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The Five Books Against Marcion

Tertullian

Book 1 · Chapter 20

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 XX.—Marcion, Justifying His Antithesis Between the Law and the Gospel by the Contention of St. Paul with St. Peter, Shown to Have Mistaken St. Paul’s Position and Argument. Marcion’s Doctrine Confuted Out of St. Paul’s Teaching, Which Agrees Wholly with the Creator’s Decrees.

This most patent conclusion requires to be defended

‹ Book 1 · Chapter 19 Book 1 · Chapter 21 ›

by

us

against

the

clamours

of

the

opposite

side

.

For

they

allege

that

Marcion

did

not

so

much

innovate

on

the

rule

(

of

faith

)

by

his

separation

of

the

law

and

the

gospel

,

as

restore

it

after

it

had

been

previously

adulterated

.

O

Christ

,

most

enduring

Lord

,

who

didst

bear

so

many

years

with

this

interference

with

Thy

revelation

,

until

Marcion

forsooth

came

to

Thy

rescue

!

Now

they

adduce

the

case

of

Peter

himself

,

and

the

others

,

who

were

pillars

of

the

apostolate

,

as

having

been

blamed

by

Paul

for

not

walking

uprightly

,

according

to

the

truth

of

the

gospel

—

that

very

Paul

indeed

,

who

,

being

yet

in

the

mere

rudiments

of

grace

,

and

trembling

,

in

short

,

lest

he

should

have

run

or

were

still

running

in

vain

,

then

for

the

first

time

held

intercourse

with

those

who

were

apostles

before

himself

.

Therefore

because

,

in

the

eagerness

of

his

zeal

against

Judaism

as

a

neophyte

,

he

thought

that

there

was

something

to

be

blamed

in

their

conduct

—

even

the

promiscuousness

of

their

conversation

—

but

afterwards

was

himself

to

become

in

his

practice

all

things

to

all

men

,

that

he

might

gain

all

,

—

to

the

Jews

,

as

a

Jew

,

and

to

them

that

were

under

the

law

,

as

under

the

law

,

—

you

would

have

his

censure

,

which

was

merely

directed

against

conduct

destined

to

become

acceptable

even

to

their

accuser

,

suspected

of

prevarication

against

God

on

a

point

of

public

doctrine

.

Touching

their

public

doctrine

,

however

,

they

had

,

as

we

have

already

said

,

joined

hands

in

perfect

concord

,

and

had

agreed

also

in

the

division

of

their

labour

in

their

fellowship

of

the

gospel

,

as

they

had

indeed

in

all

other

respects

:

“

Whether

it

were

I

or

they

,

so

we

preach

.

”

When

,

again

,

he

mentioned

“

certain

false

brethren

as

having

crept

in

unawares

,

”

who

wished

to

remove

the

Galatians

into

another

gospel

,

he

himself

shows

that

adulteration

of

the

gospel

was

not

meant

to

transfer

them

to

the

faith

of

another

god

and

christ

,

but

rather

to

perpetuate

the

teaching

of

the

law

;

because

he

blames

them

for

maintaining

circumcision

,

and

observing

times

,

and

days

,

and

months

,

and

years

,

according

to

those

Jewish

ceremonies

which

they

ought

to

have

known

were

now

abrogated

,

according

to

the

new

dispensation

purposed

by

the

Creator

Himself

,

who

of

old

foretold

this

very

thing

by

His

prophets

.

Thus

He

says

by

Isaiah

:

Old

things

have

passed

away

.

“

Behold

,

I

will

do

a

new

thing

.

”

And

in

another

passage

:

“

I

will

make

a

new

covenant

,

not

according

to

the

covenant

that

I

made

with

their

fathers

,

when

I

brought

them

out

of

the

land

of

Egypt

.

”

In

like

manner

by

Jeremiah

:

Make

to

yourselves

a

new

covenant

,

“

circumcise

yourselves

to

the

Lord

,

and

take

away

the

foreskins

of

your

heart

.

”

It

is

this

circumcision

,

therefore

,

and

this

renewal

,

which

the

apostle

insisted

on

,

when

he

forbade

those

ancient

ceremonies

concerning

which

their

very

founder

announced

that

they

were

one

day

to

cease

;

thus

by

Hosea

:

“

I

will

also

cause

all

her

mirth

to

cease

,

her

feast

-

days

,

her

new

moons

,

and

her

Sabbaths

,

and

all

her

solemn

feasts

.

”

So

likewise

by

Isaiah

:

“

The

new

moons

,

and

Sabbaths

,

the

calling

of

assemblies

,

I

cannot

away

with

;

your

holy

days

,

and

fasts

,

and

feast

-

days

,

my

soul

hateth

.

”

Now

,

if

even

the

Creator

had

so

long

before

discarded

all

these

things

,

and

the

apostle

was

now

proclaiming

them

to

be

worthy

of

renunciation

,

the

very

agreement

of

the

apostle’s

meaning

with

the

decrees

of

the

Creator

proves

that

none

other

God

was

preached

by

the

apostle

than

He

whose

purposes

he

now

wished

to

have

recognised

,

branding

as

false

both

apostles

and

brethren

,

for

the

express

reason

that

they

were

pushing

back

the

gospel

of

Christ

the

Creator

from

the

new

condition

which

the

Creator

had

foretold

,

to

the

old

one

which

He

had

discarded

.

Notes

1
Tertullian’s indignant reply.
2
Passivum scilicet convictum.
3
Prædicationis. [Largely ad hominem, this argument.]
4
Et alibi.
5
1 Cor. xv. 11.
6
See Gal. i. 6, 7, and ii. 4.
7
Isa. xliii. 19.
8
This quotation, however, is from Jer. xxxi. 32.
9
Jer. iv. 4.
10
Hos. ii. 11.
11
Slightly altered from Isa. i. 13, 14.