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Asceticism and Anthropology Review

The document provides a review of the book 'Asceticism and Anthropology in Irenaeus and Clement' by John Behr. The review summarizes that the book presents a fascinating examination of the theological anthropology of Irenaeus of Lyons and Clement of Alexandria, who came to different conclusions about human identity and Christian living despite confronting common opponents. The book addresses the need for scholarship to pursue the history of Christian asceticism from the perspective of early writers.

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Martha Huong Lhckt
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53 views3 pages

Asceticism and Anthropology Review

The document provides a review of the book 'Asceticism and Anthropology in Irenaeus and Clement' by John Behr. The review summarizes that the book presents a fascinating examination of the theological anthropology of Irenaeus of Lyons and Clement of Alexandria, who came to different conclusions about human identity and Christian living despite confronting common opponents. The book addresses the need for scholarship to pursue the history of Christian asceticism from the perspective of early writers.

Uploaded by

Martha Huong Lhckt
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Asceticism and Anthropology in Irenaeus and Clement (review)

Coleen Hoffman Gowans

Journal of Early Christian Studies, Volume 10, Number 2, Summer 2002, pp.
291-292 (Review)

Published by Johns Hopkins University Press


DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/earl.2002.0020

For additional information about this article


https://muse.jhu.edu/article/10261

[ Access provided at 4 Oct 2020 06:03 GMT from Carleton University Library ]
AUTHOR’S LAST NAME/SHORT TITLE 291

Book Reviews

John Behr
Asceticism and Anthropology in Irenaeus and Clement
New York: Oxford University Press, 2000
Pp. xi + 261. $70.00.

Correctly noting that any discussion of asceticism must be based on the


foundational question of human identity, John Behr presents a fascinating
examination of the theological anthropology of Irenaeus of Lyons (c. 130–200)
and Clement of Alexandria (c. 150–215). Asceticism and Anthropology in
Irenaeus and Clement is a well-defined study of two early Christian writers who,
despite being near-contemporaries confronting various “Gnostic” groups as
common opponents, came to very different conclusions about human identity
and Christian living. Significantly, Irenaeus and Clement present a large body of
extant texts from a period in Christianity prior to the rise of monasticism. “For
them,” Behr states, “asceticism was not a detachable dimension of Christian life.
. . . Rather, asceticism was the realization, the putting into practice, of the new
eschatological life granted in baptism within the confines of the present life” (17).
With a critical yet appreciative stance toward the work of scholars such as
Michel Foucault and Peter Brown, Behr addresses the need for contemporary
scholarship to pursue “a history of Christian asceticism written from the
theological perspective of the writers under study” (15).
Behr begins with his examination of Irenaeus who, he admits, is less
straightforward regarding ascetic practice than Clement. Irenaeus maintains the
unity of Scripture through the christocentric exegesis upon which he bases his
theology. He holds the creatureliness of the human being in a positive light
precisely because humanity is a creation of an uncreated, perfect God who
continues to bestow gifts enabling humanity to advance and grow toward God.
Such growth takes place over time and with the gift of freedom to accept or reject
God’s gifts. For Irenaeus, there was never an “angelic” existence from which
humanity “fell.” Adam and Eve, being inexperienced, fell into apostasy but not
out of God’s plan for salvation. Ireneaus maintains a unified anthropology
wherein humanity’s physical or natural state is enlivened by the breath of life
given by God. Christians have received a “certain portion” of the Spirit of God,
making them bodily beings vivified by the Spirit. Human sexuality is accepted as
part of God’s creation. Irenaeus upholds the continuity of humanity’s present life
and eternal life in the resurrection. Asceticism for Irenaeus lies not in rigorous

Journal of Early Christian Studies 10:2, 291–302 © 2002 The Johns Hopkins University Press
292 JOURNAL OF EARLY CHRISTIAN STUDIES

practices but in becoming fully engaged with daily life, learning to hold more
fully to God in whose very life humanity participates.
Clement of Alexandria presents a hierarchical anthropology in which the
intellect (understood in the fuller sense of the rational or inner person) is
identified as the image of God over the physical body. Sexuality, determined by
desire, is for this world only. Esteeming Greek philosophy, Clement likens
humanity’s final perfected likeness with the Platonic idea of assimilation and
Stoic idea of living according to nature (cf. 141). Behr notes that Clement’s work
“is dominated by the problems caused as a result of the fall: man’s weakness in
the exercise of virtue and truth, and the corresponding need for training and
instruction” (143). The Christian lives proleptically in this world, maturing
through a long and rigorous training from simple believer to Christian Gnostic.
The Logos-Paedagogus encourages and exhorts the newly baptized to perform
Christian duties. Later, the Logos as teacher instructs those who have already
been trained and disciplined. Christian life is a “tiptoeing on the earth,” but
apatheia for Clement involves not merely avoiding evil and sin but also actively
doing good (198).
Behr’s work demonstrates knowledge of and respect for the complexities of
the thought of both Irenaeus and Clement. His comparisons and contrasts come
to a more direct synthesis in his conclusion, and thereby raise the question of
whether the arrangement of the entire book might have been more beneficial if
approached in a synthesized, thematic way and not by separate accounts of each
writer’s thought.
In this day and age, Behr’s excusing himself from the use of inclusive language
is inappropriate.
Aside from these points, this volume makes a rich, nuanced contribution to
theological anthropology. It would be a fitting addition to scholarly libraries as
the text, extensive notes, and bibliography will prove to be very valuable to
researchers.
Coleen Hoffman Gowans, New York

H. Gregory Snyder
Teachers and Texts in the Ancient World:
Philosophers, Jews, and Christians
Religion in the First Christian Centuries
London and New York: Routledge, 2000
Pp. xv + 325. $27.99 (pb).

The metaphor of reading as textual performance shapes H. Gregory Snyder’s


broad comparative survey of the relationships between teachers, texts, and
students. Ranging from the first century b.c.e. through the second century c.e.,
with a few exceptions at the margins, the study investigates representatives of
“the four main philosophical Schools” (Stoics, Epicureans, Peripatetics, and
Platonists), in addition to selected Jews (Philo, Qumran, and the scribes of

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