When, in Poul Anderson's The Game Of Empire, Fr Axor notes that all of the oxygen-breathing species encountered so far are prone to sin, he does not deduce from this datum that each species' sinfulness results from a wrong moral decision made by their first parents. Therefore, it is possible that he subscribes instead to the Irenaean theology/theodicy which refers not to a primordial Fall but to a necessary condition of moral development.
5 comments:
Hi, Paul!
Are you referring to Book IV, Chapters 38 and 39 of St. Irenaeus of Lyons' AGAINST HERESIES? I had occasion to look up those chapters and what you said seems to fit what St. Irenaeus said there. Truthfully, I saw nothing there that contradicts a Fall. My first, hasty impression is that Irenaeus taught that it was by the grace and assistance of God that men can become better persons.
Sean
Creation and development of humans
According to the Irenaean tradition, humans are not created perfectly, but in a state of imperfection.[5] The theodicy teaches that creation has two stages: humans were first created in the image of God, and will then be created in the likeness of God. Humans are imperfect because the second stage is incomplete, entailing the potential, not yet actualised, for humans to reach perfection. To achieve this likeness of God, humans must be refined and developed.[6] The theodicy proposes that evil and suffering exists in the world because this is the best way for humans to develop. As such, the Irenaean theodicy is sometimes referred to as the "soul-making theodicy", a phrase taken from the poet John Keats.[5]
Sean,
I have copied a paragraph from the Wiki article to which I linked on this post. I don't know which Irenaean text to refer to. I read of Irenaean theodicy in John Hicks' DEATH AND ETERNAL LIFE. This theodicy states not that the first human beings fell from a paradisal state through their own free will but that they necessarily began their existence imperfect.
Paul.
Hi, Paul!
"Imperfection" in this context could simply mean that unFAllen human beings were not divine or gods. No creature can become a god, much less God. Catholic theologians have pondered this issue as well, with input from both St. Paul and St. Irenaeus.
Sean,
I am sure he means that the first human beings necessarily came into existence with the imperfections that are classed as "Original Sin." And this fits with us having evolved. (Both the Wiki article and Hicks' book make it clear that this is a theodicy radically different from the free will/Fall argument.)
Paul.
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