![\"marcion\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/361\/2016\/10\/marcion.jpg\")
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The charge of Marcionism is often leveled toward anyone who says that \u201cGod is just like Jesus,\u201d who rejects the violence depicted in the Old Testament, and who insists that Christianity is centered on the ideas of peace and reconciliation. This accusation is a form of the straw man<\/a> logical fallacy, in which someone\u2019s position is misrepresented in order to make it easier to attack and refute. <\/p>\n To understand why the charge of Marcionism is fallacious, let\u2019s begin by taking a brief look at Marcion and his beliefs. Then, we will compare that<\/em> system with what I, as a Girardian<\/a>, believe, to see if the two belief systems are synonymous, or if the Marcionism accusation is grossly misguided.<\/p>\n Marcion of Sinope (c. 85 \u2013 c. 160 CE)<\/strong><\/p>\n Though there are a number of reasons why Marcion was an important figure during the second century, he is now primarily remembered as the arch-heretic of the early Church because he rejected the God of the Hebrew Scriptures. Why would he do such a thing? Because Marcion could not reconcile the violence of the deity in the Jewish Bible with the nonviolence of Jesus Christ. Marcion asked the correct questions regarding divine violence, but he didn\u2019t come to the correct conclusions. Instead, he arrived at dualism,<\/em> where the Hebrew God was more like a demiurge, subservient to the New Testament Father of Christ.<\/p>\n As an unabashed Girardian, I completely reject this view. I don\u2019t reject the God of the Hebrew Scriptures, only some of the theology espoused by Old Testament writers. For instance, the writer of Deuteronomy 28 paints the following picture of God:<\/p>\n But Jesus shows us how to reorient the theology behind these passages. For example, in John 9, Jesus\u2019 disciples assume a blind man is a sinner (or that his parents are), because no blind man is in God\u2019s good graces (see also Exod 15:26). It\u2019s the same type of worldview that Job\u2019s \u201cfriends\u201d had. Even the dreaded Pharisees concur with this theology when they accuse the blind man of being \u201cborn entirely in sins\u201d (John 9:34).<\/p>\n For Jesus, this understanding isn\u2019t accurate. John 9:3 states: \u201cJesus answered, \u2018neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God\u2019s works might be revealed in him.\u2019\u201d In John 9:7, that good work is shown to be healing and reconciliation, when Jesus cures the man of his blindness. Remember, in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus subverts the Deuteronomic God, teaching that instead of God drying up the rain on the wicked (Deut 28:25), he sends his rain down on everyone (Matt 5:45), the \u201cwicked\u201d included.<\/p>\n However\u2013and this is a big however!\u2013we are not then chucking out the entire Old Testament, as Marcion did. That is not<\/i> what Jesus did, nor is it what we are doing. I, for one, simply see the dying, rising, and forgiving Christ as the hermeneutical lens through which we should view the Hebrew Scriptures. I kinda thought that was what being a Christ<\/em>-ian was all\u00a0about!<\/p>\n What is striking, then, is that when we do<\/em> use this Cruciform hermeneutic, we actually see Christ throughout the Old Testament. We see a Christ figure in the Suffering Servant of Isaiah, who is sent to the grave as a wicked man, even though \u201che had done no violence\u201d (Isaiah 53:9). We witness the themes of forgiveness and reconciliation\u2014themes that pervade Christ\u2019s Gospel (Eph 6:15, Col 1:15\u201320)\u2014in the story of Joseph and his brothers. In this story, Joseph\u2019s brothers end up bowing to Joseph precisely because<\/em> he forgives their original treachery. This is significant because it stands in contrast to the idea that reconciliation occurs only when a victim is expelled<\/em>. Such is the case in the myth of Oedipus, where the city of Thebes is saved from a curse only after the people expel Oedipus from their city. But the Jewish Scriptures get it right, stepping in, saying \u201chold on just a minute\u201d\u2014mercy and forgiveness are what bring true peace<\/em>!<\/p>\n That is why we do not throw the Hebrew Bible out. It is inspired (2 Tim 3:16). I know Evangelicals will agree with me there. We just may not agree that every writer of every bit of Scripture had the perfect theological framework to work with. But again, this is hardly Marcionism. Rather, this is taking seriously what Paul calls the \u201cGospel of Peace\u201d (Eph 6:15). It is putting peace and reconciliation, as achieved through the blood of the cross (Col 1:20), front and center.<\/p>\n This view is nothing new, though, for it was also the view of many early church fathers. Clement of Rome, reminds<\/a> us \u201chow free from the wrath [God] is towards all his creation.\u201d The Girardian can then help out and comment on why<\/em> the God of the Old Testament is said to be so wrathful, which I\u2019ll explore further in my next piece<\/a>. But there\u2019s no need to go all Texas Chainsaw Massacre on the Hebrew Scriptures!<\/p>\n So, before y\u2019all get the urge to liken folks like me, who say God is and has always been like Christ Jesus, to one of the most infamous heretics the Church hath ever known, please reconsider and hear us out. We are probably not as \u201cout there\u201d as it may first seem. In fact, the case can be made that many of us are quite orthodox in our faith<\/a>. Go figure.<\/p>\n Grace and peace.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Photo by Dan Wilkinson.<\/em><\/p>\n The charge of Marcionism is often leveled toward anyone who says that God is just like Jesus, who rejects the violence depicted in the Old Testament, and who insists that Christianity is centered on the ideas of peace and reconciliation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2874,"featured_media":8140,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[111,110],"tags":[484,33,483,486,485],"class_list":["post-8118","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-christian-history","category-christian-issues","tag-girard","tag-hermeneutics","tag-marcion","tag-marcionism","tag-marcionite"],"yoast_head":"\n\n
\n![\"Matthew](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/361\/2015\/09\/matthew-distefano.jpg\")
About Matthew Distefano<\/strong>
\nMatthew Distefano is the author of All Set Free: How God is Revealed in Jesus and Why That is Really Good News<\/a><\/em> and the forthcoming From the Blood of Abel<\/a><\/em>. He is also a Regular Contributor for The Raven ReView<\/a> and ProgressiveChristianity.org<\/a>. You can find him on his website<\/a>, Facebook<\/a>, and Twitter<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"