The magisterial Adversus Haereses by the second-century apologist and bishop Irenaeus of Lyons takes on the daunting task of refuting the heresies that had begun springing up in the Christian world. Book 3 of this five-book work is perhaps the most important of all: its overarching theme is to establish, as the rule of faith, that it is "one and the same God and Father who was announced by the prophets, handed down by the Gospel, whom we Christians worship and love with our whole heart as the Creator of heaven and earth and of all things in them." Irenaeus does this by mining the Gospels for every shred of evidence that he can marshal to prove his points. This new translation and introduction, based on the most up-to-date sources, is an invaluable addition to scholarship on the most significant work by one of the most renowned authors in early Christianity. +
