| Marcion Of Sinope |
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| founders of religions | |
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According to the 1911 , the authentic institutes of Christ . The pure gospel, however, Marcion found to be everywhere more or less corrupted and mutilated in the Christian circles of his time. His undertaking thus resolved itself into a reformation of Christendom . This reformation was to deliver Christendom from False Jewish Doctrines by restoring the Pauline Conception Of The Gospel , — Paul being, according to Marcion, the only Apostle who had rightly understood the new message of Salvation as delivered by Christ. In Marcion's own view, therefore, the founding of his church — to which he was first driven by opposition — amounts to a reformation of Christendom through a return to the gospel of Christ and to Paul; nothing was to be accepted beyond that. This of itself shows that it is a mistake to reckon Marcion among the Gnostics . A Dualist he certainly was, but he was not a Gnostic." According to the ''Catholic Encyclopedia'', "it is obvious that Marcion was already a Consecrated bishop" and "we can take it for granted then, that Marcion was a bishop, probably an assistant or Suffragan of his father at Sinope ." Ernest Evans states that Marcion founded in Rome "a church which within half a generation expanded throughout the known world, vigorous enough to be in almost every place a serious rival to the Catholic church, and with strong enough convictions to retain its expansive power for more than a century, and to survive heathen persecution, Christian controversy, and imperial disapproval for several centuries more" (Evans 1972 p. ix). Some ideas of Marcion's reappeared with Manichaean developments among the Bulgarian Bogomil s of the 10th Century and their Cathar heirs of southern France in the 13th Century . Marcion's attempt to recover the authentic Jesus exemplifies a theme of Christian reformers, for example in the Jefferson Bible , works of Albert Schweitzer , and the Jesus Seminar . However, the evaluation of Marcion's thought in virtually all modern Christian traditions is that his thought was much more an attempted synthesis of Gnostic thought with Christianity than an historical inquiry into the historical Jesus. His status in Christian history is among the more notorious Cannonical , Trinitarian and Christological heretics of the Patristic age. This evaluation has never been in serious doubt in any of the Orthodox , Catholic or Protestant traditions. What made Marcion further distinct from those who have sought to 'recover' the authentic Jesus, was that he believed that while the universe was created by Yahweh , the God behind Jesus and his teachings is not the same as the universal creator, this position has led many in orthodox branches to label his teachings Gnostic, as they make use of the concept of the Demiurge and a Docetic Christ. HISTORY What we know of Marcion comes mostly through his detractors, who are in substantial agreement. The first mention of Marcion was in says he was the son of a bishop who excommunicated him on grounds of immorality, a story that is difficult to believe given other statements that he was a very moral man and the strong tendency to accuse heretics of immorality. He eventually found his way to Rome about 142–3, for Tertullian, writing about 208, dates the beginning of Marcion's teachings 115 years after the Crucifixion , which Tertullian placed in AD 26–27 (''Adversus Marcionem'', xix). In the next few years after his arrival in Rome, he worked out his theological system, based on his interpretation of the message of Jesus, and attracted a large following. When conflicts with the bishops of Rome arose, Marcion began to organize his followers into a separate community. He was Excommunicated by the Church Of Rome around 144 (115 years and 6 months from the Crucifixion Of Jesus according to the ''Catholic Encyclopedia''), which returned his previous donation of 200,000 Sesterces , a very large sum, considering records from Pompeii show a slave being sold at auction for 6252 sesterces; the ''Catholic Encyclopedia'' attributes these funds possibly to Purchase The Bishopric Of Rome after Pope Hyginus died about in 143 and before Pius I was appointed successor. Tertullian claimed Valentinius was a candidate at that same time. After being rejected by the Church of Rome he returned to Asia Minor where he continued spreading his message. He created a strong ecclesiastical organization, parallel to that of the Church of Rome, with himself as bishop. Tertullian and Irenaeus report that Marcion attempted to use his money to influence the Church to adopt his teaching, which they rejected. He also came face to face at Rome with Polycarp , who claimed to have known John (either John The Apostle or John The Presbyter ) personally— Polycarp called him "the first born of Satan." His numerous critics included the aforementioned, along with Ephraim Of Syria , Dionysius Of Corinth , Theophilus Of Antioch , Philip Of Gortyna , Hippolytus and Rhodo in Rome, Bardesanes at Edessa, Clement Of Alexandria , and Origen . Nevertheless, "not even Tertullian can find any strictures to pass on the morals of Marcion or his adherents" (Evans 1972 p. xiv). TEACHINGS See Also: Marcionism Marcionism is the Dualist Belief System that originates in the teachings of Marcion around the year 144 .(115 years and 6 months from the Crucifixion , according to Tertullian 's reckoning in ''Adversus Marcionem'', xv) Marcion affirmed Jesus Christ as the savior sent by God and Paul as his chief apostle. Marcion declared that Christianity was distinct from and in opposition to Judaism . He rejected the entire Hebrew Bible , and declared that the God of the Hebrew Bible was a lesser '' Demiurge '', who had created the earth, but was (''de facto'') the source of evil. The premise of Marcionism is that many of the teachings of Christ are incompatible with the God of the Jewish religion. Focusing on the Pauline Traditions of the Gospel, Marcion felt that all other conceptions of the Gospel, and especially any association with the Old Testament religion, was opposed to, and a backsliding from, the truth. He further regarded the arguments of Paul regarding Law And Gospel , wrath and grace, works and faith, flesh and spirit, sin and righteousness, death and life, as the essence of religious truth. He ascribed these aspects and characteristics as two principles, the righteous and wrathful God of the Old Testament, who is at the same time identical with the creator of the world, and a second God of the Gospel, quite unknown before Christ, who is only love and mercy. Adolf Von Harnack , ''History of Dogma'', vol. 1, ch. 5, p. 269 SEE ALSO NOTES }}} REFERENCES
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