Gnostic Storytelling in the Canonical Sayings of Jesus

[EtuMalku]

Thanks AE . . . as good if not better proof than I would be able to find

 

[Halcyon]

Marcion is commonly held as a Gnostic because he believed that the OT God was evil and the father of Christ was a good God, and also he believed that the body was evil.

This would fit some Gnostic sects, particularly the ones described by the church fathers. Of course, the church fathers don't describe the Gnostic sects as they represent themselves. If we think that Marcion is a Gnostic, he would be classified as a "Marcionite Gnostic."

Well that makes him a dualist, but we both know there is much more to Gnosticism than simple dualism.
Sure he believed Christ was from an alien good God, not the Jewish God, but he never (as far as I'm aware) taught anything about Christ's secret teachings concerning the awakening of the inner divine spark through Gnosis. I'm pretty sure he took the standard "faith in Christ and good works" approach to salvation, didn't he?

 

[EtuMalku]

Where as I'm finding it difficult to find Marcionite references to gnosis, there are more scholars who claim Marcion to be Gnostic than there aren't, I am leaning towards him not being a true Gnostic, in any case my statement was to show the communities where Paul wrote his letters to.

The communities to which Paul wrote his letters to were known to be centers of Marcionite Gnosticism

 

[angellous_evangellous]

For what it's worth, I don't think that it's fair for Marcion to be called a Gnostic.

I'll look through my notes and see if a church father calls him "Gnostic."

 

[angellous_evangellous]

Ah, here we go...
Marcion: Portrait of a Heretic

Ancient writers such as Irenaeus of Lyons (c.130 - c.200).(19) Tertullian and Hippolytus (c.170 - c.236)(20) did not hesitate in classifying Marcion as a Gnostic. Many scholars, however, are not convinced that his teaching was truly ‘Gnostic’.(21)

Most scholars who classify Marcion as a Gnostic follow the church fathers - who may or may not have known what they were talking about...

 

[Halcyon]

Where as I'm finding it difficult to find Marcionite references to gnosis, there are more scholars who claim Marcion to be Gnostic than there aren't,

Sure, probably because most scholars who only take a cursory glance at Marcion see the dualism and make assumptions based upon it.

I am leaning towards him not being a true Gnostic, in any case my statement was to show the communities where Paul wrote his letters to.

The communities to which Paul wrote his letters to were known to be centers of Marcionite Gnosticism

Centres of Marcionism, fair enough, it becomes interesting when the fact that Marcion claimed Paul as his teacher is taken into account.