Heresiography
A heresiography is a treatise that describes heresies . The term should not be confused with heresiology , the study of heresies. Heresiographies are known from Christianity and Islam.
Many heresiographies were polemical. On the other hand, heresiographies from antiquity are an indispensable source for the life and teachings of those who describe them. For example, the fundamental credibility of Irenaeus of Lyons with regard to Gnostic teachings has been largely confirmed by the finds in Nag Hammadi . Heresiographies also often contain quotations from authors whose works have been lost.
Comparable works of Islamic literature are assigned to the genus Milal wa-Nihal (literature on religions and sects).
In Christianity there are heresiographies from antiquity, from the Middle Ages and also from Protestants and Catholics from the time after the Reformation.
Examples of heresiographies
- Irenaeus of Lyon : Adversus Haereses (2nd century)
- Epiphanius of Salamis : Panarion (approx. 374–377)
- John of Damascus : Concerning Heresies (Πὲρι αἱρεσὲων) (8th century)
- Abu Tammam : Bab al-Shaytan in Kitab al-Shajara (10th century)
- Ibn Hazm : Al-Fasl fi-l-Milal wa-l-Ahwa wa-l-Nihal (Differentiating between religions, ideologies and sects) (11th century)
- Ephraim Pagitt : Heresiography - Or a Description of the Heretickes and Sectaries Sprang Up in These Latter Times , 1645
- Gottfried Arnold : Unparty Church and Heretic History , 1699
- Johann Lorenz von Mosheim : Heretic History , 1748
Individual evidence
- ↑ Theological Real Encyclopedia : Gnosis
- ↑ Hava Lazarus-Yafeh: Some neglected aspects of medieval Muslim polemics against Christianity , Harvard Theological Review, 01-JAN-96