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Irenaeus on Creation
The Cosmic Christ and the Saga of Redemption
Series: - Vigiliae Christianae, Supplements, Volume: 91
Author:
Scholarship on Irenaeus has long acknowledged the centrality of creation to his theology, yet without fitting this theme securely into the Christological vision of Christ the âRecapitulatorâ. Studies have considered elements of Irenaeusâ cosmology and anthropology in extraction; but without seeing creation as an intrinsic part of his Christocentric vision, these have only partially been able to capture the intricacy and significance of his embrace of the creation saga. Drawing on the most recent Irenaean scholarship, the present volume explores in detail the Christocentric cosmology of one of the second centuryâs greatest writers, setting him in the context of the theological currents of his day. The result is a volume that offers new insights into the trinitarian articulation of early Christianity, the full significance of humanity as bearing Godâs âimageâ, and a fuller reading of the details behind the title, âIrenaeus the creationistâ.
M.C. Steenberg, D.Phil in Theology, University of Oxford, is Professor of Theology and Head of Theology & Religious Studies at Leeds Trinity and All Saints. He has published numerous articles on Irenaeus and the second-century milieu, and is author of the forthcoming monograph from T&T Clark, Of God and Man: Theology as Anthropology from Irenaeus to Athanasius.
Abbreviations
Citation Conventions
Introduction
Creation and the life of the human race: The contours of Irenaeusâ cosmic anthropology
Comparative sources
The âGnosticsâ
Contemporary Christian sources: Justin and Theophilus
Jewish sources
Chapter One
Creationâs Stage: The Background to Irenaeusâ Protology
The motivation and cause of creation
Contemporary interpretations of creation and motivation
Irenaeus on the motivation for creation
The creatorâs untrammelled power: a doctrine of creation ex nihilo
Creation ex nihilo in the broader theological milieu
Irenaeusâ developments: creation ex nihilo clarified in Christ
Chiliasm: Reading the beginning through the end and the end through the beginning
Chapter Two
âThe Work of His Handsâ: The Creation of the Cosmos
âTrinityâ? Creation as an act of Father, Son and Spirit
A triune act â three roles in creation
Distinguishing the creative work
The âhandsâ of the Father
A âtimelineâ of creation
The days of creation and the beginning of redemption
Days that lead to growth: âIncrease and multiplyâ
Recapitulation, and a definition of history
Chapter Three
Dust and Life: The Creation of the Human Person
The triune creation of humanity
The untilled earth and the constitution of the human person
The creature wrought of dust and breath: the composition of the human formation
Four categories of incarnational reading
God and not angels created the human handiwork
Christâs birth and human nature
The material aspect of humanityâs being as a creature of flesh
The human-shaped soul: manâs immortal element in relation to the Holy Spirit
From dust and breath to living image
The paradise of humankind
Humanityâs relationship to the cosmos
Humanityâs social context: the relationship of Adam and Eve
Chapter Four
History Transformed: Humanityâs Transgression
The tree and the prohibition
The nature of the prohibition: protection from knowledge misused
The relationship of knowledge and obedience
The dynamic of maturing knowledge and responsibility
A prohibition but not a test
The fall of knowledge and knowing
The question of humanityâs âfallâ
The devil and the deception of the human child
The devilâs motivation
The nature and the accomplishment of the deceit
The response to sin: humankind
The opening of humanityâs eyes: awareness and reaction
Humanityâs flight and confrontation with God
The response to sin: God
The curse
The clothing and the expulsion from paradise
Chapter Five
Stumbling to Perfection: Life after Eden
Cain and Abel, and the internalisation of transgression
Enoch, Noah and the deluge
The descendents of Noah and the future of the race
The tower of Babel and the distribution of races
Conclusion
Appendix I: A note on Irenaean source texts and dates
The Irenaean corpus
Reading Irenaeus: a note on source texts
Dating the Epideixis with respect to the Adversus haereses
Appendix II: Use of Genesis 1-11 in the Irenaean Corpus
Appendix III: Irenaeusâ employment of the two accounts of humanityâs creation
Bibliography
Citation Conventions
Introduction
Creation and the life of the human race: The contours of Irenaeusâ cosmic anthropology
Comparative sources
The âGnosticsâ
Contemporary Christian sources: Justin and Theophilus
Jewish sources
Chapter One
Creationâs Stage: The Background to Irenaeusâ Protology
The motivation and cause of creation
Contemporary interpretations of creation and motivation
Irenaeus on the motivation for creation
The creatorâs untrammelled power: a doctrine of creation ex nihilo
Creation ex nihilo in the broader theological milieu
Irenaeusâ developments: creation ex nihilo clarified in Christ
Chiliasm: Reading the beginning through the end and the end through the beginning
Chapter Two
âThe Work of His Handsâ: The Creation of the Cosmos
âTrinityâ? Creation as an act of Father, Son and Spirit
A triune act â three roles in creation
Distinguishing the creative work
The âhandsâ of the Father
A âtimelineâ of creation
The days of creation and the beginning of redemption
Days that lead to growth: âIncrease and multiplyâ
Recapitulation, and a definition of history
Chapter Three
Dust and Life: The Creation of the Human Person
The triune creation of humanity
The untilled earth and the constitution of the human person
The creature wrought of dust and breath: the composition of the human formation
Four categories of incarnational reading
God and not angels created the human handiwork
Christâs birth and human nature
The material aspect of humanityâs being as a creature of flesh
The human-shaped soul: manâs immortal element in relation to the Holy Spirit
From dust and breath to living image
The paradise of humankind
Humanityâs relationship to the cosmos
Humanityâs social context: the relationship of Adam and Eve
Chapter Four
History Transformed: Humanityâs Transgression
The tree and the prohibition
The nature of the prohibition: protection from knowledge misused
The relationship of knowledge and obedience
The dynamic of maturing knowledge and responsibility
A prohibition but not a test
The fall of knowledge and knowing
The question of humanityâs âfallâ
The devil and the deception of the human child
The devilâs motivation
The nature and the accomplishment of the deceit
The response to sin: humankind
The opening of humanityâs eyes: awareness and reaction
Humanityâs flight and confrontation with God
The response to sin: God
The curse
The clothing and the expulsion from paradise
Chapter Five
Stumbling to Perfection: Life after Eden
Cain and Abel, and the internalisation of transgression
Enoch, Noah and the deluge
The descendents of Noah and the future of the race
The tower of Babel and the distribution of races
Conclusion
Appendix I: A note on Irenaean source texts and dates
The Irenaean corpus
Reading Irenaeus: a note on source texts
Dating the Epideixis with respect to the Adversus haereses
Appendix II: Use of Genesis 1-11 in the Irenaean Corpus
Appendix III: Irenaeusâ employment of the two accounts of humanityâs creation
Bibliography
All those interested in early Christianity, the development of doctrinal articulation, and the interrelationship of trinitiarian, cosmological and anthropological thought, as well as students of Gnostic and broader second-century studies.