Book Two: CHAPTER V--The Apostle to the Heretics

CHAPTER V

“The Apostle to the Heretics”

 

                        To this point the Christian movement had been subject to the antagonisms of the Palestinian Jewish religious and political authorities, who initially viewed the movement as a minor irritant until it started to attract Hellenistic Jews to its cause. The Palestinian Jewish authorities responded by unleashing a massive persecution against the Hellenistic Jewish Christians, who migrated out of Palestine to other regions throughout the Roman world. As they went, they took their new faith with them, establishing churches wherever they settled. The Hellenistic Jewish Christian churches attracted Gentiles who already held some familiarity with Judaism, known as God-fearers. These God-fearers attracted other Gentiles, most of whom had little or no exposure with Judaism, changing the face of Christianity. Roman political authorities began to take notice of Christianity when it began to draw from the Gentile population. Roman persecutions began in the mid-first century and were centered in and around the city of Rome, and Christianity itself would be deemed an outlawed religion by Nero. Needless to say, all of this was of course threatening to the burgeoning movement. 

 

                        Nevertheless, the greatest potential threat to Christianity came during the second century, not from external persecution, but from within the movement itself. Divisions within the movement were nothing new. There were tensions between the Palestinian and Hellenistic Jews of the early church. There were arguments about if and how to admit gentiles into the movement. There were tensions between Jewish Christianity and Gentiles Christianity. But the new threat in the second century was not the result of the infighting of particular ethnic or social groups, it was the result of an intellectual movement known as Gnosticism. 

 

                        The term Gnosticism comes from the Greek word gnosis, which means “knowledge.” In a nutshell, the Gnostics were obsessed with salvific knowledge. Gnostics believed that certain secret information was passed along to those deemed worthy of accepting such knowledge. One could not be saved without such salvific knowledge. Adherents to Gnosticism received and passed along such knowledge.

 

                        In addition to their assertion that secret knowledge had been passed down by enlightened individuals throughout the ages, Gnostics also subscribed to certain philosophical principles. One such principle was their suspicion of the all things material. Gnostic belief asserted that the material world was inferior to the spiritual world. This suspicion of all things material led to the conviction that the material world was nothing short of evil. For them human beings are really spiritual beings held in a physical prison. The physical entrapment of the body and the world leads the spirit astray and it is the great obstacle to happiness and ultimately to salvation. Why then is there a material world? The Gnostic answer was that reality was originally pure spirit created by a supreme spiritual being and populated by spiritual beings, who, in turn, made other spiritual beings. Somewhere along the line of spiritual beings creating and being created, one of them fell into error and created the material world. The creation of material substance was never the intention of the original supreme spiritual being. What all of this simply meant for the Gnostics was that the physical world is simply a mistake created by a lesser spiritual being, and therefore, should be ignored.

 

                        What is the consequence for the human being? A human being is both a physical being and a spiritual being. The problem for humanity is that the spiritual essence of the human being has been lulled to sleep by the lies of the material world. The goal of Gnosticism is to wake up that spiritual being so that it can be liberated from the evils of material existence. In Gnostic thought, the process of awakening the spiritual being within is often brought about by some spiritual being who comes into existence from outside the physical world. The being brings with him certain knowledge to help wake up the inner-spiritual being and guide him so that he can safely walk the spiritual life. 

 

                        When Gentiles became Christians, they brought all of their theological and philosophical baggage with them. Those who brought their Gnostic predispositions to Christianity often heard confirmation of their old beliefs in their new faith. Paul constantly speaks of the struggle between the flesh and the spirit in his letters, confirming to many who held gnostic ideas that Paul subscribed to an anti-materialistic point of view. John’s Gospel portrays Jesus as a pre-existant spiritual being from outside the material world who takes on human form to teach people in the way of salvation. To those who came from Gnostic backgrounds or who held Gnostic leanings, this sounded like the one who comes from outside the material world to liberate from the deceptions of material existence. (In fact, John’s Gospel had a difficult time getting canonized due to its association with Gnostic principles.)

 

                        Christian Gnostics (or Christians infected by the principles of Gnosticism) decided that the material world was evil. Christ’s significance in such a construct was to remind humanity of its heavenly origin and to save human beings from physical existence. Christ, as savior, did, indeed, come from outside material existence and took on human form, but not human existence. This meant that Christ merely appeared to be human. He could not be human, however, since that would make him like everyone else�"physically corrupt and spiritually sleepy. Therefore, the Gnostic Christ was pure spirit in human form, but not human at all. The Gnostic Christ was not the perfect human sacrifice who paid the price for human sin; rather, he was the messenger from heaven who came to wake up human spirits and save them from the material world. Any human characteristics displayed by Christ were illusory.

