Biblical Criticism & History Forum - earlywritings.com

It is a real mystery:

• 1) Mark was adopted or fabricated by Cerinthians, i.e. adoptionists, separationists.

• 2) The ebionites were adoptionists.

• 3) for (1) and (2), it is expected that the ebionites would have used Mark, too.

• 4) ...contra factum that the ebionites hated Paul, and by extension: they would have rejected the paulinist Gospel of Mark.

It seems that there was a rupture, in the adoptionist field:

• Some adoptionists found interest in Paul, and produced the Gospel of Mark;

• Other adoptionists didn't accept Paul, and condemned any attempt to welcome Paul in their field. They have become famous as: ebionites.

This scenario talks about Paul being known only recently by adoptionists. Since only someone known recently could provoke a such different reaction: radical approval of Paul by the adoptionist authors of Mark, radical rejection of Paul by other adoptionists.

This says me that someone introduced the knowledge of Pauine epistles to people who were already adoptionists.