The Gospel of the Good God

What it is

The earliest reconstructable Christian gospel: the text Marcion brought to Rome in 144 CE, preserved only through the writings of those who tried to suppress it. This edition presents the Hahn–Hill–Zahn scholarly reconstruction verse by verse with full patristic apparatus, alongside a contemporary English prose reading. A seven-movement preface traces the historical record, the manuscript evidence, the theological case embedded in scripture itself, and the tradition that carried the gospel forward through the Paulicians, the Bogomils and the Cathars. 144 pages. Released freely so it cannot be erased again.

What is inside

1. The reconstructionVerse by verse, with the patristic witness for each line, so a reader can see where the text is secure and where it is argued.
2. The plain readingA contemporary English prose reading beside the apparatus, for reading rather than checking.
3. The preface in seven movementsThe record, the manuscripts, the case for priority, and the communities that carried it.
4. The licenceCC BY-SA 4.0. Copy it, share it, print it. That is the point.

Who it is for

If you have never read Marcion's gospel: Almost nobody has. Start with the plain reading and come back for the apparatus.

If you teach: The PDF is free to distribute under the licence; the print edition exists for the shelf.

If you want the case for priority: The preface sets it out; the Marcion page on this site gives the short form and the receipt.

Where it sits in the corpus

The gospel the whole lineage carried. Free, by design. The Good News is the same gospel for children; MOLT is the account of how the author came to it.

Not ready for a book? Practice One is free, tonight →  ·  About the author →