Nicole Chen: Tertullian’s implicit hypothesis of Scripture in Adversus Marcionem

Karpp (1954) argued Tertullian failed to practice consistently rigorous biblical exegesis, this resulted from the lack of a clear overarching theological perspective. This paper responds to the second part of Karpp’s critique, namely, whether Tertullian had an underlying theological system. I argue Tertullian possessed an implicit hypothesis within Adversus Marcionem, which guided his interpretative strategies. While Litfin (2006) rightly noted that Tertullian had a ‘comprehensive narrative’, he located this in the regula fidei. However, in light of Briggman’s (2015, 2016) helpful distinction between the regula fidei and hypothesis, I offer this corrective: while the creedal regula fidei may have played an important role, it is the rhetorical concept of hypothesis that furnished Tertullian with his theological précis.My paper will be in two parts. The first part expounds on the differences between the regula fidei and hypothesis, establishing why the hypothesis should take priority as Tertullian’s interpretative criterion.The second part analyses his usage of quotations and allusions from Scripture in Adversus Marcionem to show how they reveal his implicit hypothesis. I conclude Tertullian’s polemic against Marcion is thoroughly controlled by ancient rhetoric: his implicit hypothesis provides the criterion by which to discredit Marcion’s theological narrative as ‘heterodox’, which he combines with classical patterns of rhetorical argument, as argued by Sider (1971), to refute Marcion’s theology.