Irenaeus’s Against Heresies Book 2

This episode contains part of a voluminous work by the next author in the series, Irenaeus. He was a disciple of Polycarp, placing him two generations from the apostles. He lived between A.D. 120 and A.D 202. Irenaeus wrote as a bishop in Lyons, France, and found himself part of a global church embroiled in heresy and schism. Because of this he devoted much of his life to understanding and refuting the heretics of his day. This has been preserved in a five volume series, titled “Against Heresies.”

This second volume primarily refutes the heretics using their own doctrines. In one sense this was an easy task because the heretics taught many strange things, naturally leading to contradictions and ambiguities. Additionally, it appears that many of these religious instructors attempted to innovate and differentiate themselves from their peers by making up new, more fanciful ideas. While this must have certainly made Irenaeus’ work of compiling their teachings more difficult, the lack of agreement opened them to many easy proofs of their error.

In refuting the heretics Irenaeus relies heavily on Scripture, showing that the heretics’ fanciful interpretations were not consistent with a right understanding of the word of God. His example remains an excellent reminder to us today that, while many diverse and incorrect teachings exist, God has given us the Bible, reason, and the Church to help differentiate between truth and error.

If you would like to read more of the writings of the Early Christian Fathers, please visit ccel.org to view the full collection.