyptian. The first retained the basic views of Marcion. The second believed that the body of Christ is a special spiritual substance, consisting of air. Both trends existed until the 5th century and were considered by the official church as one of the most dangerous heresies.
Nikolay KOTOMKIN