New Thinking Regarding Marcion of Sinope, Creator of The First New Testament, by James Bean

♦ June 18, 2024

 


New Thinking Regarding Marcion of Sinope, Creator of The First New Testament, by James Bean


The old views regarding Marcion is that he was a semi-gnostic “heretic” who was the heavy-handed editor of early Christian texts snipping out references to the Hebrew scriptures. This however is simply parroting the old propaganda against Marcion concocted  by the heresiologists, the heresy hunting church fathers not exactly known for complete accuracy and honesty. The more recent scholarly research and subsequent updates regarding Marcion is that he was the one who first invented the idea of a Christian canon of scripture consisting of one gospel followed by ten letters of the Apostle Paul. Marcion was not an editor of the Gospel of Luke but made use of an early gospel from an unknown author that others would eventually plagiarize, adopt, edit and expand into what we now call the Gospel of Luke. The letters of Paul in Marcion’s collection are the genuine ones actually authored by Paul. This collection of Marcionite texts represents earlier material than the more familiar final versions found in the New Testament canon. 


Thus being the EARLIEST NEW TESTAMENT Marcion’s First New Testament is an extremely valuable source for the study of the original proto-Luke gospel (the Evangelion) and letters of Paul (the Apostolikon). A few reconstructions of Marcion’s New Testament have been made including The First New Testament: Marcion’s Scriptural Canon, by Jason Beduhn: “The earliest version of the New Testament, now in English for the first time! History preserves the name of the person responsible for the first New Testament, the circumstances surrounding his work, and even the date he decided to build a textual foundation for his fledgling Christian community. So why do so few people know about him? Jason BeDuhn introduces Marcion, reconstructs his text, and explores his impact on the study of Luke-Acts, the two-source theory, and the Q hypothesis.” 


Discussions regarding the above: 


Reconstructing the FIRST New Testament! 

https://youtu.be/Q27JRfu35qE?si=dqNqU9aGzNO2lmcT


The Apostolos:

https://www.youtube.com/live/Ou3Xrtme91c?si=eOL5xoQ1mE8plNS_


Marcion, Found Christianities Series: 

https://youtu.be/DktjZVfUWHU?si=hiQPHCZ-a3cuCXwD







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