Ante-Nicene Fathers (Volume 1) - XXIII - Irenaeus Against Heresies Book IV commenced

Required reading
Ante-Nicene Fathers (Volume 1) (Available from Amazon or free here) - Commence Irenaeus Against Heresies Book IV by reading Chapters I to XVI.

My summary
This week Irenaeus opens his fourth book against Gnostic heresies.

The primary focus of today's reading is to demonstrate that there is only one God, despite the objections of Gnostics to such an idea.

God's oneness is shown from:
(i) the teachings of Jesus;
(ii) the teachings of Moses
(iii) the teachings of the Old Testament prophets;
(Iv) the laws of God;
(v) what we know of Abraham;
(vi) the oneness of the Scriptures.

What grabbed me
I appreciated Irenaeus' comments about how best to bring about someone's conversion, in his case, Gnostics: 'The man, however, who would undertake their conversion, must possess an accurate knowledge of their systems or schemes of doctrine. For it is impossible for any one to heal the sick, if he has no knowledge of the disease of the patients.'

A good doctor knows his patient's illness before applying the remedy. 

So it is in our evangelistic efforts.  We must understand the worldview of the unbeliever before we are able to apply the word of God appropriately to their case.

Next week's reading
Continue Irenaeus Against Heresies Book IV by reading Chapters XVII to XXX.

Now it's your turn
Please post your own notes and thoughts in the comments section below.