Why did Marcion adopt the gospel of Luke?

[earlydude]

What are the general theories? In particular, why did he choose it instead of the earlier Mark?

[Secret Alias]

Maybe Irenaeus forged Luke's out of Marcion's gospel

[lsayre]

Who confirmed that Mark was earlier? Present day researchers seem to be coming around to believing that Marcion's Gospel of the Lord came first.

Matthias Klinghardt and Markus Vinzent for example.

[MrMacSon]

Propositions that Marcion's Gospel preceded Luke have been around for quite a while -

In 1881 Charles B. Waite, in History of the Christian Religion to the Year Two-Hundred, suggested that Marcion's Gospel may have preceded Luke's Gospel; and John Knox, in 'Marcion and the New Testament' (1942), also agreed with Waite's hypothesis.

Joseph B Tyson, in 'Marcion and Luke-Acts: a defining struggle' (2006) made a case for Acts also being a response to Marcion,

Klinghardt has also suggested Marcion's Gospel preceded Matthew.

• Matthias Klinghardt (2008) 'The Marcionite Gospel and the Synoptic Problem: A New Suggestion'
  • Novum Testamentum; 50(1):1-27. - full article: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B75F1hK ... edit?pli=1

And Vinzent suggests Marcion's Gospel preceded all the synoptic Gospels.

• Vincent M (2014) 'Marcion and the Dating of the Synoptic Gospels' (Studia patristica supplement 2) Leuven: Peeters.
  
  • "... evaluates our commonly known arguments for dating the Synoptic Gospels, elaborates on Marcion's crucial role in the Gospel making, and argues for a re-dating of the Gospels to the years between 138 and 144 AD."

See http://www.earlywritings.com/forum/view ... 180#p38180
.

[Bernard Muller]

What are the general theories? In particular, why did he choose it instead of the earlier Mark?

My theory #1:
GLuke was the gospel of choice in Synope, Pontus, where Marcion grew up. Also, gLuke, as being the most pro-Roman gospel, might have been well adopted in Rome, where Marcion moved. At some point, Marcion must have claimed that gospel had been interpolated with Judaism and came up with a subset of it, saying it was the original & first gospel.

My theory #2:
gMark was too short, gMatthew way too Jewish & gJohn very much unlike the others.
Furthermore, gJohn might have still be remembered to have been known late, anyway way later than the others.
So, what was left? gLuke.

My theory #3: A combination of the two previous theories.

Now back to gMarcion being the first gospel: it seems that thread is moving in that direction.

Cordially, Bernard

[Ben C. Smith]

Now back to gMarcion being the first gospel: it seems that thread is moving in that direction.

Do you feel all alone sometimes, Bernard?

[Secret Alias]

Bernard is alone that's why he comes here.

[Adam]

I thought we here were coming to a quite different consensus?'
That a proto-gospel preceded Mark, Luke, and Marcion.
gLuke and Marcion are similar because based on the same stage of this Proto-gospel.
gMark is based on the slightly later version of the proto-gospel that was also utilized in producing gMatthew.

[iskander]

What are the general theories? In particular, why did he choose it instead of the earlier Mark?

The point of departure for Marcion's criticism was provided in the Pauline contrast of the law and gospel, on the one side malicious, petty, and cruel punitive correctness, and on the other side merciful love.

Marcion had immersed himself in the basic ideas of Galatians and Romans and found in them the perfect illumination of the nature of the Christian religion.(1)
1-Adolf Harnack

[Secret Alias]

Nice footnote. Here's to real scholarship at the forum.