What do you think?
Rate this book
Scripture Wars: Justin Martyr's Battle to Save the Old Testament for Christians
About a century after Jesus died, a battle began for the Old Testament. Large numbers of faithful Christians fought about its contents and even about its right to be called a Christian book!
On one side, many Jewish converts charged Paul and most of the other Apostles with a Great Apostasy, a pulling away from the deep roots of their Jewish tradition. This, they argued, endangered the souls of believers everywhere. They sought to retain intact the strict practices and teachings of the Old Testament and to integrate more of them into the still new and developing Christian Faith.
On the other side, Marcionite Christians held such antipathy toward the Old Testament that they advocated leaving it behind entirely. They even sought to purge from the New Testament practices and notions they judged too friendly to Jewish ideas.
The outcome of this conflict would affect nearly every aspect of the new Christian Faith and the daily lives of believers everywhere, for centuries to come.
Who won these crucial, climactic Scripture Wars?
God did, of course but not without raising up a great saint whose keen mind and deep faith expelled from Christianity both false understandings of how the gentle, loving God of the New Testament relates to the often-stern God of the Old.
That saint was Justin of Neapolis, known today as St. Justin Martyr. These pages tell the surprisingly exciting tale of Justin's encounters with these vigorous early heresies that threatened to paralyze the young Church just as she was struggling to her feet.
Scripture Wars is an inspiring, true-life testimony to our Father's providence, a tale that has the power to strengthen the faith of Catholics even today, eighteen centuries later.
218 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 23, 2019
20 people are currently reading
78 people want to read
About the author
Rod Bennett
20 books22 followersMy first published writing appeared when I was 15 years old in the pages of the legendary Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine. Since then, I've been featured in other national publications, ranging from Rutherford and Gadfly to Catholic Exchange and Our Sunday Visitor. I spoke on film and television topics for 10 years at Jesus People USA's Cornerstone Rock Festival, leading seminars on the cinema of Frank Capra, John Ford, and the Star Wars films of George Lucas. In 2006 I was invited by the Archbishop of Pittsburgh to address more than 300 teachers on the role pop culture can play in the religious education of teenagers. Recently, I've had the chance to discuss my work on radio and television programs such as The Journey Home and Bookmark. My first book,
Four Witnesses The Early Church in Her Own Words
, including an account of my conversion to the Catholic Faith in 1996, is a best seller from Ignatius Press.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
August 16, 2022
A fascinating look at the history of the first few centuries AD as well as of the time of the Israelites' exodus from Egypt. Definitely worth reading to better understand God's plan.
April 18, 2021
I first heard about this book when I attended the Catholic Answers Conference. I enjoyed Rod's talk and once it ended, I immediately got up and purchased a copy.
Now after reading it, I have to say, it was definitely worth it.
Rod dives in to, not just the process of how the current biblical canon came about, but the people, events, and politics that surrounded that time.
Focusing on three main people, Aquila, Marcion, and St Justin Martyr, Who each had a roll in the Church putting together her canon. Aquila, who helped with forming the Jewish canon of the Torah that is used to this day. Marcion, who gave rise to the heresy of Marcionism. And Justin, who not only refuted arguments from both view points of Aquila and Marcion, but started the process for the biblical canon.
Rod makes following each of these men fascinating. Detailing what we know of them from historical record, and positing logical assumptions about what each of them must've been thinking and feeling about the challenges they were faced with.
If you're a history buff, or just trying to learn more about the history of the Church and the Bible, this is well worth the read. It's not heavy, complicated or dull, but will keep you interested and continually coming back.
Now after reading it, I have to say, it was definitely worth it.
Rod dives in to, not just the process of how the current biblical canon came about, but the people, events, and politics that surrounded that time.