 

                        The theological result of such notions within Christianity was a theological development known as docetism. Docetism comes from the word dokein which means “to seem.” Docetism asserted that Christ seemed to be human though in reality he was not. 

 

144 C.E.                        It was in this context of Gnosticism’s influence on Christianity that Marcion entered into the mix. Marcion is often identified with Gnosticism, though to be fair, it appears that his followers were far more gnostic then he himself was.  Nevertheless, Marcion did share some key concepts with the Gnostics.

 

                        Marcion was the son of the bishop of Sinope in the region of Pontus in Asia Minor. In spite of his sound theological and ecclesiastical pedigree, he soon came to despise all things Jewish and all things material. It is not known if his antisemitism and anti-materialism were derived from exposure to Gnosticism or if he found in Gnosticism a means to articulate his previously held convictions. Whatever the case, he soon was forced to leave Pontus, quite possibly being forced out by his own father. He arrived in Rome around 144 and began a movement centered around his own peculiar take on Christianity. 

 

                        Sharing the Gnostic ideal that the physical world was at the very least corrupt and most likely evil, Marcion came to the conclusion that any being that was responsible for the creation of the physical world was also corrupt or evil. Therefore, for Marcion, the God of the Old Testament is not the God of Christianity. The God and Father of Jesus Christ is the supreme spiritual creator of existence, who intended that everything be and remain spiritual. The God of the Jews, YHVH, either as a result of not understanding the supreme creator, or due to active revolt against his authority, created matter and placed human beings in the physical world. The Father sent Jesus Christ to rescue human beings from the authority of YHVH, who for Marcion is not a god, but a demiurge, a subordinate divine being.

 

                        The difference between these two beings is notable for Marcion. YHVH is a god of justice, but the Father is the God of grace. YHVH demands to be worshiped, but the Father demands to be loved. YHVH is short-sighted, mean, brutal, and often bent on genocide, the Father is not any of these things. So Marcion took on an issue that has been discussed and debated among Christians to this very day, which is “why is God so different in the Old Testament than he is in the New Testament?” Marcion’s answer is simple and concise: they are two entirely different Gods. This answer, of course, settles that particular debate, but opens up a whole new can of worms with which the church had to grapple.

 

                        Armed with this simple conclusion, Marcion began to reinterpret the Christian faith. Since the Father sent Jesus to rescue humanity from the material world, Jesus could not have them been born to Mary. The birthing process would have made Jesus subject to the authority of YHVH since he is the God of the material world, so Jesus simply appeared.  He popped up one day, fully grown, appearing to be a human being, but in all actuality was pure spirit. 

 

                        Since Jesus came to rescue humanity from the authority of YHVH, Christians were not obliged to honor the Old Testament as Scripture since it was not the Word of the Father, but the words of an inferior god. Therefore, the Old Testament was not to be read in Christian worship and never to be used as the basis of Christian instruction. Marcion then set out to compile a set of books that were Scripture. He is the first to compile a Christian Bible (that is a set of books deemed authoritative for the Christian community). Marcion concluded that the only authentic “Christian” texts were the letters of Paul, expunged from any references to Jewish Scripture and practices, and the Gospel of Luke, also expunged of any Jewish references. These were the only authoritative texts to be employed in Christian worship and instruction. 

 

                        One of course may wish to ask Marcion, “Why are there were Jewish elements in Paul’s letters and in Luke’s Gospel in the first place if they are not supposed to be there?” Marcion’s answer was that people who were sympathetic to Judaism came along after Paul and Luke and attempted to corrupt true Christianity with Jewish interpolations.

 

                        The facts that Christianity did not go the route provided by Marcion and that he was officially branded a heretic does not negate the fact that he was an extremely important figure in Christian history. Marcion is responsible for the first attempt to compile a Christian canon. Before Marcion, whenever Christians spoke of “Scripture” they were referring to the Old Testament. Marcion forced the mainstream church to think about Christian literature in terms of Scripture. This is not to suggest that Christian literature had not been used in Christian churches. They were. The lack of definitive list, however, resulted in different materials to be used in different locations. Any sense of canonical status attributed to Christian literature was a local expression and yet to be adopted by the universal church. Marcion changed all that! His list of approved Christian literature forced those in opposition to him to construct their own list of approved literature. The result of this was the Christian canon, the Christian understanding of catholicity, the Christian creed, and the notion of Apostolic succession.

