Saint Irenaeus of Lyons

[J_the_Centrist]

I have been reading ‘Against Heresies’ and I am almost half way through it and I am amazed at how rapidly people seized the Christian Faith and tried to alter it into their own ideology. He dismantles the arguments of the Valentinians and other heretics so masterfully and their idea of the Pleroma, which I find so amusing I have to chuckle every time I read it. Also interesting was that many of these sects authorized sexual misconduct and even encouraged it and he explains this in great detail. Furthermore, these people and their ideas altered the positions, not only, of the Apostles but of the Greco-Roman deities as well. I was just wondering if anyone else has read it and can tell me what I can expect going forward. It’s fascinating.

 

[GLam1761]

I know of a Modern Day example of “heretical”
thinking, they are “Children of God” a hippy like
Jesus people who espouses women wearing
“see thru dresses”!

 

[J_the_Centrist]

I never heard of them but I’m sure they wouldn’t be too unfamiliar to the sects in Irenaues’ time. Why have all of these sects always insisted on claiming Christianity and almost from the beginning? Irenaeus was a well traveled man, he came from Asia (as the Romans knew it but literally Asia) and ended up in modern day Lyons (Lugdunum as the Romans called it) so he was very aquianted with these sects from all over the world. He was a contemporary of Polycarp, who is said to have been taught be Saint John. The point being, why not insist on being like all of the pagans around at the time, many of whom approved of these practices but instead they chose Christianity. Yes, perhaps they saw that the truth was in Christianity and felt they had to “modify” it. Particularly, because as Irenaeus states, it was Simon Magnus who was supposedly the founder of these heresies. It’s just interesting that the deeper one looks into Christianities claims they become much harder to dismiss; living it is another matter and one everyone finds exceedingly difficult and if they don’t then they aren’t trying hard enough in my opinion. I’m not surprised such a group exists.