Readings:

Irenaeus, Against Heresies, Book 2, Chapters 15–17

Augustine, The Confessions, Book 10, Chapter 31 (Section 47)

Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Part 1, Question 90, Article 2

The Church Fathers today pull us deep into the mystery of origin and identity. Irenaeus confronts the absurdity of Gnostic cosmology, showing that all supposed divine emanations collapse into contradiction unless we return to the simple truth: one God created all things directly, including the soul, with intention and wisdom. Augustine joins the battle within himself, confessing that even in his sanctified life, he still wrestles with appetites that cannot be abandoned but must be disciplined. And Aquinas grounds the dignity of the human person by teaching that the soul is not fashioned from m ...