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Who Was Marcion, and Why Did He Matter?

Who Was Marcion, and Why Did He Matter?

Starting explanation, not independently reviewed

The current answer

The man who cut Scripture down, and made the church decide what it would keep.

What remains uncertain

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Claims & evidence

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Marcion of Sinope (c. 85-160 CE) was a wealthy shipowner turned Christian teacher who argued the harsh Creator of the Hebrew Bible was a lesser god than the good Father revealed by Jesus.

Imported citation, not independently checked: Tertullian, Against Marcion I; B. D. Ehrman, Lost Christianities (2003)

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Whether Marcion cut down a longer Luke or preserved an earlier short version is genuinely contested among scholars, a real open question, not a settled fact.

Imported citation, not independently checked: B. D. Ehrman, Lost Christianities (2003); Tertullian, Against Marcion IV

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As Metzger argued, Marcion's challenge was a catalyst that pushed the wider church toward defining its own boundaries.

Imported citation, not independently checked: B. M. Metzger, The Canon of the New Testament (1987)

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A fixed 27-book New Testament list would not appear until Athanasius in 367 CE, well over two centuries after Marcion.

Imported citation, not independently checked: Athanasius, 39th Festal Letter (367)

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