The Gospel of the Lord

By: Marcion of Sinope

Narrated by: Denis Daly

The Gospel of the Lord by Marcion of Sinope. Translated by James Hamlyn Hill. Narrated by Denis Daly.

According to Tertullian and others Marcion was the son of a bishop and was born at Sinope, in Pontus. He arrived in Rome in about 140 CE, bringing a scripture with him that he named "The Gospel of the Lord". Marcion described this not as a new gospel, but as that which Saint Paul had used and which he communicated to the churches he founded. In his early enthusiasm for the faith, Marcion bestowed a large donation upon the church at Rome, in which he aspired to a position of influence. However, due to his controversial views, he was later excommunicated as a heretic. He died about 170 CE.

Marcion ignored traditions of doctrine and practice and rejected the principle of allegorical interpretation as it was applied by others to the Old Testament. He considered Saint Paul to be the only true apostle, and he condemned all others for having relapsed into Judaism. Marcion tried in vain to remodel the church at Rome in accordance with these views and set out to establish an organized ecclesiastical system of his own. He succeeded so well that by the fourth century Marcionite congregations were to be found spread across the Middle East and Europe. Although the Marcionite sect has long since been obliterated, Marcion remains one of the most influential figures in the history of Christianity.

Public Domain (P)2021 Voices of Today