On the strict connection between Jesus's baptism, anti-marcionite polemic and an old mythicist accusation...

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Giuseppe
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On the strict connection between Jesus's baptism, anti-marcionite polemic and an old mythicist accusation...

Post by Giuseppe »

Dialogue 8:

But Christ — if He has indeed been born, and exists anywhere — is unknown, and does not even know Himself, and has no power until Elias come to anoint Him, and make Him manifest to all.

https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/01281.htm

According to Charbonnel, Justin is reporting here the Jewish belief that the true Messiah has to be anointed by Elijah, in order to be made manifest to all.

Per Charbonnel, that, and only that, is the explanation about why "Mark" (author) invented the baptism of Jesus by John/Elijah.

But we are also said by Couchoud/Klinghardt/Vinzent that the baptism of Jesus by John was invented by "Mark" (author) against Marcion, in order to connect Jesus with the Law and the prophets.

At contrary of other users of this forum, I don't see a contradiction between the Charbonnel's explanation and the anti-marcionite explanation.

Since Trypho himself, in the intentions of his creator Justin, had signaled the problem, from a Jewish POV: the total unknowability of the Christ of the Christians. An unknowability that resembles closely the not-existence (which is the reason why the Trypho's words are valued by mythicists as an old Mythicist accusation addressed by Jews against the Christians).

Now, Marcion had preached a Christ who was totally alien to the Jews and their scriptures. A Christ who was never born, being descended already adult from above on Capernaum.

Trypho was accusing Justin for what really Marcion had preached about Christ: that he was alien, unknowable from the scriptures of the creator, and never-born. Not found now not even in the heaven of the creator.

Trypho is giving the remedy that the catholics à la Justin used factually against Marcion: only by being anointed by Elijah, a such enigmatic and unknowable Christ is made manifest to the Jewish world.

Et voilà, the invention of the baptism of Jesus by John.
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