Asceticism and Anthropology in Irenaeus and Clement (review)

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 Irenaeusand 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 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...