Irenaeus argues that if Jesus was in his thirties, his opponents would've argued that He's not yet 40 years, since that would make Him even younger.

22, where Irenaeus argues his unconventional views about the age of Jesus and the length of his ministry.

In the quote below, one can see how passionately Irenaeus argues against this gnostic heresy from his book Heresies:

This occurs in the context of Irenaeus ' work On the Detection and Overthrow of Knowledge Falsely So Called, ( Greek: elenchos kai anatrope tes pseudonymou gnoseos genitive case, ἔλεγχος καὶ ἀνατροπὴ τῆς ψευδωνύμου γνώσεως ) where the term " knowledge falsely so-called " ( nominative case pseudonymos gnosis ) covers various groups, not just Valentinus, and is a quotation of the apostle Paul's warning against " knowledge falsely so-called " in 1 Timothy 6: 20.

Fra Marino also claims to have been alerted to the existence of the Gospel of Barnabas, from an allusion in a work by Irenaeus against Paul ; in a book which had been presented to him by a lady of the Colonna family ( Marino, outside Rome, is the location of the Palazzo Colonna ).

Though correct in some details about the belief systems of various groups, Irenaeus ' main purpose was to warn Christians against Gnosticism, rather than catalog those beliefs.

Irenaeus pointed to Scripture as a proof of orthodox Christianity against heresies, classifying as Scripture not only the Old Testament but most of the books now known as the New Testament, while excluding many works, a large number by Gnostics, that flourished in the 2nd century and claimed scriptural authority.

In his writing against the Gnostics, who claimed to possess a secret oral tradition from Jesus himself, Irenaeus maintained that the bishops in different cities are known as far back as the Apostles — and none were Gnostic — and that the bishops provided the only safe guide to the interpretation of Scripture.

The doctrine of original sin was first developed in the 2nd-century Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons's struggle against Gnosticism.

Justin Martyr ( in his Apologies, and in a lost work against heresies, which Irenaeus used as his main source ) and Irenaeus ( Adversus Haereses ) record that after being cast out by the Apostles he came to Rome where, having joined to himself a profligate woman of the name of Helen, he gave out that it was he who appeared among the Jews as the Son, in Samaria as the Father and among other nations as the Holy Spirit.

Irenaeus the friend of Nestorius, with the cooperation of Theodoret, became bishop of Tyre, in spite of the protests of Dioscorus, Cyril's successor, who now turned specially against Theodoret ; and, by preferring the charge that he taught two sons in Christ, he secured the order from the court confining Theodoret to Cyrrhus.

* Irenaeus of Lyons: Irenaeus is best known for his writings arguing for the unity of God, and against Gnosticism.

Saul of Tarsus, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus and others often defended Christianity against charges that were brought to justify persecution.

Several passages in the works of Irenaeus show an undoubted relationship to passages in one small section of the Apologia, but Harnack thinks it probable that the quotations, limited to two chapters, are not taken from the Apologia, but from Theophilus's work against Marcion In the West there are a few references to the Autolycus.

Within the Pauline tradition, but after the time of the Apostolic Fathers proper, some authors addressed their works to people beyond the Christian community and defended the Christian religion against paganism, including Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, and Tertullian.

Irenaeus and Tertullian argued against Marcionism's elevation of Paul and stated that Peter and Paul were equals among the apostles.

It is believed to have been written by Gnostic followers of Jesus, rather than by Judas himself, and, since it contains late 2nd century theology, probably dates from no earlier than the 2nd century ( which is much later than the dating attributed to the 4 gospels of the modern Bible Gospel # First accounts ) In 180 A. D., Irenaeus, the Bishop of Lyons, wrote a document in which he railed against this gospel, indicating the book was already in circulation.

Cited in support is the reference to a “ Gospel of Judas ” by the early Christian writer Irenaeus of Lyons, who, in arguing against Gnosticism, called the text a " fictitious history ".

Gnostics were condemned as heretics, and prominent Church fathers such as Irenaeus of Lyons and Hippolytus of Rome wrote against Gnosticism.

There is some skepticism among scholars that the system actually originated with him, and many believe that the system Irenaeus was reacting against was that of the later Valentinians, and not Valentinus himself.

Against the Gnostics, who said that they possessed a secret oral tradition from Jesus himself, Irenaeus maintained that the bishops in different cities are known as far back as the Apostles — and none of them was a Gnostic — and that the bishops provided the only safe guide to the interpretation of Scripture.

In Book I, Irenaeus talks about the Valentinian Gnostics and their predecessors, who go as far back as the magician Simon Magus.

Irenaeus ' point when refuting the Gnostics was that all of the Apostolic churches had preserved the same traditions and teachings in many independent streams.

The central point of Irenaeus ' theology is the unity and the goodness of God, in opposition to the Gnostics ' division of God into a number of divine " Aeons ", and their distinction between the utterly transcendent " High God " and the inferior " Demiurge " who created the world.

In the passage of Adversus Haereses under consideration, Irenaeus is clear that after receiving baptism at the age of thirty, citing Luke 3: 23, Gnostics then falsely assert that " He preached only one year reckoning from His baptism ," and also, " On completing His thirtieth year He suffered, being in fact still a young man, and who had by no means attained to advanced age.

