By retaining the Old Testament the church scored two important points. First, it insisted that faith for the Christian would have to reconcile both the wrath and the love of God. Marcion’s message was too easy. By eliminating the Old Testament he hoped to make the love of God central for the Christian. But love that never faces the demands of justice is not Christian love. It was not the love Marcion’s hero knew! Paul found in the Cross not only a demonstration of God’s love but a display of his righteousness. Christ’s death, he said, allowed God to be both just and the justifier of all who
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