Did “The Gnostic Heresy” Influence Valentinus? An Investigation of Irenaeus, Against Heresies 1.11.1 and 1.29

This article argues (1) that there is insufficient evidence to conclude that a or the “gnostic heresy” (Irenaeus, Against Heresies 1.11.1) referred to a specific social group whose theology is witnessed in Against Heresies 1.29 and (2) that the aeonology in this passage influenced Valentinus. There...

Full description

Saved in:  
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Litwa, M. David 1982- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Journals Online & Print:
Drawer...
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Published: Brill 2024
In: Vigiliae Christianae
Year: 2024, Volume: 78, Issue: 2, Pages: 138-160
Further subjects:B Theology
B “Gospel of Judas”
B heresiology
B Irenaeus
B Barbeloites
B aeons
B gnostics
B “Apocryphon of John”
Online Access: Volltext (kostenfrei)
Volltext (kostenfrei)
Description
Summary:This article argues (1) that there is insufficient evidence to conclude that a or the “gnostic heresy” (Irenaeus, Against Heresies 1.11.1) referred to a specific social group whose theology is witnessed in Against Heresies 1.29 and (2) that the aeonology in this passage influenced Valentinus. There is no evidence that the aeonology in Against Heresies 1.29 existed prior to 160 CE, the approximate date of Valentinus’s demise; thus this material could not have shaped Valentinus’s theology. Instead of thinking with Irenaeus in terms of unidirectional influence (Irenaeus’s constructed “gnostic heresy” inspiring Valentinus/Valentinians), future theories ought to account for multiple directions of influence and entanglement between various early Christian theologians in the late second century CE.
ISSN:1570-0720
Contains:Enthalten in: Vigiliae Christianae
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1163/15700720-bja10068