Christian anti-Gnosticism

Saint Augustine of Hippo (13 November 354 – 28 August 430 AD) was a Roman African, early Christian theologian, doctor of the Church, and Neoplatonic philosopher from Numidia whose writings influenced the development of the Western Church and Western philosophy, and indirectly all of Western Christianity. He was the bishop of Hippo Regius in North Africa and is viewed as one of the most important Church Fathers of the Latin Church for his writings in the Patristic Period. Among his most important works are The City of God, De doctrina Christiana, and Confessions.

Thomas Aquinas (Italian: Tommaso d'Aquino, 'Thomas of Aquino'; 1225 – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, Catholic priest, and Doctor of the Church. An immensely influential philosopher, theologian, and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism, he is also known within the latter as the Doctor Angelicus and the Doctor Communis. The name Aquinas identifies his ancestral origins in the county of Aquino in present-day Lazio, Italy. He was the foremost classical proponent of natural theology and the father of Thomism; of which he argued that reason is found in God. His influence on Western thought is considerable, and much of modern philosophy developed or opposed his ideas, particularly in the areas of ethics, natural law, metaphysics, and political theory.

Justin Martyr (Latin: Iustinus Martyr), an early Christian apologist, is regarded as the foremost exponent of the Divine Word, the Logos, in the second century. He was martyred, alongside some of his students, and is venerated as saint by the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the Oriental Orthodox Churches.

Eric Voegelin (born Erich Hermann Wilhelm Vögelin, 1901–1985) was a German-American political philosopher. He was born in Cologne, and educated in political science at the University of Vienna, where he became an associate professor of political science in the law faculty. In 1938 he and his wife fled from the Nazi forces which had entered Vienna. They emigrated to the United States, where they became citizens in 1944. He spent most of his academic career at Louisiana State University, the University of Munich and the Hoover Institution of Stanford University.

Jacob of Edessa (or James of Edessa) (Syriac: ܝܥܩܘܒ ܐܘܪܗܝܐ‎, Ya'qub Urhoy) (c. 640 – 5 June 708) was Bishop of Edessa and prominent Christian writer in Classical Syriac language, also known as one of earliest Syriac grammarians. In various works, he treated theological, liturgical, canonical, philosophical and historical subjects, and contributed significantly to scholarly and literary development of Syriac Christianity. He is considered to be one of the most important scholars of the Christian-Aramean tradition.

Arnaud (or Arnau) Amalric (died 1225) was a Cistercian monk remembered for giving advice during the Albigensian Crusade to a soldier wondering how to distinguish the Catholic friendlies from the Cathar enemies to just "Kill them all. For the Lord knows them that are His."

Hans Urs von Balthasar (12 August 1905 – 26 June 1988) was a Swiss theologian and Catholic priest who is considered an important Roman Catholic theologian of the twentieth century. He was appointed a cardinal by Pope John Paul II, but died shortly before the consistory. Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger said in his funeral oration for von Balthasar that "he is right in what he teaches of the faith" and that he "points the way to the sources of living water."

Saint John of Damascus (Greek: Ἰωάννης ὁ Δαμασκηνός, Ioánnēs ho Damaskēnós, Latin: Ioannes Damascenus; Arabic: يوحنا الدمشقي‎, Yūḥannā ad-Dimashqī), also known as John Damascene and as Χρυσορρόας / Chrysorrhoas (literally "streaming with gold"—i.e., "the golden speaker"), was a Byzantine monk and priest. Born and raised in Damascus c. 675 or 676, he died at his monastery, Mar Saba, near Jerusalem on 4 December 749.

Saint Irenaeus (Greek: ?????a???), (2nd century AD – c. 202) was Bishop of Lugdunum in Gaul, then a part of the Roman Empire (now Lyons, France). He was an early church father and apologist, and his writings were formative in the early development of Christian theology. He was a hearer of Polycarp, who in turn was a disciple of John the Evangelist.

Ephrem the Syrian (Classical Syriac: ܡܪܝ ܐܦܪܝܡ ܣܘܪܝܝܐ‎, Mār ʾAp̄rêm Sūryāyā, Koinē Greek: Ἐφραίμ ὁ Σῦρος, Efrém o Sýros; Latin: Ephraem Syrus; c. 306 – 373), also known as Saint Ephrem, Ephrem of Edessa or Aprem of Nisibis, was a prominent Christian theologian and writer, who is revered as one of the most notable hymnographers of Eastern Christianity. He was born in Nisibis, served as a deacon and later lived in Edessa.