In the second century, a brilliant theologian named Valentinus nearly became pope. His idea was simple: the truth is inside you. Trust it. Follow it. The church called it heresy.
Two thousand years later, it’s the most repeated advice in Western culture.
This episode traces “follow your heart” from the Gnostic communities of ancient Rome through Carl Rogers and the therapeutic revolution, through Augustine weeping in a Milan garden and asks the question the phrase never bothers to ask: what exactly is your heart, and who formed it?
Topics covered:
• Valentinus and the Gnostic system
• Irenaeus and Against Heresies
• Carl Rogers and the therapeutic self
• Philip Rieff’s Triumph of the Therapeutic
• Augustine’s Confessions and the restless heart
• The desert fathers on discernment vs. suppression
• What the Christian tradition actually says about desire
#theology #churchhistory #augustine #gnosticism #christianity #theologyexplained
