◊ Weezer ◊ Posted June 18 Share Posted June 18 If you sift through the Bible you can find "truths". After decades of study, there are two "truths" I brought with me when leaving Christianity. (1) The root of (most) "evil" is the love of money (power). (2) The "salvation" (earthly) of mankind is in loving (respecting) neighbor as self. These seem to be the essence of Jesus teaching. I had heard of Marcion, but had not read about him. This morning I read the Wikipedia explanation of him and his beliefs. If I was a person wanting to hold onto a god, I would strongly consider his position. He separated the God of the New testament from the God of the Old Testament, and focused mainly on Jesus teaching and pauls letters. The Catholics excommunicated him and he established his own church which apparently lasted for several centuries. But somehow or other his church and abbreviated "bible" eventually disappeared. Likely during the centuries of Catholic elimination of "pagan" religions?? 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
☆ moxieflux66 ☆ Posted June 23 Share Posted June 23 On 6/18/2024 at 9:38 AM, Weezer said: I had heard of Marcion, but had not read about him. This morning I read the Wikipedia explanation of him and his beliefs. If I was a person wanting to hold onto a god, I would strongly consider his position. He separated the God of the New testament from the God of the Old Testament, and focused mainly on Jesus teaching and pauls letters. The Catholics excommunicated him and he established his own church which apparently lasted for several centuries. But somehow or other his church and abbreviated "bible" eventually disappeared. Likely during the centuries of Catholic elimination of "pagan" religions?? I still intend to research this guy some more (eventually) but thanks for bringing it back to the forefront. This 'two gods' theory; is this also a Sumerian story? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
◊ Weezer ◊ Posted June 24 Author Share Posted June 24 7 hours ago, moxieflux66 said: I still intend to research this guy some more (eventually) but thanks for bringing it back to the forefront. This 'two gods' theory; is this also a Sumerian story? No, they are different concepts. In the Sumerian stories there were 2 earthly "gods" (2 out of many others) who worked together to "create" humans. With Jesus, if I remember correctly, I think the concept is that there were two very different "divine" Gods. One responsible for creating the physical world?? And another responsible for sending Jesus?? Or something like that. Taba or others may know more about this than I do. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
☆ moxieflux66 ☆ Posted July 23 Share Posted July 23 On 6/18/2024 at 9:38 AM, Weezer said: He separated the God of the New testament from the God of the Old Testament, and focused mainly on Jesus teaching and pauls letters. The Catholics excommunicated him and he established his own church which apparently lasted for several centuries. But somehow or other his church and abbreviated "bible" eventually disappeared. Likely during the centuries of Catholic elimination of "pagan" religions?? He came to Rome from Sinope (Turkey) around 142-143 while the early church was trying to work out its canon. He met and was influence by a Gnostic Christian named Cerdo (according to the online Brittanica), who believed that the creator of earth was created by a 'demiurge', a lesser god than the one who created the Universe. Marcion expanded on that concept. According to New World Encyclopedia, he rejected the entire Hebrew bible and believed that god was the de facto source of evil, either through ignorance or spite. Again from the New World Encyclopedia: Marcion called God (Hebrew God) the Stranger God, or the Alien God, in some translations, as this deity had not had any previous interactions with the world and was wholly unknown. His religious sect lasted for centuries but his writings did not. As you pointed out, probably wiped out by Catholicism. There's a gnostic element to his teachings but apparently quite a difference between the two. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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