Thursday, November 1, 2012
I Have Never Believed that the Name of the Marcionite Collection of Letters of Paul was 'the Apostolikon'
This is another gross intellectual sin committed by lazy scholars. Apostolikon just means 'apostolic.' Sure, the letters were 'apostolic' but so was the gospel according to the Marcionites. The division never made any sense. It would be like separating cream and cheese products by calling the latter 'dairy.' It's stupid and no one has called out the laziness of scholars enough here (and in many other places). The Dialogues of Adamantius are inherently problematic as Schmid notes but ironically however he still uses this idiotic 'terminology' to describe the collection of letters from that book. Typical.
A perfect example is the term ἰουδαϊκὸν. I am sure someone, somewhere referenced a canon of 'Jewish books.' If all other traces of the Jews had disappeared in the manner of the Marcionites would scholars of Judaism now be referencing the name of that collection as the Ioudaikon? You all know what the answer is of course.
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