Focusing on three main people, Aquila, Marcion, and St Justin Martyr, Who each had a roll in the Church putting together her canon. Aquila, who helped with forming the Jewish canon of the Torah that is used to this day. Marcion, who gave rise to the heresy of Marcionism. And Justin, who not only refuted arguments from both view points of Aquila and Marcion, but started the process for the biblical canon.
Rod makes following each of these men fascinating. Detailing what we know of them from historical record, and positing logical assumptions about what each of them must've been thinking and feeling about the challenges they were faced with.
If you're a history buff, or just trying to learn more about the history of the Church and the Bible, this is well worth the read. It's not heavy, complicated or dull, but will keep you interested and continually coming back.
August 22, 2025
Rod Bennett’s Scripture Wars surprised me. I expected a fairly dry but thorough historical overview, but instead found a lively and engaging account of how the Church discerned which books would become the New Testament.
Bennett frames the drama through contrasting figures: Marcion, who wanted to eliminate the Old Testament entirely, and Aquila, who sought to double down on Jewish practices and preserve the whole law as central. Between these extremes, St. Justin Martyr emerges as a pivotal voice, steering the Church between the Scylla and Charybdis of “no Old Testament” and “more Old Testament.”
One of the most striking elements of the book, at least to me, was Bennett’s portrait of the Old Testament as a text that reluctantly incorporates sacrificial rites. Rather than presenting them as the ultimate form of worship, he shows them as a kind of divine accommodation, a way of weaning Israel off the addictive religious practices of Egypt and other pagan cultures.
While Bennett never claims to be writing from a Girardian perspective, this framework opens the book up to fascinating connections with mimetic theory. The reluctant embrace of sacrifice, the danger of throwing out the Jewish Scriptures altogether, and the careful discernment needed to preserve what points beyond sacrifice all resonate with René Girard’s insights into scapegoating and the progressive unveiling of the victimage mechanism in Scripture.
I’ll be returning to Scripture Wars with this lens in mind. It’s a compelling read on its own, but it also serves as fertile ground for anyone interested in how the Church’s earliest debates intersect with the anthropology of violence and sacrifice.
Bennett frames the drama through contrasting figures: Marcion, who wanted to eliminate the Old Testament entirely, and Aquila, who sought to double down on Jewish practices and preserve the whole law as central. Between these extremes, St. Justin Martyr emerges as a pivotal voice, steering the Church between the Scylla and Charybdis of “no Old Testament” and “more Old Testament.”
One of the most striking elements of the book, at least to me, was Bennett’s portrait of the Old Testament as a text that reluctantly incorporates sacrificial rites. Rather than presenting them as the ultimate form of worship, he shows them as a kind of divine accommodation, a way of weaning Israel off the addictive religious practices of Egypt and other pagan cultures.
While Bennett never claims to be writing from a Girardian perspective, this framework opens the book up to fascinating connections with mimetic theory. The reluctant embrace of sacrifice, the danger of throwing out the Jewish Scriptures altogether, and the careful discernment needed to preserve what points beyond sacrifice all resonate with René Girard’s insights into scapegoating and the progressive unveiling of the victimage mechanism in Scripture.
I’ll be returning to Scripture Wars with this lens in mind. It’s a compelling read on its own, but it also serves as fertile ground for anyone interested in how the Church’s earliest debates intersect with the anthropology of violence and sacrifice.
February 2, 2022
This work by Rod Bennett is a fascinating examination of the currents that shaped the Catholic canon of scripture in the first two centuries of the Church. He sheds considerable light on Justin Martyr and his struggles against both Marcionism and Pharisaic Judaism. Along the way he shows us the early hermeneutical keys used to parse what parts of the Old Covenant were abrogated by Christ and his teaching (or even by earlier events) and why. He also goes into the Bar Kokhba revolt (132–136 AD) in Jerusalem and the consequences of it both for Judaism and Christianity. (An episode of which I knew nothing until reading this book.)
And informative and engaging look at the Church and other movements with which if had to contend at a very early point. A must-read for any student of Church history, the formation of the canon of scripture, or biblical interpretation.