The concept of original sin was first alluded to in the 2nd century by Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons in his controversy ( written in Greek ) with the dualist Gnostics.

All the early Gnostics of whose opinions Irenaeus gives an account, in a section ( i. 23 sqq.

In the eighth sphere, these Gnostics taught, dwelt the mother to whom all these archons owed their origin, Sophia or Prunikos according to the version of Irenaeus, Barbelo according to that of Epiphanius.

This is part of a belief held by some Gnostics that Jesus was not of flesh, but only took on the appearance of flesh ( see also Basilides and Irenaeus and Swoon hypothesis ).

Many of the writings of these Gnostics, and a large number of excerpts from the writings of Valentinus, existed only in quotes displayed by their orthodox detractors, until 1945, when the cache of writings at Nag Hammadi revealed a Coptic version of the Gospel of Truth, which is the title of a text that, according to Irenaeus, was the same as the Gospel of Valentinus mentioned by Tertullian in his Against All Heresies.

The early Gnostic use is referred to by Irenaeus and Origen in quoted commentary made on John by the Gnostics Ptolemy and Heracleon.

Gnostics were known for quoting this part of 1 Corinthians, infuriating Christians such as Irenaeus who wished to claim that the dead were physically, rather than spiritually, resurrected.

The doctrines of Marcion were so similar to the Gnostics that the church father Irenaeus, a disciple of Polycarp in the 180s regarded him as one of them.

Irenaeus characterizes the Gnostics as the pneumatici who have a perfect knowledge of God, and have been initiated into the mysteries of Achamoth.

He was, in the words of Irenaeus, `` beguiled by another under the pretext of immortality ''.

In the system described by Irenaeus, " the Unbegotten Father " is the progenitor of Nous, and from Nous Logos, from Logos Phronesis, from Phronesis Sophia and Dynamis, from Sophia and Dynamis principalities, powers, and angels, the last of whom create " the first heaven.

( c. 4 ), who likewise follows Hippolytus's Compendium, adds some further particulars ; that ' Abraxas ' gave birth to Mind ( nous ), the first in the series of primary powers enumerated likewise by Irenaeus and Epiphanius ; that the world, as well as the 365 heavens, was created in honour of ' Abraxas ;' and that Christ was sent not by the Maker of the world but by ' Abraxas.

It was first used by Irenaeus late in the 2nd century.

The earlier date, first proposed in modern times by John Robinson in a closely argued chapter of " Redating the New Testament " ( 1976 ), relies on the book's internal evidence, given that no external testimony exists earlier than that of Irenaeus, noted above, and the earliest extant manuscript evidence of Revelation ( P98 ) is likewise dated no earlier than the late 2nd century.

For Irenaeus, salvation was achieved by Christ restoring humanity to the image of God, and he saw the Christian imitation of Christ as a key component on the path to salvation.

Elliot begins his lengthy review of historical evidence by quoting Irenaeus, a disciple of Polycarp.

The Latin translation, confirmed by Hippolytus, makes Irenaeus state that according to Cerinthus ( who shows Ebionite influence ), creation was made by a power quite separate from the Supreme God and ignorant of Him.

Theodoret, who here copies Irenaeus, turns this into the plural number “ powers ,” and so Epiphanius represents Cerinthus as agreeing with Carpocrates in the doctrine that the world was made by angels.

Pauline authorship was held to by many of the early church's prominent theologians, such as Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, Origen of Alexandria and Eusebius.

According to Irenaeus, a 2nd century Church Father, the church at Rome was founded directly by the apostles Peter and Paul.

However, many modern scholars disagree with Irenaeus, holding that while little is known of the circumstances of the church's founding, it was not founded by Paul.

Gnosticism ( from gnostikos, " learned ", from gnōsis, knowledge ) is a modern scholarly term for a set of religious beliefs and spiritual practices found among some early Christian and non-Christian groups called " gnostic " (" knowing ") by Irenaeus and other early Christian leaders.

The English term " Gnosticism " derives from the use of the Greek adjective gnostikos (" learned ", " intellectual ", Greek γνωστικός ) by St. Irenaeus ( c. 185 AD ) to describe the school of Valentinus as he legomene gnostike haeresis " the heresy called Learned ( gnostic )".

The Church Fathers, witnessed by the Muratorian Canon, Irenaeus ( c. 170 ), Clement of Alexandria, Origen, and Tertullian, held that the Gospel of Luke was written by Luke.

This last phrase ( from 1 Timothy 6: 20 ) is the origin of the title of the book by Irenaeus, On the Detection and Overthrow of False Knowledge, that contains the adjective gnostikos, which is the source for the 17th Century English term " Gnosticism.

A four gospel canon ( the Tetramorph ) was in place by the time of Irenaeus, c. 160, who refers to it directly.

Irenaeus, ( c. 130 – 202 ) in his Against Heresies ( 1: 25 ; 6 ) says scornfully of the Gnostic Carpocratians, " They also possess images, some of them painted, and others formed from different kinds of material ; while they maintain that a likeness of Christ was made by Pilate at that time when Jesus lived among them.

However, the earlier references by Eusebius and Irenaeus indicate veneration of images and reported miracles associated with them as early as the 2nd century.