Gnosticism had become the most widespread and wide-ranging religious philosophical movement. The teachings of her Samaritan school had seeped into Egypt and become established there. Celsus mentions that this type of Gnosticism was widespread in Egypt in some of what he wrote about it. Origen himself studied this philosophy in Alexandria under one of its Syrian men, Paul of Antioch.

The influence of Gnosticism is still tangible to this day through what we have received from the pages of Coptic literature and in some papyrus papers and apocryphal Gospels. Most of what was brought by the men of this school is linked to the names of three Alexandrians who were apparently classified in the second century during the era of Emperor Adrian and shortly after. These three are: Valentinus, Phasilidis, and Carpocrates. Saint Irenaeus detailed the doctrine of Valentinus as a response to him. He also spoke about Phasilidis and his opinions and about Carpocrates and his angels. Among what he quoted from Carpocrates and his opinion about Christ the Savior is that he said: Jesus was the son of Joseph from his loins and that he was able, through reincarnation and what he experienced in his first “role” and the ability given to him from above, to control the rulers of this world and to return to God the Father. He added that all people can do what Christ did if they follow his behavior and use his methods.

The activity of this religious-philosophical force was not limited to Syria and Egypt, but rather spread northward to the shore of the Black Sea. So the son of a bishop rose in Sinope, preaching and preaching Gnostic Christianity and working for it with all his ability and energy. This person is Marcion, who was inclined towards religion and philosophy after he became wealthy in maritime trade. Marcion said he was a Christian, so his father became angry with him and cut him off from the church. He left Sinope and traveled around Asia Minor, preaching the impossibility of reconciling the Torah and the Gospel, requiring a choice between Christ’s endless love and sublime goodness and the harsh justice of the God of Israel. Pointing out that the God of the Jews, the God of creation and the law, cannot be the same God of mercy, but rather is a lower rank than Him. “The Savior,” in his view, was a manifestation of the true, good God. He saved people by revealing the reality of the good God who came from Him and through the cross. Since he had no connection with the God of creation, he was not human and was not born or raised, but he appeared to them in the Synagogue of Capernaum, first in the fifteenth year of the rule of Tiberius Caesar, and then in the rest of Galilee, Judea, and Samaria.

Marcion said that some should be saved, not all. He required strict abstinence in food and drink, forbade marriage, and allowed the baptism of married couples after they agreed to separate.

Marcion did not resort to prophecies to support the validity of his doctrine, nor did he attempt to link his belief to the texts of the Torah. He only adopted ten letters of the Apostle Paul and the Gospel of Luke after cutting from it what did not agree with his belief. He said that the pure apostles did not fully understand the Gospel because they considered Christ to be the messenger of the Creator God, so Jesus chose Paul to correct the teachings. He said that the references to the Creator God mentioned in Paul’s letters were concocted. Hence Tertullian's statement that Marcion loaned the Gospels and thus deserved the title "the rat of Punt." His followers later added to the Gospel of Luke and the letters of Paul the letter of Marcion on the contradiction between the Torah and the Gospel Antitheses, so they had a special holy book that was widely used in all their churches.

The controversy raged between Marcion and Saint Polycarius, and he considered him “the first creation of Satan.” Marcion went to Rome around the year 140, concealed his Gnosticism, endowed the Church of Rome with a great donation, and devoted himself to “loaning” the Gospel of Luke and the letters of Paul, and compiling his book in the Torah and the Gospel. When this was done, he revealed his true face and called for his opinions. A number of Christians gathered around him, so the church expelled him and put away his gift. Saint Polycarius took advantage of his presence in Warmah in the year 154 and saved a number of those who followed Marcion from error.

It is said that Markion regretted and accepted what the church required of him, but he died before doing so. It is likely that he died before the year 160, according to the German scholar Hernick.

Marcion's challenge forced the Church, according to the opinion of some researchers, to draw up a list of sacred books acceptable to it and which could be considered a reference for its life and teachings. The question that arises now is: Would the New Testament law have been established without external pressure? A similar question can also be asked about the doctrine of the Trinity, which came as a response to the Arians. Certainly there was no role for external influence in determining the legality of any travel. The church adhered to its books, which it had always accepted. In doing so, the Church determined the basis upon which the canonicality of the books of the Bible was determined. Just as the Church answered the question about the identity of Jesus, so it expressed its belief in the doctrine of the Trinity. She did not invent a new faith, but rather gave a formula and a subjective expression of what she believed as a result of divine revelation.

The apostolic authority assigned to the Gospels preceded its legality, as the Church did not give the Gospels authority but only recognized their intrinsic authority. Many factors contributed to the formation of the New Testament, but the most important factor was the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The spirit that inspired the evangelists to write their Gospels is the same spirit that inspired the Church to accept these books. Marcion, who opposed the Church's tradition, could not distinguish between inspired books and uninspired books. The inspired (theopneustos) is “the one recommended by God” (2 Timothy 3:16), which is not based on human understanding but on God’s work. The authority of the Gospels, and any part of the New Testament, is not in the books themselves, nor is it based on the authority of the Church in which it was found, but rather comes from Christ, to whom the Spirit-inspired Gospels bear witness and proclaim him in the life of the Church.

The Church did not accept Marcion's canon, not only because it was incomplete, but because its compiler was a Gnostic who sought to alter the text in order to reflect the image he desired of Jesus. In its war against Marcion, the Church relied on the four Gospels so that the image of Jesus would remain undistorted.