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by Peter Kirby
Thu Mar 28, 2024 7:17 am
Forum: Christian Texts and History
Topic: According to Irenaeus, who were the Gnostics?
Replies: 12
Views: 152

Re: According to Irenaeus, who were the Gnostics?

Revisiting some of the references to 'gnostics' and 'knowledge' in book 1 of Against Heresies . ... that they may appear more perfect than the perfect, and more knowing than the very Gnostics ... They tell us, however, that this knowledge has not been openly divulged, because all are not capable of ...
by Peter Kirby
Thu Mar 28, 2024 6:06 am
Forum: Christian Texts and History
Topic: Gospel priority
Replies: 99
Views: 2065

Re: Gospel priority

Steven Avery wrote: Thu Mar 28, 2024 4:07 am You are right that only a couple of those ones from Ben are Luke, they are a mixture of the Gospels preceding Mark. (Leading to Matthew and likely John also preceding Mark, as well as Luke.)

So I will work on a full presentation showing Luke-Mark connections.
Thanks!
by Peter Kirby
Thu Mar 28, 2024 6:04 am
Forum: Christian Texts and History
Topic: According to Irenaeus, who were the Gnostics?
Replies: 12
Views: 152

Re: According to Irenaeus, who were the Gnostics?

As for "gnosticism", I do think that this whole thing can be traced back to some sort of Hellenistic or Roman mystery religion. The OP isn't about Christian origins, and it isn't even about "Gnosticism" as an analytic category that we might use to define some aspect of ancient r...
by Peter Kirby
Thu Mar 28, 2024 5:54 am
Forum: Christian Texts and History
Topic: According to Irenaeus, who were the Gnostics?
Replies: 12
Views: 152

Re: According to Irenaeus, who were the Gnostics?

one problem is the gnostic texts in the NHL library fail to hat-tip Simon at all as their founder, and on the contrary some are seen to oppose him outright so far i've not seen anything that supports interpreting Simon as the founder of Gnosticism and that is not necessarily contra Irenaeus or the ...
by Peter Kirby
Thu Mar 28, 2024 5:49 am
Forum: Christian Texts and History
Topic: According to Irenaeus, who were the Gnostics?
Replies: 12
Views: 152

Re: According to Irenaeus, who were the Gnostics?

the two biggest problems that Irenaeus had were Valentinians and Marcionites. Perhaps, but I always considered the Marcosians to be one of Irenaeus' biggest targets. I read Irenaeus as saying that Marcus sprang from Valentinus, and to the extent that Marcus was an opponent, it enhances the profile ...
by Peter Kirby
Thu Mar 28, 2024 5:43 am
Forum: Christian Texts and History
Topic: According to Irenaeus, who were the Gnostics?
Replies: 12
Views: 152

Re: According to Irenaeus, who were the Gnostics?

The dividing line between Gnostic Christians and non-Gnostic (like proto-orthodox, Ebionites) was that the Gnostics believed that the Creator god was not the true God I don't think there's just one "The dividing line" between Gnostic Christians and non-Gnostic. For example, I think Clemen...
by Peter Kirby
Thu Mar 28, 2024 12:13 am
Forum: Christian Texts and History
Topic: According to Irenaeus, who were the Gnostics?
Replies: 12
Views: 152

Re: According to Irenaeus, who were the Gnostics?

And what's in a name? Well, for one thing, considering whether Against Heresies considered the Marcionites to be 'gnostics' could shed light on both. We already see in the first post some clues from what Irenaeus writes about why some were styled 'gnostics'. Their claim to 'perfect knowledge' (gnosi...
by Peter Kirby
Wed Mar 27, 2024 8:41 pm
Forum: Christian Texts and History
Topic: According to Irenaeus, who were the Gnostics?
Replies: 12
Views: 152

Re: According to Irenaeus, who were the Gnostics?

Apart from Tatian, all of these possible non-gnostic heretics appear in this section of Against Heresies, book 1. CHAP. XXVI.--DOCTRINES OF CERINTHUS, THE EBIONITES, AND NICOLAITANES. 1. Cerinthus, again, a man who was educated(8) in the wisdom of the Egyptians, taught that the world was not made by...
by Peter Kirby
Wed Mar 27, 2024 8:24 pm
Forum: Christian Texts and History
Topic: According to Irenaeus, who were the Gnostics?
Replies: 12
Views: 152

According to Irenaeus, who were the Gnostics?

It seems like a simple question, but Irenaeus provides vague remarks on the subject. I've written about how, in the account of Irenaeus, Simon (whose immediate successor is Menander) is considered to be the first heretic, and several different heresies sprang from there. I outlined this as follows: ...
by Peter Kirby
Wed Mar 27, 2024 6:57 pm
Forum: Christian Texts and History
Topic: What is implied if Jesus' historicity was not doubted?
Replies: 17
Views: 301

Re: What is implied if Jesus' historicity was not doubted?

Thanks, GakuseiDon, for giving an example showing that some ancient people did claim cases of non-existence. According to Eusebius, Agrippa Castor wrote that Basilides invented prophets for himself that had no existence (E. H. 4.7.6-7): Of these there has come down to us a most powerful refutation ...