Retreat! / Toxic Leadership at Corinth / Simon of Cyrene Crucified in Jesus' Place? / Advent Devotionals

EARLY CHRISTIAN WRITINGS (15)

Irenaeus (130-202 AD) 

Irenaeus’ largest work is his five-volume Against Heresies. In the first century, the hottest issue was the Jew-Gentile controversy. (How Jewish do followers of Christ have to be?) But in his century, Gnosticism was the biggest issue. In Against Heresies Irenaeus exposes and refutes numerous false teachers: Basilides, Carpocrates, Saturninus, Marcion, Cerinthus, Valentinus, Tatian, Simon, Cerdo, the Ebionites, Nicolatians, and Encratites.

Irenaeus, Against Heresies, Book 1

• Eating meat sacrificed to idols is a serious sin (l.vi.3; also xxiv.5).

• The heretics believe they will be saved not by conduct, but their elitist knowledge (vi.2). Gnostics, in other words, preached salvation not through faithful obedience, but through knowledge (gnōsis in Greek).

• The heretics are worldly. They attend bloody spectacles, eat idol meat, commit adultery, and are greedy (vi.3). They practice polygyny (xxvii.2) and live licentious lives (xxv).

• Irenaeus highlights the unity of the church’s doctrine: “For, although the languages of the world are dissimilar, yet the import of the tradition is one and the same. For the churches which have been planted in Germany do not believe or hand down anything different, nor do those in Spain, nor those in Gaul, nor those in the East, nor those in Egypt, nor those in Libya, nor those which have been established in the central regions of the world [Palestine]. But as the sun, that creature of God, is one and the same throughout the whole world, so also the preaching of the truth shines everywhere, and enlightens all men that are willing to come to a knowledge of the truth…” (x.2).

• On the false teachers Saturninus and Basilides: “He did not himself suffer death, but Simon, a certain man of Cyrene, being compelled, bore the cross in his stead; so that this latter being transfigured by him, that he might be thought to be Jesus, was crucified, through ignorance and error, while Jesus himself received the form of Simon and, standing by, laughed at them” (xxiv.4).

• This Gnostic notion was picked up 400 years later, by Muhammad: But they neither killed nor crucified him—it was only made to appear so. Even those who argue for this crucifixion are in doubt. They have no knowledge whatsoever—only making assumptions. They certainly did not kill him (Qu’ran 4:157).

• The Gnostics believe in the transmigration of souls (xxv.4). They hold a low view of the body—which is but a prison for the soul.

• The eclectic Gnostics have images, some painted. These include images of Christ along with those of the philosophers (xxv.6).

• Jesus taught his disciples for 18 months between his resurrection and ascension (xxx.14)—not for 40 days as Acts 1 states.

• The Cainite Gnostics—Cain was the good guy!—produced the fictitious Gospel of Judas (xxx.1), which came out in an English translation in 2006, through National Geographic. For more on the so-called Gospel of Judas, click HERE.

Next week: Irenaeus, Against Heresies, Book 2

QUOTABLE

• It is so impossible for the world to exist without God that if God should forget it, it would immediately cease to be. — Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855)

• What is true in the lamplight is not always true in the sunlight. — Joseph Joubert (1754-1824)

• Make [Christianity] attractive, make good men wish it were true, and then show them that it is. — Blaise Pascal (Pensées, III, 187)

TOXIC LEADERSHIP AT CORINTH

Guest article, Tyndale House. Kirsten Mackerras explores the leadership issues in Corinth when Paul wrote to the Corinthian church, and shares what we can learn from their situation today.

Church leadership is facing a reckoning. The last few years have seen a shocking number of scandals involving previously respected leaders. These men led ministries that appeared successful, but behind the scenes were built on bullying and abuse. Sadly, leaders like these are nothing new. But what is new is a growing intolerance for such behaviour. Many in the Church are searching for healthier ways of ministering. READ MORE