Zusammenfassung der Ressource
Ireneaus' Polemic Against Heresy
- Introduction
- According to Hughes "He is a man of
current affairs, a busy bishop serving a
fronteir diocese. He is the greatest force
between st paul and st augustine."
- Born in Smyrna
- Taught by Polycarp
- Avoided persecution due to being in Rome
protesting Heresies
- Volumes of work
- Composed a five volumed work called against herasies
- Influenced by gnosticism
- Influenced by Valentinion
Gnostics, lead by Marcus
and his followers
- Book One
- Gave an account of the beliefs of Valentinians
- Universal churches beliefs
- Contrasted with beliefs of Valentinians
- Gnostic teachers Simon Magus to Ophites
- Book 2
- Refuted Gnosticism
- Book 3
- Gnostic teachings contrasted with
apistolic tradition
- Unity of apistolic teaching
- rejection of doectism
- Book 4
- Argue against Marcianism
- Affirms common divine author
- affirms the common divine author of two covenants
- Book 5
- Affirms the ressurection of Jesus due to Gnostic denials
- Referance is made to the antichrist
- NP
- decribed the gnostic
system by exposing
contradictions to
Gnostic teachings
- Incredible and Incoherant - Erick Osboom
- Secret Teachings
- Claimed teachings were secret apistolic traditons
- Valentinians claimed their
leader was taught by a
disciple of Paul
- Irenius dismissed this claim and
preserved their sucessive bishops with
the inconsistant alleged apistolic
traditons
- Rule Of Faith
- Apistolically founded churches were known as ROF
- Criteria by which heretical interpretations of
scriptures could be tested
- Criticised gnostic misinterpretation
and misapplication of the
scriptures
- Described them as unreasonable & perverse
- Controversy
- recognised the need for agreement on
authorative Christian writings
- Accepts that some writings ended up as NT canon
- Polemic
- Required a positive statement of church beliefs
- Gnosticism rejected one God who was the creator
- By means of
words or
wisdom he
created the
world
- created the doctrine of copulation believing
everything is restored through Jesus
- Conclusion
- Irenius completely refuted Gnosticism
- His work is slightly
unreliable as he is
biased