Description

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The Testamentum was assembled and transcribed by Marcion of Sinope, sometime between 120 C.E. and 140 C.E.; this was the first codified Christian Biblical canon, almost 300 years before the compilation of the standard Biblical canon used by most mainline Christian denominations today.

The Testamentum, which is Latin for "Testament," was not divided into 'Old' and 'New' testaments like the modern Bible and was dramatically shorter.

The Marcionite Christians determined that the Hebrew Bible, and the deity portrayed within it, are diametrically opposed to the teachings and salvation of Jesus Christ. The proof is self-evident in the form of the scriptures themselves, and that's why it wasn't included in the original Christian Bible.

The Testamentum was divided into the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ (or the Evangelicon), as revealed to Paul the Apostle, and the ten Epistles of Paul (or Apostolicon). This is the foundational Christian canon to which virtually every denomination can trace its roots.

The Apostolicon consisted of the following epistles: Galatians, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Romans, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, Laodiceans (Ephesians), Colossians, Philippians, and Philemon.

In addition, the Testamentum includes the Psalmicon, which is a collection of forty psalms and is the oldest Christian hymnbook, as well as the Antilegomenon, which is a collection of the four disputed Epistles of Paul: Alexandrians (Hebrews), 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus.

Marcion's canon rejected the entire 46-book 'Old' Testament, along with all other epistles and gospels of what would become the 27-book 'New' Testament canon, which had yet to be compiled during his life.