Irenaeus of Lyons

by Eric Osborn

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.

Genres: Theology

328 pages, Paperback

First published October 3, 1997

Reviews

[Tyler Collins]

I read chapters 1-4 (34%) of this book for my Theology of Irenaeus course under Dr. Steve McCormick at Nazarene Theological Seminary.

[Joseph]

Great book! Osborn's book is a classic text for Irenaen and early Christian studies and was very interesting to compare literarily, textually, and theologically to John Behr's most recent book on the subject, "Irenaeus of Lyons: Identifying Christianity" (Oxford, 2013). It is somewhat dense, but I would highly recommend it!

[Tyson Guthrie]

An excellent organization of Irenaeus' thought. This will surely become the standard English volume on Irenaeus.

[Adam Couchman]

Incredibly thorough yet accessible organisation of Irenaeus' thought. An important text for anyone interested in patristics. A must for anyone wanting to engage with Irenaeus.

[Joel Zartman]

Osborn is the real thing. Must read more of his historiography.