Learn about Marcion.... but try to absorb what this is saying.
http://www.marcion.info/
The longest intact early xtian writings we have are Justin Martyr's Apologies. He wrote one to Emperor Antoninus Pius c 160 AD. In it, he has never heard of any "paul" or any 'matthew', mark, luke, or john. But he had heard of Marcion. And from what scholars have been able to piece together of Marcion's canon it included a watered-down version of "luke" ( or perhaps it was the original and which was later "watered-up" by xtian forgers?). It also included a handful of epistles which were attributed to some guy named paul and which were most likely written or at least edited by Marcion.
In any case, the xtian literature factory begins in the second half of the second century and Greco-Roman writers start to take serious notice of them at that time.
http://www.marcion.info/
Quote:Christians like to tell us that Marcion changed the Bible to suit his theology. However it appeared to me from the beginning that before Marcion there was no documented history of Christianity as we know it. So for example there are no reliable historical contemporary accounts of Paul, Peter, Luke, Mark or even the Jesus that we think of today. Likewise archaeological New Testament fragments have been dated starting around 190 AD, again consistent with the first New Testament being written 140 AD.
In addition Bible scholars who actually question things have come to the conclusion that some of the Pauline epistles were added later than whoever wrote the first ones. Their conclusions are consistent with Marcion's Bible being the original text.
The longest intact early xtian writings we have are Justin Martyr's Apologies. He wrote one to Emperor Antoninus Pius c 160 AD. In it, he has never heard of any "paul" or any 'matthew', mark, luke, or john. But he had heard of Marcion. And from what scholars have been able to piece together of Marcion's canon it included a watered-down version of "luke" ( or perhaps it was the original and which was later "watered-up" by xtian forgers?). It also included a handful of epistles which were attributed to some guy named paul and which were most likely written or at least edited by Marcion.
In any case, the xtian literature factory begins in the second half of the second century and Greco-Roman writers start to take serious notice of them at that time.
