One right reading?

by Mary Ann Donovan

Who is a Christian? Is there a clear and recognizable Christian identity? Such questions, heard often near the close of the second Christian millennium, were equally pressing near the opening of the first millennium. The second century is the century for the construction of Christian identity. A principal architect of that identity was Irenaeus of Lyons. His work shaped Scripture, exegesis, theology, institutions, and the spirituality of Christianity to the extent that his imprint is discernible two thousand years later. As he addresses recurring pastoral issues around new religious movements, inculturation, unity and pluralism, the value of the human person, and the meaning of death, his voice claims the attention of people who today face similar concerns. One Right Reading? is a coherent presentation of Irenaeus' thought, following the pattern of his development and placing it in the context of issues which recur today.