The First Christian Centuries: Irenaeus of Lyons

Presents an introduction to the problems of reading Irenaeus of Lyons (c 130-200) who was known as 'the first great Catholic theologian'. This book explains why Irenaeus, the 2nd-century theologian, deserves his place in history.

Eric Osborn's book presents a major study of Irenaeus (125-200), bishop of Lyons, who attacked Gnostic theosophy with positive ideas as well as negative critiques. Irenaeus's combination of argument and imagery, logic and aesthetic, was directed to a new document, the Christian bible. Dominated by a Socratic love of truth and a classical love of beauty, he was a founder of Western humanism. Irenaeus is renowned for his aphorisms, optimism, love of the created world, evolutionary view of history, and theology of beauty and humor.

Who is a Christian? Is there a clear and recognizable Christian identity? Such questions, heard often near the close of the second Christian millennium, were equally pressing near the opening of the first millennium. The second century is the century for the construction of Christian identity. A principal architect of that identity was Irenaeus of Lyons. His work shaped Scripture, exegesis, theology, institutions, and the spirituality of Christianity to the extent that his imprint is discernible two thousand years later. As he addresses recurring pastoral issues around new religious movements, inculturation, unity and pluralism, the value of the human person, and the meaning of death, his voice claims the attention of people who today face similar concerns. One Right Reading? is a coherent presentation of Irenaeus' thought, following the pattern of his development and placing it in the context of issues which recur today.

The most comprehensive history of Christian political thought--complete with primary texts available in English for the first time. From the second century to the seventeenth, from Irenaeus to Grotius, this unique reader provides a coherent overview of the development of Christian political thought. The editors have collected readings from the works of over sixty-five authors from this period, together with introductory essays that give historical details about each thinker and discuss how each has contributed to the tradition of Christian political thought. Complete with important Greek and Latin texts available here in English for the first time, this volume will be a primary resource for readers from a wide range of interests.

Written in the form of a letter, the Proof is a manual of theology designed to serve as a guide to salvation and a way to refute heretics. It was composed in Lyons and dates from the end of the second to the beginning of the third century.

St Irenaeus, the most important theologian of the second century, lays the foundation for all future Christian thinkers. Here he recounts all the various deeds of God, culminating in the exaltation of His crucified Son, Jesus Christ, and the bestowal of His Holy Spirit and the gift of a new heart of flesh.

Few questions have troubled Christians more than the destiny of those who do not hear the gospel. For reasons described in this work, Irenaeus (second century Bishop of Lyons) did not directly address the issue of the salvation of the unevangelized. A careful analysis is therefore made of the saving effects of the various modes of revelation about which Irenaeus wrote, in the context of his conflict with the Gnostics. Particular attention is given to his understanding of the respective roles of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in divine revelation, the role of the Church, and the human response to divine revelation which is necessary for salvation. Tiessen concludes that Irenaeus should not be cited as an early proponent of Karl Rahner's "anonymous Christianity" without careful qualification. Some aspects of his thought, however, indicate that he might have granted the possibility of salvation for individuals outside of the institutional Church, if he had known a situation such as we know today. The work will be of particular interest to patrologists, missiologists, and theologians interested in the issues of revelation and salvation.

The book examines the ways in which Irenaeus and Clement understood what it means to be human. By exploring these writings from within their own theological perspectives, Dr. Behr also offers a theological critique of the prevailing approach to the asceticism of Late Antiquity.

Though the Proof of the Apostolic Teaching is written in the form of a letter,its eems to have been intended as a guideline to pre-baptismal catechesis based on what Irenaeus calls the rule of faith handed down by the elders'.In contemporary terms,it would be said that it is an exposition of the creed,with generous appeal to the scriptures.The creed in question is that given in the baptismal rite.The exposition is offered by Irenaeus in clear response to gnostic teaching about creation and redemption.