And informative and engaging look at the Church and other movements with which if had to contend at a very early point. A must-read for any student of Church history, the formation of the canon of scripture, or biblical interpretation.
October 10, 2020
I found this book to be endlessly fascinating. So much history that we really need to know about the Old Testament, its meaning for Christians and for the Jewish people after the destruction of the Temple. Justin Martyr, who has never been given enough credit for his clear cut explanation of why he (and we) believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God and our Savior. He was able to link the Old with the New just as Jesus and the Apostles taught.
This book was written in an engaging manner and is clear enough for anyone to pick up and read. This is the fourth book by Rod Bennett that I have read and the fourth book I highly recommend.
This book was written in an engaging manner and is clear enough for anyone to pick up and read. This is the fourth book by Rod Bennett that I have read and the fourth book I highly recommend.
February 7, 2023
This book is written by an amateur not a scholarly historian equipped with the training of critical method. It betrays credulity in late tradition and makes baseless assertions here and there without any awareness.
August 22, 2021
I enjoyed chapters four and five the most.
March 21, 2024
I read this for a church book club and liked it ok, but I guess I prefer the writing styles of Scott Hahn more.
April 30, 2024
Packed full of knowledge but at times a bit difficult to follow the historical narrative.
October 21, 2019
Rod Bennett is quite possibly the best Christian writer active today. He understands the mind of the non-specialist (he is a well-educated layman and not an academic), but has a depth of knowledge and insight that is one-of-a-kind. Rod also writes with a very endearing sense of humor and a rare gift for storytelling. He deserves a much broader audience.
In Scripture Wars, the reader encounters not only a great true story, but also finds answers to questions that almost all Christians have in the back of their minds but may not have quite put into words. We know from the New Testament that there were conflicts in the early Church between those who wanted to observe the entirety of the Mosaic Law and those who believed that most of it needed to be left behind in this new age of grace. As Rod articulates very well, we all have this vague notion that Christ "fulfilled" the Law and therefore we don't have to observe all the Old Testament rituals and behaviors. But we also know that the Ten Commandments are still binding, along with much of that early moral teaching. Talking heads on television tell us we can't use the OT for moral argumentation because then we'd have to stop eating pork and shellfish and stone people for adultery in order to be consistent. Do they have a point? Also, if much of the Old Testament is now obsolete, why do we have it in our Christian Bibles and read from it at church and in our private devotional life? Does it have relevance beyond historical background?
In Scripture Wars, you will find the answers to all of these questions and encounter a whole cast of interesting characters who helped the Church think through these things. The answers run deep in Scripture and in our history. We've just forgotten to even ask the questions.
In Scripture Wars, the reader encounters not only a great true story, but also finds answers to questions that almost all Christians have in the back of their minds but may not have quite put into words. We know from the New Testament that there were conflicts in the early Church between those who wanted to observe the entirety of the Mosaic Law and those who believed that most of it needed to be left behind in this new age of grace. As Rod articulates very well, we all have this vague notion that Christ "fulfilled" the Law and therefore we don't have to observe all the Old Testament rituals and behaviors. But we also know that the Ten Commandments are still binding, along with much of that early moral teaching. Talking heads on television tell us we can't use the OT for moral argumentation because then we'd have to stop eating pork and shellfish and stone people for adultery in order to be consistent. Do they have a point? Also, if much of the Old Testament is now obsolete, why do we have it in our Christian Bibles and read from it at church and in our private devotional life? Does it have relevance beyond historical background?
In Scripture Wars, you will find the answers to all of these questions and encounter a whole cast of interesting characters who helped the Church think through these things. The answers run deep in Scripture and in our history. We've just forgotten to even ask the questions.
November 11, 2019
Such a facinating story of Justyn Martyr, Aquila, and Marcion. Bennett weaves what you know about these three men into a tale of what later lead to the cannon being defined. Just excellent.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews