I have been talking to a number of prominent scholars including Marvin Meyer, L. Michael White, David Trobisch and the like about my 'discovery.' When I tell them that I want to defend the authenticity of To Theodore most of them are supportive. When I tell them that I can connect the baptism in Secret Mark through Irenaeus' report of a 'redemption' ritual among the followers of Mark, they are cautiously interested. When I say I can connect Clement to the 'Marcosians' with explicit word for word parallels they curiosity is piqued. When I tell them that I think that the 'naked man and naked man' reference could refer to something else besides homosexuality they are in basic agreement.
However when I bring in the Marcionites and ritual castration within the earliest Church their minds just shut off.
Another lunatic, they think to themselves.
But this is exactly what is wrong with New Testament scholarship today. The Marcionites HAVE TO BE integrated within any discussion of second century Christianity. Celsus certainly thought them influential enough in the period to frequently allude to their beliefs and practices (Origen by contrast says that the Catholic Church was completely ignored by the pagan writer).
The Marcionites engaged in ritual castration rituals. They were strict adherents to the Apostle's call 'not to go beyond' his gospel. They were very much like the contemporary Samaritans with respect to their zealous adherence to the original Torah of Moses.
So it all comes down to one question that these people can't even entertain:
Where the hell did these zealous conservative Christians get the idea for lopping off their testicles as a form of 'redemption' during baptism?
Oh yeah it just 'popped' into their heads, like it did for Origen and that Christian from Alexandria mention in Justin Martyr. All these 'imaginative' people in ancient Christianity coming up with the same weird idea independent of one another. Amazing.
It had to come from a shared gospel text. That's the only answer that makes any sense. A shared 'secret' gospel tradition (look at the gospel citations in Origen's Commentary on Matthew and tell me he wasn't using a 'secret gospel' that looked like the Diatessaron!).
Tertullian explicitly says that 'John' (i.e. John the Baptist) appears 'suddenly' in the Marcionite gospel long after he is introduced in our familiar canonical texts baptizing the man Jesus.
However the Marcionites thought that Jesus was the angel of the Presence - i.e. Chrestos. An angel couldn't be baptized by a man. That would be ludicrous.
Yet the Marcionites did baptize their catechumen. They seemed to have demanded single men ritually castrate themselves before they 'entered the waters.'
So again we ask the ultimate question - if John the Baptist appears 'suddenly' long after the introductory narratives of our text. The Marcionites had a very different understanding of baptism - or even 'baptism on behalf of the dead.'
If it was identified with the Markan 'redemption' rituals (which I have long argued) why wouldn't the ritual described in Secret Mark be a perfect place to start reconstructing the original Marcionite understanding.
Here Jesus - the angel of the Presence - 'recreates' John Mark after his image. If Jesus was a eunuch we begin to see why all the different remembrances of this 'beloved' disciple or the 'disciple Jesus loved' inevitably appear castrated in their final 'Christian' form.
Yes its 'speculation' but what is the alternative? Just ignore the Marcionites as previous generations of scholars are wont to do?
No I won't continue this practice. No I won't be party to this unconscious conspiracy. I will spend the next 1,000 posts discussing castration rituals within earliest Christianity (and Judaism) in order to rescue to Theodore from unfair misinterpretations by homophobes.
This text has nothing to do with homosexuality. It was Irenaeus who developed this propaganda and Clement who makes reference to Irenaeus' original report in Stromata III.
If you don't like my approach, change the channel. It's still a free country and an internet with a free flow of information, at least for now.
Better take advantage of the world climate before it is too late ...
And while you've dropped by, why not read my book that answers all questions you never thought about asking about the origins of Judaism, Christianity and Islam?
But it here