 

                        Before the other emergent Christian responses to Marcion are discussed, it is first necessary to explore the meaning behind the concept of catholicity. The word “catholic” is derived from the Greek katholikos (a compound word from kata “according to” and holikos “concerning the whole”) meaning “that which concerns the whole,” or, more simply, “universal.” To speak in terms of the catholic church is to speak in terms of a “universal church,” which does not necessarily refer to a single hierarchical entity calling itself the church. Catholicity refers to the concept that there are things that the church does and says everywhere, not just in one particular location. In other words, in spite of the fact that there are always local expressions of the Christian faith, catholicity refers to a reality that there are overarching concepts and practices that the church does everywhere, regardless of local expression. 

 

                        This developing sense of catholicity provided the logical refutation to Marcion’s theological assertions. The argument was a simple one: “Marcion, you say one thing; but the church everywhere else says something else.” The church’s affirmation of  its own catholicity allowed it to wield a significant theological and historical authority upon which Marcion was unable to draw. The church’s appeal to a sense of catholicity allowed it to offer the rational line of defense against Marcion of “The church up until now, in every location has always affirmed these principles; yet, Marcion has come along and he and his small community are the only ones who have ever asserted his principles. Given this reality, who is the most likely to be correct?”

 

                        Once the church developed a sense of universality, it than began to develop those things that it claimed to universally say. The catholic church wholeheartedly agreed that the Old Testament possessed Scriptural status. Through the writings of the Old Testament, the catholic church asserted, God had been preparing the world for the advent of Jesus Christ. So Christianity was the fulfillment of what had been initiated by God in the creation of Israel. To remove this element is to remove a sense that the whole of human history had been moving toward the person of Jesus Christ, which is exactly what the church wanted to say. So catholic Christianity knew that it needed the Old Testament in order to make its most basic assertion that Jesus Christ is the focal point of the whole of history. Jesus Christ had been long planned for and long expected.

 

                        Whereas Marcion chose one excised version of Luke’s Gospel as the authoritative narrative of Jesus Christ’s activities and teachings, the catholic church chose four very different Gospels. For instance, John’s Gospel presents Jesus’ movement lasting about three years; the synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke), however, suggest that it lasted less than one year. Much has been made about these difference since the advent of Modernity, suggesting that the Gospels somehow lose their credibility because they often seem to be so different, even to the point of contradicting each other, as if the Christians who chose them were unaware of their differences. But, frankly, that’s the whole point. The catholic church chose these four versions about Jesus’ life because they differed! The logic was that Marcion chose one highly edited version of one story on which he constructed his most essential doctrines. The catholic church, however, constructed its doctrines on the witness, not of one redacted version, but on four very different versions. The four Gospels may differ on points of fact, asserted the catholic church, but on matters of doctrine, they were in agreement; therefore, they reflect the view of the whole universal church and not merely one part of it. 

 

                        The catholic development of a creed resulted in what has come to be known as the Western Baptismal Creed, or, more commonly, the Apostles’ Creed. The tradition is that each of the Twelve Apostles posited one of the twelve clauses in the creed, hence its name Apostles’ Creed. The reality, however, was that the catholic church constructed the creed in the second century to combat the errors of Marcion and others who shared his ideas. One can assert that the Apostles indirectly constructed the creed since it was developed by the church everywhere that shared the doctrines passed down from the Apostles themselves, but it is unlikely that the Apostles stood in a circle on day and constructed the creed before they set off on their worldwide mission. 

 

                        If one only makes a cursory examination of the creed, one can see how it directly addresses the most crucial of Marcion’s ideas:

 

                        I believe in God, the all-governing Father, who made heaven and earth.

 

                        This, of course, was a direct challenge to Marcion’s basic premise that the God of the Old Testament is not the same as the God of the New Testament. Marcion said that YHVH was the creator of the material world and that the Father of Jesus Christ was not the creator of the material world. The catholic church affirmed that the creator of the material world was the Father of Jesus Christ, thus declaring that YHVH is the Father. In addition, catholic Christianity declared that God was actively involved with the affairs of the created world. Catholic Christianity described God the Father pantocrator, which is better translated “all-governing” rather than its traditional rendering of “all-powerful.” This portion of the creed asserts God’s omnipresence rather than God’s omnipotence. The challenge to Marcion is that not only is the Father of Jesus Christ the God of the Old Testament, but also that God meddles in, guides and governs the material world, a notion that Marcion would find offensive.        

