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The Five Books Against Marcion

Tertullian

Book 1 · Chapter 21

About this work

A sustained refutation of Marcion’s theology and edited Scriptures, defending the unity of the Creator and Christ’s Father and reading the Gospel and Pauline letters against Marcionite claims.

Author: Tertullian
Date: Early 3rd century
Origin: Carthage, North Africa
Genre: Heresiology

Chapter XXI.—St. Paul Preached No New God, When He Announced the Repeal of Some of God’s Ancient Ordinances. Never Any Hesitation About Belief in the Creator, as the God Whom Christ Revealed, Until Marcion’s Heresy.

Now if it was with the view of

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preaching

a

new

god

that

he

was

eager

to

abrogate

the

law

of

the

old

God

,

how

is

it

that

he

prescribes

no

rule

about

the

new

god

,

but

solely

about

the

old

law

,

if

it

be

not

because

faith

in

the

Creator

was

still

to

continue

,

and

His

law

alone

was

to

come

to

an

end

?

—

just

as

the

Psalmist

had

declared

:

“

Let

us

break

their

bands

asunder

,

and

cast

away

their

cords

from

us

.

Why

do

the

heathen

rage

,

and

the

people

imagine

a

vain

thing

?

The

kings

of

the

earth

stand

up

,

and

the

rulers

take

counsel

together

against

the

Lord

,

and

against

His

Anointed

.

”

And

,

indeed

,

if

another

god

were

preached

by

Paul

,

there

could

be

no

doubt

about

the

law

,

whether

it

were

to

be

kept

or

not

,

because

of

course

it

would

not

belong

to

the

new

lord

,

the

enemy

of

the

law

.

The

very

newness

and

difference

of

the

god

would

take

away

not

only

all

question

about

the

old

and

alien

law

,

but

even

all

mention

of

it

.

But

the

whole

question

,

as

it

then

stood

,

was

this

,

that

although

the

God

of

the

law

was

the

same

as

was

preached

in

Christ

,

yet

there

was

a

disparagement

of

His

law

.

Permanent

still

,

therefore

,

stood

faith

in

the

Creator

and

in

His

Christ

;

manner

of

life

and

discipline

alone

fluctuated

.

Some

disputed

about

eating

idol

sacrifices

,

others

about

the

veiled

dress

of

women

,

others

again

about

marriage

and

divorce

,

and

some

even

about

the

hope

of

the

resurrection

;

but

about

God

no

one

disputed

.

Now

,

if

this

question

also

had

entered

into

dispute

,

surely

it

would

be

found

in

the

apostle

,

and

that

too

as

a

great

and

vital

point

.

No

doubt

,

after

the

time

of

the

apostles

,

the

truth

respecting

the

belief

of

God

suffered

corruption

,

but

it

is

equally

certain

that

during

the

life

of

the

apostles

their

teaching

on

this

great

article

did

not

suffer

at

all

;

so

that

no

other

teaching

will

have

the

right

of

being

received

as

apostolic

than

that

which

is

at

the

present

day

proclaimed

in

the

churches

of

apostolic

foundation

.

You

will

,

however

,

find

no

church

of

apostolic

origin

but

such

as

reposes

its

Christian

faith

in

the

Creator

.

But

if

the

churches

shall

prove

to

have

been

corrupt

from

the

beginning

,

where

shall

the

pure

ones

be

found

?

Will

it

be

amongst

the

adversaries

of

the

Creator

?

Show

us

,

then

,

one

of

your

churches

,

tracing

its

descent

from

an

apostle

,

and

you

will

have

gained

the

day

.

Forasmuch

then

as

it

is

on

all

accounts

evident

that

there

was

from

Christ

down

to

Marcion’s

time

no

other

God

in

the

rule

of

sacred

truth

than

the

Creator

,

the

proof

of

our

argument

is

sufficiently

established

,

in

which

we

have

shown

that

the

god

of

our

heretic

first

became

known

by

his

separation

of

the

gospel

and

the

law

.

Our

is

accordingly

made

good

,

that

no

god

is

to

be

believed

whom

any

man

has

devised

out

of

his

own

conceits

;

except

indeed

the

man

be

a

prophet

,

and

then

his

own

conceits

would

not

be

concerned

in

the

matter

.

If

Marcion

,

however

,

shall

be

able

to

lay

claim

to

this

inspired

character

,

it

will

be

necessary

for

it

to

be

shown

.

There

must

be

no

doubt

or

paltering

.

For

all

heresy

is

thrust

out

by

this

wedge

of

the

truth

,

that

Christ

is

proved

to

be

the

revealer

of

no

God

else

but

the

Creator

.

Notes

1
Nihil præscribit de.
2
i.e., “the old God,” as he has just called Him.
3
Concessare debebat.
4
Ps. ii. 3, 1, 2.
5
Æmulum.
6
Derogaretur.
7
Nutabat.
8
Census.
9
In Creatore christianizet.
10
Obduxeris. For this sense of the word, see Apol. 1. sub init. “sed obducimur,” etc.
11
Sacramenti.
12
Definito.
13
That is, “inspired.”
14
Nihil retractare oportebat.
15
[Kaye, p. 274.]