Lesson #2 - Marcionism Time Line of Heresies INTRODUCTION “What is the most resilient parasite? Bacteria? A Gnosticism - c.100 AD-Present Day Influences virus? An intestinal worm? An idea. Resilient... highly contagious. Once an idea has taken hold of the Marcionism - c. 140 AD-Present Day Influences brain it's almost impossible to eradicate. An idea that is fully formed - fully understood - that sticks; Montanism – c. 150 AD-Present Day Influences right in there somewhere.” -Cobb Inception Novatian and Donatist Divisions c. 3rd and 4th Century AD- Present Day Influences “Don’t you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough?” - 1 Corinthians 5:6 The Bible “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” – 2 Timothy 3:14-15 Gnosticism – page 1 Rationalism Lesson Objectives If you never had anyone to teach you the message of the 1. Introduction to Marion and his teachings Bible, but you had to study it alone to try to understand it, where would you be in your faith and understanding of 2. Uncover the Appeal of Marcionism the Bible? 3. Relate Marcionism to Present Day Heresies True or False: The Old Testament is Law and the New 4. Practice Defending the Truth and Attacking Testament is Gospel. the Heresy Make a list: What are some reasons why people might be lead to think that that God is mean and angry in the OT and loving and merciful in the NT Discuss: What are some ways to rationally harmonize Characteristics of Marcionism God being an angry judge in the OT and loving in the NT? Rationalism that lead to… • Dualism “Marcion's fundamental misstep, however, wasn't his rejection of the Old Testament, though that was his most notorious act. No, his rejecting the Old Testament was a • Redaction Criticism by-product of a greater problem: his desire to theorize God and his unwillingness to allow the entire canon—Old • Docetism and New Testaments—to shape his concept of God and thus challenge the deity of his own making.” Explain: Marcion Defending the Truth • Life: c. 85 – c. 160 • From Sinope Work with your table and respond: • Son of a Bishop • Wealthy Ship Owner How do you respond to Marcion who said that the God of • Heretic the OT was mean, and the God of the NT was loving? • Eventually Excommunicated by the Church in Rome • His influence lasted into the 4th Century What Scripture do you point him to? Gnosticism – page 2 Rationalism Recycled How do you respond to people who fall into the same problem as Marcion? Evaluate these quotes: Rationalism in Redaction Criticism 1) “Let’s assume we have gathered together to talk about a social issue in our lives or world today, and do so in light of our faith. Scripture is the Redaction Criticism: source and norm for our faith and life, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that our conversation Redaction criticism regards the author of begins with Scripture…Here we turn to Scripture, the text as editor (redactor) of his or her to the traditions and teachings the Church has source materials. confessed and lived out through the ages, as well as to other forms of witness to the faith, such as traditions within denominations or those of particular congregations. The temptation is to turn to one particular passage in Scripture that seems to relate to the issue at hand, and to use that as a “proof text” for a position arrived at on other grounds. In some cases, there are clear scriptural stances, for example, in opposition to killing, adultery, or unjust treatment of the poor (even though there may be differences in how particular situations are dealt with). But often Scripture is less than clear about how people of faith should respond to issues today.” 2) "The Word of God is and should remain the sole rule and norm of all doctrine" Rationalism Docetism: From Greek Read these passages: What are the implications of Jesus not being man? δοκεῖν/δόκησις dokeĩn (to seem) /dókēsis (apparition, phantom) • Galatians 4:4-5 • Mark 10:45 "the doctrine according to which the phenomenon of Christ, his historical and bodily existence, and thus above all the human form of Jesus, was altogether mere semblance without any true reality.” Gnosticism – page 3 Conclusion “For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” -1 Corinthians 15:3-4 “When the devil has persuaded us to surrender one article of faith to him, he has won; in effect he has all of them, and Christ is already lost. He can at will unsettle and take all others, for they are intertwined and linked together like a golden chain so that if one link is broken, the entire chain is broken and can be pulled apart. There is no article which the devil cannot overthrow once he has succeeded in having reason dabble in doctrine and speculate about it. Reason knows how to turn and twist Scripture in masterly fashion into conformity with its views. This is very agreeable, like sweet poison.” -Luther “Don’t you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough?” - 1 Corinthians 5:6 - Praise the Lord that we know the truth. Even though Satan tries to work heresy into our midst, we have a firm foundation and faith in the unchanged Word of God. Next Time: Montanism Gnosticism – page 4 Gnosticism – page 5 .