HERESIES OF THIS AGE (c. 138 A.D.)

Cerdon, Marcion's predecessor, kept on claiming he was Catholic but kept on teaching heretical doctrines in secret.  Cerdon's teachings resemble that of Simon which states that God the Father was not the Father of Jesus Christ.  

Marcion and Pontus succeeded Cerdon.  Marcion taught that there were two gods; one good and one evil.  The good god was the superior god; while the cruel, evil god, was the creator of the world.  

While Gnosticism never spread among the masses, being confined to the elite, like philosophers and speculative thinkers.  Marcion's heresy encompassed multitudes from all classes.  It is the popularity of Marcion's heresy that made it dangerous to the Church.  Marcion believed only in the teachings of St. Paul and yet perverted it.  

Marcus, another heretic, was skilled in magic.  His group had unholy initiations baptizing "in the name of the unkown father of the universe and. . .the mother of all things."   

Eusebius:  Church History

(07-25-05)