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No Pain! No Gain” The Theodicy of St. Irenaeus’

No Pain! No Gain” The Theodicy of St. Irenaeus’. Key Preliminary Concepts. ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.’ (Genesis 1:26)

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No Pain! No Gain” The Theodicy of St. Irenaeus’

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  1. No Pain! No Gain”The Theodicyof St. Irenaeus’

  2. Key Preliminary Concepts • ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.’ (Genesis 1:26) • In other words, human beings bear a similarity with God, yet they are also radically different to God, nevertheless they are unique in creation in that they alone can have a personal relationship with God • ‘How if we had no knowledge of the contrary, could we have instruction in that which is good’ (Irenaeus) • In other words , if we did not know about evil, how would we know what is good”

  3. Evil and suffering are like a spiritual growth hormone Evil has a purpose, helps us to create our soul Responding positively to evil (by seeking goodness) draws the soul into a personal, closer relationship with God Build morality fast

  4. God not create humans perfect (c.f. Augustine - state from which we fell) but created us by ‘2-stage' process Firstly, humans are created with potential to evolve into social, moral and spiritual beings, capable of reflection on their environment. Humans not become like this suddenly, but developed through long process of struggle against hostile environment. Irenaeus on Creation

  5. Journey into Divine Likeness • This Process of struggle sets scene for the second stage in human development: • Humans, through their own freewill, are being made into the Divine 'likeness'. • Each human on a journey to becoming more God-like • Perfection not in past but now lies in the future!

  6. “Image” and “Likeness” • Ir says that human beings are created in the ‘image’ and ‘likeness’ of God • We have free will (image of God), and we are spiritual as well as physical creatures (likeness of God). • Our purpose is to grow from the image to the likeness of God (i.e. to develop as moral and spiritual beings).  

  7. Evil has a purpose • Fall for Ir (as opposed to Aug) happens in this world where we refuse to use our freewill to grow into the likeness of God. • This underlines the key difference between Aug/Ir - For Ir, evil has an important purpose, for A it is a consequence of our sinful actions.

  8. Importance of Free Will • Ir says placed here in a hostile environment to learn to become better people. • Begs question why God has placed humans in a 'hostile environment' in order to bring them to perfection? • Why not simply start (and end) by creating each human perfect and automatically conscious and aware of God)

  9. Augustine or Irenaeus? • Based on the creation story • Evil has a purpose • Privatio boni • We are created in the image of God and will develop to his likeness if we use free will correctly • Sin and evil is not fulfilling your God given purpose and missing the mark. • We have to have free will in order to not be like robots. God wanted us to have free will

  10. Vardy’s analogy

  11. Peter Vardy • Highest human good is a loving relationship with God, a love that is freely chosen; God gives free will hoping they elect to love him. Genuine free will means humans can commit evil, so God created evil in order to achieve the greater good; humans to freely have a loving relationship with Him. • Parable of King who is in love with a peasant girl. • King simply demand her love, and girl could feign or manufacture feelings for the King; but King could not force her to give genuine, unrequited love. • God as the omnipotent King opts not to force us, the peasant girls, into a relationship because it would not be genuine. We freely come to God vis-à-vis free will, c.f. as robots.

  12. Comparison • The Augustinian Theodicy The Irenaean Theodicy • Soul-deciding Soul-making • World created perfectly World created perfectly/imperfectly • Man in the likeness of God Man created imperfectly [imagio dei] • Man has moral autonomy Man with true moral autonomy • Freedom leads to the fall Freedom gives potential for growth • Man responsible for evil God partly responsible for evil • Free will leads to suffering Free will leads to development • Man condemned Man created with potential • Man redeemed by Christ Man redeemed through his own actions • God foresaw the fall God remains at an epistemic distance • Fall happens in the past Fall happens presently/future • Evil is a privation Evil can lead to good • Depends on life after death Depends on life after death

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