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The Five Books Against Marcion

Tertullian

Book 1 · Chapter 18

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 XVIII.—Notwithstanding Their Conceits, the God of the Marcionites Fails in the Vouchers Both of Created Evidence and of Adequate Revelation.

Well, then, he has now advanced

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into

notice

,

just

when

he

willed

,

when

he

could

,

when

the

destined

hour

arrived

.

For

perhaps

he

was

hindered

hitherto

by

his

leading

star

,

or

some

weird

malignants

,

or

Saturn

in

quadrature

,

or

Mars

at

the

trine

.

The

Marcionites

are

very

strongly

addicted

to

astrology

;

nor

do

they

blush

to

get

their

livelihood

by

help

of

the

very

stars

which

were

made

by

the

Creator

(

whom

they

depreciate

)

.

We

must

here

also

treat

of

the

quality

of

the

(

new

)

revelation

;

whether

Marcion’s

supreme

god

has

become

known

in

a

way

worthy

of

him

,

so

as

to

secure

the

proof

of

his

existence

:

and

in

the

way

of

truth

,

so

that

he

may

be

believed

to

be

the

very

being

who

had

been

already

proved

to

have

been

revealed

in

a

manner

worthy

of

his

character

.

For

things

which

are

worthy

of

God

will

prove

the

existence

of

God

.

We

maintain

that

God

must

first

be

known

from

nature

,

and

afterwards

authenticated

by

instruction

:

from

nature

by

His

works

;

by

instruction

,

through

His

revealed

announcements

.

Now

,

in

a

case

where

nature

is

excluded

,

no

natural

means

(

of

knowledge

)

are

furnished

.

He

ought

,

therefore

,

to

have

carefully

supplied

a

revelation

of

himself

,

even

by

announcements

,

especially

as

he

had

to

be

revealed

in

opposition

to

One

who

,

after

so

many

and

so

great

works

,

both

of

creation

and

revealed

announcement

,

had

with

difficulty

succeeded

in

satisfying

men’s

faith

.

In

what

manner

,

therefore

,

has

the

revelation

been

made

?

If

by

man’s

conjectural

guesses

,

do

not

say

that

God

can

possibly

become

known

in

any

other

way

than

by

Himself

,

and

appeal

not

only

to

the

standard

of

the

Creator

,

but

to

the

conditions

both

of

God’s

greatness

and

man’s

littleness

;

so

that

man

seem

not

by

any

possibility

to

be

greater

than

God

,

by

having

somehow

drawn

Him

out

into

public

recognition

,

when

He

was

Himself

unwilling

to

become

known

by

His

own

energies

,

although

man’s

littleness

has

been

able

,

according

to

experiments

all

over

the

world

,

more

easily

to

fashion

for

itself

gods

,

than

to

follow

the

true

God

whom

men

now

understand

by

nature

.

As

for

the

rest

,

if

man

shall

be

thus

able

to

devise

a

god

,

—

as

Romulus

did

Consus

,

and

Tatius

Cloacina

,

and

Hostilius

Fear

,

and

Metellus

Alburnus

,

and

a

certain

authority

some

time

since

Antinous

,

—

the

same

accomplishment

may

be

allowed

to

others

.

As

for

us

,

we

have

found

our

pilot

in

Marcion

,

although

not

a

king

nor

an

emperor

.

Notes

1
Age.
2
Anabibazon. The ἀναβιβάζων was the most critical point in the ecliptic, in the old astrology, for the calculation of stellar influences.
3
Quadratus.
4
Trigonus. Saturn and Mars were supposed to be malignant planets. See Smith, Greek and Rom. Ant. p. 144, c. 2.
5
Qualitate.
6
Definimus.
7
Cognoscendum.
8
Recognoscendum.
9
Doctrina.
10
Ex prædicationibus.
11
Operari.
12
Vix impleverat.
13
Alioquin.
14
He means the Emperor Hadrian; comp. Apolog. c. 13.