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The Five Books Against Marcion

Tertullian

Book 3 · Chapter 10

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 X.—The Truly Incarnate State More Worthy of God Than Marcion’s Fantastic Flesh.

Therefore, since you are not permitted to resort

‹ Book 3 · Chapter 9 Book 3 · Chapter 11 ›

to

any

instances

of

the

Creator

,

as

alien

from

the

subject

,

and

possessing

special

causes

of

their

own

,

I

should

like

you

to

state

yourself

the

design

of

your

god

,

in

exhibiting

his

Christ

not

in

the

reality

of

flesh

.

If

he

despised

it

as

earthly

,

and

(

as

you

express

it

)

full

of

dung

,

why

did

he

not

on

that

account

include

the

likeness

of

it

also

in

his

contempt

?

For

no

honour

is

to

be

attributed

to

the

image

of

anything

which

is

itself

unworthy

of

honour

.

As

the

natural

state

is

,

so

will

the

likeness

be

.

But

how

could

he

hold

converse

with

men

except

in

the

image

of

human

substance

?

Why

,

then

,

not

rather

in

the

reality

thereof

,

that

his

intercourse

might

be

real

,

since

he

was

under

the

necessity

of

holding

it

?

And

to

how

much

better

account

would

this

necessity

have

been

turned

by

ministering

to

faith

rather

than

to

a

fraud

!

The

god

whom

you

make

is

miserable

enough

,

for

this

very

reason

that

he

was

unable

to

display

his

Christ

except

in

the

effigy

of

an

unworthy

,

and

indeed

an

alien

,

thing

.

In

some

instances

,

it

will

be

convenient

to

use

even

unworthy

things

,

if

they

be

only

our

own

,

as

it

will

also

be

quite

improper

to

use

things

,

be

they

ever

so

worthy

,

if

they

be

not

our

own

.

Why

,

then

,

did

he

not

come

in

some

other

worthier

substance

,

and

especially

his

own

,

that

he

might

not

seem

as

if

he

could

not

have

done

without

an

unworthy

and

an

alien

one

?

Now

,

since

my

Creator

held

intercourse

with

man

by

means

of

even

a

bush

and

fire

,

and

again

afterwards

by

means

of

a

cloud

and

column

,

and

in

representations

of

Himself

used

bodies

composed

of

the

elements

,

these

examples

of

divine

power

afford

sufficient

proof

that

God

did

not

require

the

instrumentality

of

false

or

even

of

real

flesh

.

But

yet

,

if

we

look

steadily

into

the

subject

,

there

is

really

no

substance

which

is

worthy

of

becoming

a

vestment

for

God

.

Whatsoever

He

is

pleased

to

clothe

Himself

withal

,

He

makes

worthy

of

Himself

—

only

without

untruth

.

Therefore

how

comes

it

to

pass

that

he

should

have

thought

the

verity

of

the

flesh

,

rather

than

its

unreality

,

a

disgrace

?

Well

,

but

he

honoured

it

by

his

fiction

of

it

.

How

great

,

then

,

is

that

flesh

,

the

very

phantasy

of

which

was

a

necessity

to

the

superior

God

!

Notes

1
Stercoribus infersam.
2
A Marcionite argument.
3
Stropham, a player’s trick; so in Spectac. 29.
4
Alienis.
5
Globum.
6
Mendacio.