Christ Conspiracy_ The Greatest Story Ever Sold - Acharya S [43]
Marcion of Pontus
The Cappadocian/Syrian/Samaritan Marcion had an enormous impact on Christianity, publishing the first New Testament, upon which the canon was eventually based. Although he was considered a Christian even by his adversaries, Marcion was one of those "heretics" who vehemently denied that Christ had come in the flesh, died and been resurrected. Marcion was "anti-matter," and his Gnostic god was not the same as the violent, angry YHWH of the Old Testament, a book Marcion rejected. Like others before and after him, Marcion viewed as evil the "god of this world," a notion reflected in the works of Paul, whom Marcion considered the truest apostle.
As stated, the one "historical" fact from Marcion's gospel used by the later historicizers was: "In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Jesus came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and taught them on the sabbath days." This "coming down at Capernaum" was not considered a historical event by Marcion, who denied the incarnation, so it was interpreted through the minds of Christian historicizers as meaning that Marcion claimed "the Lord" had been a "phantom" or spiritual being who literally "came down from the heavens" at that time. Massey interprets this passage in its proper mythological, allegorical and Gnostic context:
Tertullian says, "According to the gospel of Marcion, in the fifteenth year of Tiberius, Christ Jesus deigned to emanate from heaven, a salutary spirit." But, he also says, according to this "Great Anti-Christian," the Christ was a phantom, who appeared suddenly at the synagogue of Capernaum in the likeness of a full-grown man for the purpose of protesting against the law and the prophets! But it is certain that the Lord or Christ of Marcion is entirely non-historical. He has no genealogy or Jewish line of descent; no earthly mother, no father no mundane birthplace or human birth.28
In his "On the Flesh of Christ," spinmeister Tertullian repeats his charges that Marcion expurgated Luke by removing historicizing and Judaizing elements:
Marcion, in order that he might deny the flesh of Christ, denied also His nativity, or else he denied His flesh in order that he might deny His nativity; because, of course, he was afraid that His nativity and His flesh bore mutual testimony to each other's reality, since there is no nativity without flesh, and no flesh without nativity....
He will not brook delay, since suddenly (without any prophetic announcement) did he bring down Christ from heaven. "Away," says he, "with that eternal plaguey taxing of Caesar, and the scanty inn, and the squalid swaddling-clothes, and the hard stable. We do not care a jot for that multitude of the heavenly host which praised their Lord at night. Let the shepherds take better care of their flock, and let the wise men spare their legs so long a journey; let them keep their gold to themselves. Let Herod, too, mend his manners, so that Jeremy may not glory over him. Spare also the babe from circumcision, that he may escape the pain thereof; nor let him be brought into the temple, lest he burden his parents with the expense of the offering; nor let him be handed to Simeon, lest the old man be saddened at the point of death. Let that old woman also hold her tongue, lest she should bewitch the child." After such a fashion as this, I suppose you have had, 0 Marcion, the hardihood of blotting out the original records (of the history) of Christ, that His flesh may lose the proofs of its reality....
In actuality, Marcion did not "do away with" these various historicizing and Judaizing elements, as they were not attached to the story until after Marcion's death.
Tertullian continues his fact-bending and illogical diatribe:
Chapter V.-Christ Truly Lived and Died in Human Flesh. Incidents