From: Isidore of Pelusium, monk
To: Pansophius
Date: ~410 AD
Context: Isidore exposes the textual corruptions in the Marcionite version of the Gospel.
If the advocate of Marcion's blasphemy puts forward their so-called Gospel, take it up and read it — you will find the absurdity right in the opening pages. They have cut out the genealogy that traces Christ's descent from David and Abraham [Matthew 1:1-17]. And proceeding a little further, you will see another piece of malice. They altered the Lord's own words — where he says "I did not come to abolish the law or the prophets" [Matthew 5:17] — and made it read: "Do you think I came to fulfill the law or the prophets? I came to abolish, not to fulfill." From this you can see how they manufacture hostility between the two Testaments, fabricating the claim that Christ is a stranger to the law. This is what heretics always do: they do not invent new scriptures from scratch — they mutilate the real ones. A half-truth is more dangerous than a whole lie.
, to Pansophius, which turned out to be about the Marcionites! Here’s the text and a quick translation: (371) ΤΟΑʹ. ΠΑΝΣΟΦΙῼ. Εἰ προΐσχεται ὁ τῆς Μαρκίωνος συνήγορος βλασφημίας, τὸ παρ’ ἐκείνοις ὀνομαζόμενον Εὐαγγέλιον, λαβὼν ἀνάγνωθι, καὶ εὑρήσεις εὐθὺς ἐν προοιμίοις τὴν ἀτοπίαν. Αὐτὴν γὰρ τὴν κατάγουσαν ἐπὶ Χριστὸν ἁπὸ Δαβὶδ καὶ Ἀβραὰμ γενεαλογίαν ἀπέτεμον• καὶ μικρὸν ὕστερον προϊὼν ἄλλην ὄψει κακόνοιαν. Ἀμείψαντες γὰρ τὴν τοῦ Κυρίου φωνήν, «Οὐκ ἦλθον, λέγοντος, καταλῦσαι τὸν νόμον ἢ τοὺς προφήτας,» ἐποίησαν• Δοκεῖτε, ὅτι ἦλθον πληρῶσαι τὸν νόμον ἢ τοὺς προφήτας; Ἦλθον καταλῦσαι, ἀλλ’ οὐ πληρῶσαι. Ἐκ τούτων δὲ εἴσῃ, ὅπως ἔχθραν ταῖς δυσὶ Διαθήκαις κατασκευάζουσι, ξένον εἶναι τοῦ νόμου τὸν Χριστὸν σχεδιάσαντες. If the advocate of Marcion promotes blasphemy, take up and read their so-called Gospel, and you will immediately find its absurdity in the opening passages. For they have cut out the actual genealogy that leads down to Christ from David and Abraham. And proceeding a little
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From:Isidore of Pelusium, monk
To:Pansophius
Date:~410 AD
Context:Isidore exposes the textual corruptions in the Marcionite version of the Gospel.
If the advocate of Marcion's blasphemy puts forward their so-called Gospel, take it up and read it — you will find the absurdity right in the opening pages. They have cut out the genealogy that traces Christ's descent from David and Abraham [Matthew 1:1-17]. And proceeding a little further, you will see another piece of malice. They altered the Lord's own words — where he says "I did not come to abolish the law or the prophets" [Matthew 5:17] — and made it read: "Do you think I came to fulfill the law or the prophets? I came to abolish, not to fulfill." From this you can see how they manufacture hostility between the two Testaments, fabricating the claim that Christ is a stranger to the law. This is what heretics always do: they do not invent new scriptures from scratch — they mutilate the real ones. A half-truth is more dangerous than a whole lie.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.