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{{cquote|A modern divine would turn away from the dreams of [[Valentinius|Valentinianism]] in silent contempt; but he could not refuse to discuss the question raised by Marcion, whether there is such opposition between different parts of what he regards as the word of God, that all cannot come from the same author.}}
A primary difference between Marcionites and Gnostics was that the Gnostics based their theology on ''secret wisdom'' (as, for example, [[Valentinius]] who claimed to receive the ''secret wisdom'' from [[Theudas (teacher of Valentinius)|Theudas]] who received it direct from Paul) of which they claimed to be in possession, whereas Marcion based his theology on the contents of the Letters of Paul and the recorded sayings of Jesus — in other words, an argument from scripture, with Marcion defining what was and was not scripture. Also, the [[Christology]] of the Marcionites is thought to have been primarily [[Docetism|Docetic]], denying the human nature of Christ. This may have been due to the unwillingness of Marcionites to believe that Jesus was the son of both God the Father and the demiurge.
{{cquote|It was no mere school for the learned, disclosed no mysteries for the privileged, but sought to lay the foundation of the Christian community on the pure [[gospel]], the authentic institutes of [[Christ]]. The pure gospel, however, Marcion found to be everywhere more or less corrupted and mutilated in the Christian circles of his time. His undertaking thus resolved itself into a reformation of [[Christendom]]. This reformation was to deliver Christendom from [[Judaizers|false Jewish doctrines]] by restoring the [[Pauline Christianity|Pauline conception of the gospel]], Paul being, according to Marcion, the only [[Twelve apostles|apostle]] who had rightly understood the new message of [[salvation]] as delivered by Christ. In Marcion's own view, therefore, the founding of his church—to which he was first driven by opposition—amounts to a reformation of Christendom through a return to the gospel of Christ and to Paul; nothing was to be accepted beyond that. This of itself shows that it is a mistake to reckon Marcion among the [[Gnostics]]. A [[dualist]] he certainly was, but he was not a Gnostic.}}
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