The Marcionite Gospel Read 'No One KNEW the Father' Just as Clement of Alexandria's 'Mystery Gospel' Read

The Marcionite gospel once again agrees here with Clement's variant gospel text which I presume to be Secret Mark. I will explain this in my next post. We read the Marcionite Megethius in Dialogues of Adamantius says:

I will prove from the Scriptures that there is one God who is the Father of Christ, and another who is the Demiurge. The Demiurge was known to Adam and his contemporaries - that is made clear in the Scriptures. But the Father of Christ is unknown, just as Christ himself declared when he said of him "No one knew the Father, except the Son neither does anyone know the son except the Father."

Pretty writes that "Megethius uses egnO rather than epignoskei found in the main recensions. He thus follows Clement of Alexandria, Irenaeus, Origen and Eusebius. He also transposes the clauses with the textual authorities X, N, Irenaeus, Eusebius and others."

Of course that the Marcionites had this reading is IMPLICIT from Irenaeus' discussion in Book Four but it is interesting to note that he never comes right out and acknowledges that it was against the 'Marcionites' - and the Marcionite gospel reading - that specifically he was writing against.

Tertullian similarly avoids allowing his readers to know what the 'Marcionite' reading was here, citing the Catholic reading AGAINST the Marcionites:

But, No man knoweth who the Father is, but the Son, and who the Son is, but the Father, and he to whomsoever the Son shall reveal him. And thus it was an unknown god whom Christ preached. From this sentence other heretics1 too take for themselves support, objecting that the Creator was known to all men, to Israel because they were his particular friends, to the gentiles by the law of nature. Yet how is it that the Creator himself testifies that even Israel does not know him? But Israel doth not know me, my people hath not understood me. [Tertullian Against Marcion iv.25]

Yet notice that this last quote must have been used by the Marcionites to prove the point that Israel did not know the true God - i.e. the Father. This sounds suspiciously like Tertullian has simply taken over the argument against the Marcosians from Irenaeus or that the 'Marcionites' are employing the same arguments attributed by Irenaeus to 'those of Mark.'

Of course I have already suggested the solution - 'Marcionite' in Aramaic and 'Marcosian' in Greek MEAN THE SAME THING i.e. 'those of Mark.' We are talking about ONE TRADITION using ONE SECRET GOSPEL attributed to Mark which 'proved' the idea that Israel didn't know the true god.