#327: Ch. 18, Book 2, Against Heresies by St. Irenaeus of Lyons

Against Heresies continues with a chapter about how Wisdom (Sophia) couldn’t possible have been ignorant, and how a Thought (Enthymesis) can’t have a separate existence from the one who thinks it.

Ch. 18: Sophia Was Never Really in Ignorance or Passion; Her Enthymesis Could Not Have Been Separated from Herself, or Exhibited Special Tendencies of Its Own.

11:35.

I’ve decided to pile on the Irenaeus chapters in this book, so as to get more quickly to the next book. Not that this isn’t interesting, but it’s not the sort of apologetics we usually do these days. (Though it might be a good example of some approaches to take.)

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#326: Ch. 17, Book 2, Against Heresies by St. Irenaeus of Lyons

Against Heresies continues, as St. Irenaeus points out that this whole matter of degeneration of Aeons, and blaming everything on Sophia the female’s defectiveness and emotionalism, has certain logical consequences for the Gnostic cosmology.

Ch. 17: Inquiry into the Production of the Aeons: Whatever Its Supposed Nature, It is in Every Respect Inconsistent; And on the Hypothesis of the Heretics, Even Nous and the Father Himself Would Be Stained with Ignorance.

19:13.

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#325: Ch. 15-16, Book 2, Against Heresies by St. Irenaeus of Lyons

Against Heresies continues with more criticism of the production system, and sums it all up by pointing out that it’s a lot more logical just to have one God who’s also the Creator.

Ch. 15: No Account Can Be Given of These Productions; and Ch. 16: The Creator of the World Either Produced of Himself the Images of Things to Be Made, or the Pleroma Was Formed After the Image of Some Previous System; And so on ad Infinitum.

11:44.

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#324: Ch. 14, Book 2, Against Heresies by St. Irenaeus of Lyons

Against Heresies continues with an account of the similarities between the cosmology of the Gnostics and that of earlier Greek poets, philosophers, and natural philosophers. (The Chaos and Night cosmology comparison occurred to me a lot earlier, but this goes into tons of detail. Good stuff.)

Ch. 14: Valentinus and His Followers Derived the Principles of Their System from the Heathen; The Names Only are Changed.

17:56.

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