Against Heresies: Book I
Chapter 22: The Distortions of Truth by Heretics
The rule of truth that we hold is that there is one God Almighty, who made all things by His Word, and fashioned and formed all things which exist out of nothing. This is what Scripture says: "By the Word of the Lord were the heavens established, and all their might by the spirit of His mouth." And again, "All things were made by Him, and without Him, nothing was made." There is no exception stated; the Father made all things by Him, whether visible or invisible, things perceived by the senses or of intelligence, temporal, because of a certain character given to them, or eternal; and these eternal things He did not make by angels or by any powers separate from His Thought.
For God needs none of these things but is He who, by His Word and Spirit, makes, disposes, and governs all things and commands all things into existence—He who formed the world (for the world is all)—He who fashioned man—He who is the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, above whom there is no other God, no initial principle, no power, no fullness—He is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, as we shall prove.
Holding this rule, we shall easily show, despite the great variety and multitude of their opinions, that these men have deviated from the truth; for almost all the different sects of heretics admit that there is one God, but then, by their harmful doctrines, they change this truth into error, even as the Gentiles do through idolatry, proving themselves ungrateful to Him who created them.
Moreover, they despise the workmanship of God, speaking against their own salvation, becoming their own bitterest accusers, and being false witnesses against themselves.
Yet, reluctant as they may be, these men shall one day rise again in the flesh, to confess the power of Him who raises them from the dead; but they shall not be counted among the righteous because of their unbelief.
Since, therefore, it is a complex and varied task to detect and convict all the heretics, and since our aim is to reply to them all according to their specific characteristics, we have deemed it necessary, first of all, to give an account of their source and root, so that, by gaining knowledge of their most exalted Bythus, you may understand the nature of the tree that has produced such fruits.