Marcion: The Gospel of the Alien God

Harnack's study of Marcion provides a critical view into the most formative period of early Christianity. Marcion, who created the first New Testament, consisting of a stripped-down version of the Gospel of Luke and 10 letters of Paul, would have made Christianity a religon of love -- rather than a mixture of judgment and grace. Harnack knew why that wouldn't ultimately work (he had written the History of [Christian] Dogma in four editions earlier), but from his earliest to his latest writing, Harnack rather wished that Marcion could have won. This was the 20th century master treatment of Marcion.