Today’s readings explore the depth of heretical distortions, the allure of poetic falsehoods, and the nature of the soul’s longing. Irenaeus continues his critique of Valentinian Gnosticism, exposing its mythical layers and tracing how error multiplies once the truth of the Incarnation is abandoned. Augustine, in Confessions, Book 1, Chapter 13, reflects on his youthful love for Latin poetry—mourning for Dido but not for his own soul—and how vanity made him prefer the fables of men over the discipline of truth. Aquinas, in Summa Theologica, Part 1, Question 80, Article 1, clarifies that the appetite is a distinct power of the soul: a real movement toward the good, shaped by knowledge but not reducible to it. These three voices challenge us to love what is truly good and to beware the substitutes that charm but destroy.

Explore the Project:

Through the Church Fathers – https://www.throughthechurchfathers.com

Patreon – https://www.patreon.com/cmichaelpatton

Credo Courses – https://www.credocourses.com

Credo Ministries – https://www.credoministries.org

Today’s episode explores one of the most bizarre and imaginative distortions of Christian theology recorded in early church history. In Against Heresies, Book 1, Chapter 14, Irenaeus recounts the wild teachings of Marcus, a Gnostic heretic who spiritualized the Greek alphabet, invented divine beings made of letters, and claimed secret revelations from a feminine figure he called the “Tetrad.” From a mystical alphabetic “Truth” with a body of letters to claims that Jesus’ name contains hidden numerical power, Marcus’s teachings blend linguistic mysticism, numerology, and occult speculation. Irenaeus exposes it all—not just to ridicule it, but to show how far false teachers would go in their attempts to remake Christianity into a mystery cult. Alongside this, we read Augustine’s reflections on his early education, where he confesses his childish resistance to learning and how God used even forced study for his eventual good. Aquinas rounds out the reading by clarifying the natural moral habit called synderesis, that deep, instinctive knowledge to do good and avoid evil, which cannot be mistaken even when conscience falters.

Explore the Project:

Through the Church Fathers – https://www.throughthechurchfathers.com

Patreon – https://www.patreon.com/cmichaelpatton

Credo Courses – https://www.credocourses.com

Credo Ministries – https://www.credoministries.org

Today’s readings uncover three visions of memory, truth, and deception. Irenaeus of Lyons confronts the tangled myths of Gnostic systems and the seductive manipulations of Marcus the Magician, showing how false teaching can infect even the faithful. Augustine reflects on the mysterious delay of his baptism—why a mother’s piety, a father’s resistance, and divine providence allowed cleansing to wait. And Thomas Aquinas makes a careful distinction between sensitive and intellectual memory, affirming that memory does indeed belong to the soul’s rational part—not through images, but through retained truth. Together, these voices confront the power of false knowledge, the pain of spiritual delay, and the grace of the intellect to remember what is eternal (John 17:3; Proverbs 10:7; Romans 1:21).

Explore the Project:

Through the Church Fathers – https://www.throughthechurchfathers.com

Patreon – https://www.patreon.com/cmichaelpatton

Credo Courses – https://www.credocourses.com

Credo Ministries – https://www.credoministries.org

#Irenaeus #AgainstHeresies #Confessions #Augustine #SummaTheologica #Aquinas #Gnosticism #Baptism #Theology #ChurchFathers #HistoricalTheology