Adversus Marcionem V.12 Programmatic Refutation of Marcion’s Antitheses through His (Allegedly) Redacted Luke

Irenaeus structural phrase or clause	English translation	Tertullian Latin parallel (with exact citation: work, book, chapter, section)	English translation
Igitur… inflati a Satana… conversi in Simonis Magi doctrinam	therefore… puffed up by Satan… turned to Simon Magus’ teaching	“Si transfiguratur satanas in angelum lucis… quem et nos et Marcion angelum novimus.” (Tertullian, Adversus Marcionem V.12.7)	“If Satan is transformed into an angel of light… whom both we and Marcion know as an angel.”
abstiterunt sententiis suis ab eo qui est Deus	they departed in their opinions from the true God	“Non enim poterit quod corpore admissum est non corpore iudicari.” (Adv. Marc. V.12.5)	“For what has been committed by means of the body cannot be judged apart from the body.”
putaverunt semetipsos plus invenisse quam Apostoli	they thought they had discovered more than the Apostles	“pseudapostolos dicit operarios dolosos transfiguratores sui” (Adv. Marc. V.12.6)	“he calls false apostles deceitful workers, transformers of themselves”
Apostolos… annuntiasse Evangelium	the Apostles proclaimed the Gospel	“omnes ait nos oportere manifestari ante tribunal Christi, ut recipiat unusquisque quae per corpus admisit sive bonum sive malum.” (Adv. Marc. V.12.4)	“he says we must all be made manifest before Christ’s tribunal, so that each may receive what he has done through the body, whether good or evil.”
alterum Deum adinvenientes	inventing another God	“Si transfiguratur satanas in angelum lucis, non potest hoc dirigi in creatorem.” (Adv. Marc. V.12.7)	“If Satan is transformed into an angel of light, this cannot be directed against the creator.”
Unde et Marcion… ad intercidendas conversi sunt scripturas	hence Marcion… turned to cutting up the scriptures	“in tribus testibus praefiniens staturum omne verbum?” (Adv. Marc. V.12.9)	“by laying down that every word shall stand on three witnesses?”
secundum Lucam evangelium et epistolas Pauli decurtantes	mutilating Luke and Paul	“Ade o de disciplina, non de divinitate dissidebatur.” (Adv. Marc. V.12.6)	“So much so: the dispute was about discipline, not about divinity.”
hæc sola legitima esse dicant quæ ipsi minoraveruint	claiming only what they have reduced is legitimate	“Si qua ergo conditio nova in Christo… ecce nova facta sunt omnia… impleta est Esaiae prophetia.” (Adv. Marc. V.12.6)	“If therefore there is a new condition in Christ… behold all things have been made new… Isaiah’s prophecy has been fulfilled.”
Nos autem etiam ex his quæ adhuc apud eos custodiuntur arguemus eos	we will refute them even from what they still retain	“Si qua ergo conditio nova in Christo… vetera transierunt… ecce nova facta sunt omnia.” (Adv. Marc. V.12.6)	“If there is a new condition in Christ… the old things have passed… behold all things have been made new.”
ex his quæ adhuc apud eos custodiuntur	from texts still retained by opponents	“Hic illud forte mirabor, si proprium potuit habere paradisum deus… nisi si etiam paradiso creatoris precario usus est, sicut et mundo.” (Adv. Marc. V.12.8)	“Here I might wonder whether his god could have a paradise of his own… unless he also made use of the creator’s paradise on loan, as also of the world.”
arguemus eos	we will refute them (forensic demonstration)	“Nega nunc, haeretice, timeri deum tuum, cuius apostolus timebatur!” (Adv. Marc. V.12.9)	“Deny now, heretic, that your god is feared—whose apostle was feared!”

