Marcion was a heretic who believed in dualism. He taught that the God of the Old Testament was an inferior, weaker God who focused too much on the law and that the God taught by Jesus was a superior God who focused on the right things: love, compassion, and mercy.
Marcion developed his own canon to replace what he believed was a faulty canon that included the Old Testament. He believed that Paul was the only apostle who truly understood what Jesus taught.
Below are the 11 books in Marcion’s canon.
Marcion’s Canon
- The Gospel of Christ (Marcion’s version of the Gospel of Luke)
- Galatians
- 1 Corinthians
- 2 Corinthians
- Romans
- 1 Thessalonians
- 2 Thessalonians
- Laodiceans
- Colossians
- Philippians
- Philemon
Response to Marcion
Marcion’s canon is the first list we have of a New Testsament “canon,” and his list helped the early church to develop an authoritative canon.
