les stood between the main body of Christendom and the
Marcionite church. The description of Celsus (especially V. 61-64 in
Orig.) shews the motley appearance which Christendom presented soon
after the middle of the second century. He there mentions the
Marcionites, and a little before (V. 59), the "great Church." It is very
important that Celsus makes the main distinction consist in this, that
some regarded their God as identical with the God of the Jews, whilst
others again declared that "theirs was a different Deity who is hostile
to that of the Jews, and that it was he who had sent the Son." (V. 61).]

[Footnote 402: One might be tempted to comprise the character of
Marcion's religion in the words, "The God who dwells in my breast can
profoundly excite my inmost being. He who is throned above all my powers
can move nothing outwardly." But Marcion had the firm assurance that God
has done something much greater than move the world: he has redeemed men
from the world, and given them the assurance of this redemption, in the
midst of all oppression and enmity which do not cease.]

CHAPTER VI.

APPENDIX: THE CHRISTIANITY OF THE JEWISH CHRISTIANS

1. Original Christianity was in appearance Christian Judaism, the
creation of a universal religion on Old Testament soil. It retained
therefore, so far as it was not hellenised, which never altogether took
place, its original Jewish features. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
was regarded as the Father of Jesus Christ, the Old Testament was the
authoritative source of revelation, and the hopes of the future were
based on the Jewish ones. The heritage which Christianity took over from
Judaism, shews itself on Gentile Christian soil, in fainter or
distincter form, in proportion as the philosophic mode of thought
already prevails, or recedes into the background.[403] To describe the
appearance of the Jewish, Old Testament, heritage in the Christian
faith, so far as it is a religious one, by the name Jewish Christianity,
beginning at a certain point quite arbitrarily chosen, and changeable at
will, must therefore necessarily lead to error, and it has done so to a
very great extent. For this designation makes it appear as though the
Jewish element in the Christian religion were something accidental,
while it is rather the case that all Christianity, in so far as
something alien is not foisted into it, appears as the religion of
Israel perfected and spiritualised. We are t