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| 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.
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Chapter III.3544
| 3544 This is Oehler’s
arrangement of the chapter, for the sake of the sense. The former
editions begin this third chapter with “Sed enim Marcion
nactus.” | —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
contrary,3545
the
mystery3546
of the Christian
religion begins from the discipleship of Luke. Since, however, it was
on its course previous to that point, it must have had3547
its own authentic materials,3548
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, but3549
Marcion, finding the Epistle of Paul to the Galatians (wherein he
rebukes even apostles3550
) for “not
walking uprightly according to the truth of the gospel,”3551
| 3551 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.] | as well as accuses certain false apostles of
perverting the gospel of Christ), labours very hard to destroy the
character3552
of those Gospels
which are published as genuine3553
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 company3554
from respect of persons. And yet as Paul
himself “became all things to all men,”3555
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,3556
but false apostles interpolated their true record; and if our own
copies have been made from these,3557
| 3557 Inde nostra
digesta. | where will
that genuine text3558
| 3558 Germanum
instrumentum. | 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,3559
| 3559 That is, according to
the Marcionite cavil. | 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.3560
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