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The Five Books Against Marcion

Tertullian

Book 4 · Chapter 3

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 III.—Marcion Insinuated the Untrustworthiness of Certain Apostles Whom St. Paul Rebuked. The Rebuke Shows that It Cannot Be Regarded as Derogating from Their Authority. The Apostolic Gospels Perfectly Authentic.

In the scheme of Marcion, on the

‹ Book 4 · Chapter 2 Book 4 · Chapter 4 ›

contrary

,

the

mystery

of

the

Christian

religion

begins

from

the

discipleship

of

Luke

.

Since

,

however

,

it

was

on

its

course

that

point

,

it

must

have

had

its

own

authentic

materials

,

by

means

of

which

it

found

its

own

way

down

to

St

.

Luke

;

and

by

the

assistance

of

the

testimony

which

it

bore

,

Luke

himself

becomes

admissible

.

Well

,

but

Marcion

,

finding

the

Epistle

of

Paul

to

the

Galatians

(

wherein

he

rebukes

even

apostles

)

for

“

not

walking

uprightly

according

to

the

truth

of

the

gospel

,

”

as

well

as

accuses

certain

false

apostles

of

perverting

the

gospel

of

Christ

)

,

labours

very

hard

to

destroy

the

character

of

those

Gospels

which

are

published

as

genuine

and

under

the

name

of

apostles

,

in

order

,

forsooth

,

to

secure

for

his

own

Gospel

the

credit

which

he

takes

away

from

them

.

But

then

,

even

if

he

censures

Peter

and

John

and

James

,

who

were

thought

to

be

pillars

,

it

is

for

a

manifest

reason

.

They

seemed

to

be

changing

their

company

from

respect

of

persons

.

And

yet

as

Paul

himself

“

became

all

things

to

all

men

,

”

that

he

might

gain

all

,

it

was

possible

that

Peter

also

might

have

betaken

himself

to

the

same

plan

of

practising

somewhat

different

from

what

he

taught

.

And

,

in

like

manner

,

if

false

apostles

also

crept

in

,

their

character

too

showed

itself

in

their

insisting

upon

circumcision

and

the

Jewish

ceremonies

.

So

that

it

was

not

on

account

of

their

preaching

,

but

of

their

conversation

,

that

they

were

marked

by

St

.

Paul

,

who

would

with

equal

impartiality

have

marked

them

with

censure

,

if

they

had

erred

at

all

with

respect

to

God

the

Creator

or

His

Christ

.

Each

several

case

will

therefore

have

to

be

distinguished

.

When

Marcion

complains

that

apostles

are

suspected

(

for

their

prevarication

and

dissimulation

)

of

having

even

depraved

the

gospel

,

he

thereby

accuses

Christ

,

by

accusing

those

whom

Christ

chose

.

If

,

then

,

the

apostles

,

who

are

censured

simply

for

inconsistency

of

walk

,

composed

the

Gospel

in

a

pure

form

,

but

false

apostles

interpolated

their

true

record

;

and

if

our

own

copies

have

been

made

from

these

,

where

will

that

genuine

text

of

the

apostle’s

writings

be

found

which

has

not

suffered

adulteration

?

Which

was

it

that

enlightened

Paul

,

and

through

him

Luke

?

It

is

either

completely

blotted

out

,

as

if

by

some

deluge

—

being

obliterated

by

the

inundation

of

falsifiers

—

in

which

case

even

Marcion

does

not

possess

the

true

Gospel

;

or

else

,

is

that

very

edition

which

Marcion

alone

possesses

the

true

one

,

that

is

,

of

the

apostles

?

How

,

then

,

does

that

agree

with

ours

,

which

is

said

not

to

be

(

the

work

)

of

apostles

,

but

of

Luke

?

Or

else

,

again

,

if

that

which

Marcion

uses

is

not

to

be

attributed

to

Luke

simply

because

it

does

agree

with

ours

(

which

,

of

course

,

is

,

also

adulterated

in

its

title

)

,

then

it

is

the

work

of

apostles

.

Our

Gospel

,

therefore

,

which

is

in

agreement

with

it

,

is

equally

the

work

of

apostles

,

but

also

adulterated

in

its

title

.

Notes

2
Aliud est si.
3
Sacramentum.
4
Habuit utique.
5
Paraturam.
6
Sed enim.
7
See Gal. ii. 13, 14.
8
Compare what has been already said in book i. chap. 20, and below in book v. chap. 3. See also Tertullian’s treatise, De Præscript. Hæret. chap. 23. [Kaye, p. 275.]
9
Statum.
10
Propria.
11
Variare convictum.
12
1 Cor. ix. 22.
13
Integrum.
14
Inde nostra digesta.
15
Germanum instrumentum.
16
That is, according to the Marcionite cavil.
17
De titulo quoque.