Marcion

Marcion (circa 110–160 AD) was an early Christian theologian, also transliterated as Markion or Marcianus. He was born in Sinope, Pontus, on the Black Sea coast. His father was a bishop. Marcion arrived in Rome around 140 AD.

Initially, Marcion joined the Roman church and was very enthusiastic about its charitable work, donating a large portion of his wealth to the church. He also considered it his mission to preach the pure gospel. Soon, troubled by sin and suffering, he developed a sharp and extreme dualism, asserting that “the god of this world is opposed to the loving God revealed by Jesus.” His ideas were clearly influenced by ancient Greek dualism of good and evil, some Gnostic theories from Cerdo, and Plato’s dialogues on creation. He ultimately proposed a “dualistic theology and Christology of good and evil.” This dualistic theology rejected the incarnational Christology, arguing that the God of the Old Testament was different from the God and Father revealed by Jesus Christ in the New Testament. The former was unknowable and represented only justice, while the latter was revealed and represented love and mercy. Marcion vigorously promoted his ideas in Rome, attracting many followers within the Roman church, but was ultimately condemned as a heretic by the orthodox church.

In the early church, there was no written New Testament canon yet. The apostles’ oral teachings and letters formed the basis of church life (Acts 2:42), so the church at that time was built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets (Ephesians 2:20). At that time, the apostles’ letters were circulated among the churches and copied for preservation, forming what were called “ancient scrolls.” Local churches collected the apostles’ letters and gospels that were written or transcribed from the apostles’ dictation.

Marcion was the first person to attempt to compile a New Testament canon. He rejected the Old Testament, and his compiled collection included 10 of Paul’s letters (excluding the Pastoral Epistles) and a redacted version of Luke’s Gospel. This was the first attempt to gather and edit New Testament books into a universally accepted canonical work, known as “Marcion’s Canon.” The Catholic Encyclopedia called Marcionites “the most dangerous foe Christianity has ever known.”

Marcion’s compilation work spurred the church to actively compile the New Testament canon. This process continued until the Council of Carthage in 397 AD, which summarized the consensus of the various churches and formally affirmed the 27 books of the New Testament canon.