 

And in Jesus Christ, his unique Son, our Lord. The one who was conceived by the Holy Spirit; the one who was born of Mary, the virgin; the one who suffered under Pontius Pilate; the one who was crucified, died and was burried; the one who went down to the lower places; the one who got up again from the dead on the third day; the one who went up to heaven; the one who sits at the right hand of God, the Father who is able to do all things, from there he is coming to judge the living and the dead.

 

                        The second portion of the creed focuses on Jesus’ humanity. To the early church, it was not so important that Jesus Christ was born to a virgin, as much as he was born to a woman. He did not only appear to be a human being, he was a human being. He was born, he suffered, and he died, all elements of physical beings. In order to come back from the dead, he would have first had to died. The reference to Pontius Pilate establishes the death of Jesus in a fixed historical context, which means that Jesus Christ was an historical being, not simply a spiritual apparition. This portion also ends with a statement of a final judgment, something that Marcion asserted could not happen.

 

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the fellowship of the holy ones, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the flesh, and eternal life. Amen.

 

                        Finally, the creed emphasizes the reality of, and stresses faith in, the universal church. The church everywhere asserts this creed; therefore, it is a reliable expression of the essence of the Christian faith. If anyone teaches anything that contradicts what the church everywhere teaches, it is not the universal church that is mistaken. The word that the universal church uses to describe the nature of the resurrection is “flesh.” This is a word that would have clearly made Marcion wince. Marcion did assert a resurrection, but it was of the spirit.  Marcion, as well as Gnostics in general, would have found the notion of resurrection of the flesh offensive. The current English translation of the creed (resurrection of the body) would have been acceptable to Marcion because one could always interpret “the body” in spiritual terms. Nevertheless, the universal church that expressed apostolic faith claimed that when human beings are raised from the dead, they will be raised as flesh and blood beings. This would make no sense to those who held Gnostic ideas, since the whole purpose was to get beyond physical reality. The catholic church not only declared that God created the physical world, but also that the physical reality is just as eternal as the spiritual reality.                           

 

                        There is a certain ironic flavor for the twenty-first century observer of this debate within Christianity. Contemporary people generally debate Jesus Christ’s divinity, and this debate is often between Christians who accept his divinity and non-Christians who do not. The first great debate concerning the person of Jesus Christ centered not on his divinity, but on his humanity, and all those who participated in this debate thought of themselves as Christian.

 

                        Furthering that sense of irony, the contemporary Christian recites the words “I believe” of the creed, usually meaning, “I believe in the existence in God,” distinguishing themselves from those who do not. The original meaning of the expression, “I believe in God . . .” was not to articulate a believe in divine existence. Everyone involved in the debate believed in God. The debate centered on the kind of God in which they claimed to believe. Catholic Christianity declared that the God in which it believed was the God of material existence as well as of spiritual existence.

 

                        The need for the forgiveness of sins for catholic Christianity was a refutation against any notion that a pure and good spirit was caged within a corrupt physical body. Sin is a spiritual condition. To declare that sins are forgiven is to declare that the spiritual being within the human being is not pure, but as equally corrupted as the physical being. Jesus Christ did not come to rescue human spirits from their physical beings, but to redeem both body and spirit through the process of forgiveness and resurrection. 

 

                        All of this is to say that just as the crisis of external persecutions from Roman and Jewish authorities presented a real danger to the newly forming church, but generally seemed to produce Christians who were more committed and confident in their faith, to the point of suffering rather than abandoning it for safety; the first major theological crisis for the church resulted in a church that was more self-aware and, in many ways, more confident about itself.

 

                        This newly confident catholic Christianity, armed with its own distinct Christian canon (nestled alongside the ancient Jewish canon), its own creed, and its own sense of authority that could be traced back to the teaching authority of the original Twelve Apostles, and therefore, back to Jesus Christ himself, moved it even further away from its original association with Judaism. Christianity was now clearly its own thing�"a new religion, distinct from the Jewish religion that gave birth to it. 

 

                        Nero had outlawed Christianity, but its inherent Jewishness often made it hard to single out. Catholic Christianity would be much easier for Roman authorities to spot. This made Christian existence more perilous than it had been before. Up to this point, persecution against Christianity were local, and generally short-lived. The majority of Christians throughout the Roman Empire lived free from any organized attack at the hands of Roman authorities. This was now about to change. The advent of Catholic Christianity ensured that the universal church now could, and would, be universally persecuted.