The Antitheses of Marcion

The intent of Marcion’s Antitheses (or “Contradictions”) was to pit the Old and New Testament against each other in an attempt to show that they both have different referents in mind, that is, two separate gods — duos deos dividens. In his Adversus Marcionem, Tertullian does not deny that there is “a difference in records of things spoken, in precepts for good behaviour, and in rules of law . . .” Nevertheless, he does not follow Marcion in his conclusion. For Tertullian, the totality of the Christian canon refers to one and the same God — unum et eundem deum.

How is this unity of referent to be grounded, given the seeming disparity between the Old and the New Testament? In other words, how do we affirm that the God of Israel is the God of Christ?

Note that, in excising much of the Old Testament, Marcion found himself censoring the New Testament also. C. Kavin Rowe notes that “Marcion’s version of the Gospel of Luke retained only a small part of one verse of the first three chapters (3:1) and the last third of chapter 4.” [1] This is telling, and for obvious reason: the fact that Marcion felt compelled to cut out the opening chapters from the Gospel of Luke — from 1:1 to 4:30! — shows that there is continuity between canons Old and New. The customs, ethos, allusions and references from and to the Old Testament — these form the backdrop against which Luke’s narrative unfolds.

If we want to understand the theology of the Gospel authors, we should read their works as they themselves have shaped them, which surely means taking seriously the placement of the first chapter at the beginning of each Gospel. This is a point Luke himself emphasizes — he implores Theophilus to take his account “in orderly sequence” [2]. But if we are to take seriously the narrative of each author, and Luke’s gospel begins by firmly establishing continuity with the Hebrew Bible, then we can begin to see the fault in the Marcionite project.

[1] C. Kavin Rowe, “The God of Israel and Jesus Christ”
[2] Luke 1:2–4