ABSTRACT
About the year 180 there was a noticeable change in the level and content of Christian writing. During the course of the third century, Christian writers outstripped their pagan counterparts to become the most profound and prolific force in both the Greek and the Latin literary worlds. The achievement of these years belongs to a group of theologians who mostly worked independently of one another, but who together created a corpus of writings which have been regarded ever since as classics. Irenaeus was born in Smyrna, one of the seven churches of Asia mentioned in the book of Revelation sometime about 140. Hippolytus believed that heretics were atheists who derived their ideas from Greek philosophy. Clement's theology was deeply rooted in philosophy, and he was a firm advocate of the basic harmony between faith and science. Origen was born into a Christian family at Alexandria about 185, and was given the best education which his father could afford.