Irenaeus (parallel evidence)	Tertullian (Adv. Marc. V.12 primary text)
“For as the flesh is capable of corruption, so is it also of incorruption; and as it is of death, so is it also of life.” (Against Heresies V.1.3, English trans.) (EWTN Global Catholic Television Network)	“Terreni domicilii nostri … domum aeternam, non manu factam, in caelo … ingemere nos de isto tabernaculo corporis terreni … recipiemus quod despoliati sumus, id est corpus.” “Of our earthly dwelling… we have an eternal house not made with hands in heaven… we groan in this earthly tent of the body… we shall receive again what we have been stripped of, that is, the body.” Adv. Marc. V.12.1
“He will raise us up also in the flesh… that we may receive the recompense of deeds done in the body.” (Against Heresies V.13.1, English trans.)	“omnes ait nos oportere manifestari ante tribunal Christi, ut recipiat unusquisque quae per corpus admisit sive bonum sive malum.” “He says we must all be manifested before the tribunal of Christ, that each may receive what he has done through the body, whether good or evil.” Adv. Marc. V.12.4
“The judgment shall be just, rendering to every one according to his works.” (Against Heresies IV.40.1, English trans.)	“tribunal… dispunctionem boni ac mali operis… corporum omnium repraesentationem confirmavit.” “By naming the tribunal and the reckoning of good and evil work, he confirms the presentation of all bodies.” Adv. Marc. V.12.5
“The new covenant is not contrary to the old; one and the same God gave both.” (Against Heresies IV.9.1, English trans.)	“Si qua ergo conditio nova in Christo, vetera transierunt, ecce nova facta sunt omnia.” “If therefore there is any new condition in Christ, the old things have passed away; behold all things have become new.” Adv. Marc. V.12.6
“Those who introduce false apostles… pervert the preaching.” (Against Heresies III.16.8, English trans.)	“Si et pseudapostolos dicit operarios dolosos transfiguratores sui…” “If he calls pseudo-apostles deceitful workers, transformers of themselves…” Adv. Marc. V.12.6
“Satan, an apostate angel, deceives men by transforming himself.” (Against Heresies V.24.4, English trans.)	“Si transfiguratur satanas in angelum lucis…” “If Satan transforms himself into an angel of light…” Adv. Marc. V.12.7
“The same God who formed man also raises him… as shown in Elijah taken to heaven.” (Against Heresies V.5.1, English trans.)	“hominem tollere ad caelum creatoris exemplum est in Helia.” “That a man is taken up to heaven is an example of the Creator in Elijah.” Adv. Marc. V.12.8
“God disciplines and corrects His servants… as He permitted Job to be tried.” (Against Heresies IV.20.4, English trans.)	“Aut numquid ipse est qui et in corpus Iob dedit satanae potestatem… ut virtus in infirmitate comprobaretur?” “Is it not he who gave Satan power over the body of Job… that virtue might be proved in weakness?” Adv. Marc. V.12.8
“Every word shall be established by witnesses.” (Against Heresies III.3.3, English trans.)	“in tribus testibus praefiniens staturum omne verbum.” “Fixing that every word shall stand in three witnesses.” Adv. Marc. V.12.9

In this chapter the same polemical pattern reflected in the cited statement is visible in the way Tertullian frames doctrinal disagreement as arising from heretical presumption that claims insight beyond apostolic teaching. Throughout the discussion he insists that Paul’s theology—especially regarding resurrection, judgment, moral discipline, and continuity with prophetic promises—remains firmly rooted in the Creator’s revelation, thereby countering any claim that the apostles merely proclaimed a partial or “Jewish” gospel later surpassed by more enlightened interpreters. Tertullian repeatedly portrays alternative readings as distortions produced by those who separate apostolic language from its original scriptural framework and thus effectively invent another god. His treatment of pseudapostles and deceptive transformation (“transfiguratores”) further reinforces the idea that false teachers imitate apostolic authority while departing from its substance, echoing the charge that heretics imagine themselves wiser or purer than the apostles. By emphasizing continuity of divine judgment, prophetic fulfillment, and ecclesial discipline, he constructs a narrative in which orthodoxy is fidelity to the apostolic deposit, whereas heresy arises from inflated intellectual autonomy that abandons the God already proclaimed.