Against Five Heresies
Adversus quinque haereses
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Contents
- 1The preacher, paying a promised debt, sets out the five enemies of the faith: pagans, Jews, Manichaeans, Sabellians, and Arians, each with its objection.
- 2Against these enemies the faithful take up the armor of God, with Moses, Joshua, David, and the prophets on their side.
- 3Against the pagan objection that a divine Son requires a divine marriage, the preacher cites Hermes Trismegistus and the Sibyl on the Son of God, the Word of wisdom born of God alone.
- 4Against the Jews (and the Sabellians and Arians) the preacher reads the angel-theophanies of Exodus 23, Genesis 19, Exodus 3, and Joshua 5 as appearances of the Son, and Isaiah’s words on God’s begetting and the word that goes out from his mouth.
- 5Against the Manichaeans, who deny that the Son of God was born of a woman, the preacher cites the prophets and Paul and argues that the Creator of his mother could not be defiled by being born of her as a virgin.
- 6The Arian who confesses the Creed but denies the Son’s eternity is asked how he can divide the inheritance of peace, like the false mother before Solomon; Scripture and the likeness of fire and its brightness show Father and Son distinct yet one, eternal God.
- 7Against Sabellians and Arians the preacher argues from Isaiah 45, Christ’s prayer, and the Transfiguration that the Father and Son are two and equal, and protests against Arian rebaptism and bribery of Catholics.
- 8The sermon closes by confessing the Holy Spirit equal and one with the Father and the Son, the one God who is love.