Think Before You Act

The church calendar identifies the second-century saint Irenaeus as a “bishop and martyr.” He was certainly a bishop (of Lyons in France), but his martyrdom may be more legendary. He is remembered primarily, however, not for his death but for what he did in life. His era was a time when Christian doctrine was a boiling cauldron of sometimes wildly conflicting ideas, and it was not clear what would emerge from the mix. As a theologian, Irenaeus’ efforts to defend what was emerging as orthodox theological tenets made him one of the first people to think about Christianity systematically. What we can learn from Irenaeus is that before we condemn a position, we should seek to understand it.