Questions in Genesis: Death Part: 3 Patristic Consensus, Eschatology, and the Goal of Creation

Death Part 3: Patristic Consensus, Eschatology, and the Goal of Creation

            As far as I can tell, there is no patristic consensus on the subject of death prior to Adam’s sin.[1]  The lack of consensus does not mean that the Fathers did not make substantial arguments for or against the existence of death before the fall.  Basil the Great presented the idea that animals were originally created mortal and belonged to a different realm than humans.  Therefore, death among animals was divinely intended in creation prior to Adam’s sin.

            Irenaeus took the position that animals were originally created to all be vegetarians and that the new heavens and the new earth will simply be a return to this original creation.[2]  Irenaeus’ argument is supported by the eschatological passages, particularly in Isaiah, which present a world in which prey and predator live peacefully and consume plants (Isaiah 11:26 and 65:25).  Augustine hinted that the clearly carnivorous creature would have been content to eat fruit fed them by mankind if mankind had not sinned.  It should be noted that both Augustine and Irenaeus make mention of other Christian interpreters who understood these passages to have allegorical meanings as the intended meanings.  They did not refute the allegorical interpretations while asserting that simultaneously the literal reading of the text should be understood as factual.

            With important Fathers[3] in disagreement on this point, I view this as a point that we can fairly disagree about.  Therefore, despite my deepest respect for Irenaeus and Augustine, I think that Basil’s understanding on this topic is a better view.  Basil’s position makes more sense because of the points I made in the first two posts on this topic and because I find the eschatological position behind Irenaeus’ position to be lacking.  Implicitly behind Irenaeus’ view of animal death and predation before the fall is that the eschatological expectation is a return to the pre-fall Edenic state.  I am convinced that the eschatological expectation is a state greater than Eden.  I find the view of St. Symeon the New Theologian quite helpful on the eschatological goal of creation.

           

            St. Symeon the New Theologian understood that humanity was created for the purpose of becoming spiritual beings.  He even commented that had Adam and Eve not sinned, that there would have been no death (understood as physical death) and mankind would have been immortal.  There would then have been a great multitude of people who would have become transformed into spiritual beings and through their virtues would have also transformed the world.[4]  However, the sin of Adam brought both physical and spiritual death to humanity.  Yet, despite the sin of Adam, Symeon understood that the example of Enoch and Elijah demonstrate that God would spare righteous men the pain of death if they chose to follow Him.  This reveals that death (both spiritual and physical) is a choice that every human makes in their own life.

            Symeon viewed the eschatological goal of humanity to be the same as God’s original goal- the transformation of the human into a spiritual being in communion with the Creator.  The new creation of the entire world is more than simply a return to the original state of creation, but the consummation of the goal that God had in mind for the original creation.

           

            With this eschatological goal in mind, there is no pressing need to posit that the vegetarianism of predators in the eschaton (if such passages are meant to be interpreted literally) requires that such was the case in Eden.  Rather, it could point us to the goal of peace and order God ordained that his creation should become.  This goal is of course even better than that which was originally created.  Besides, I am quite convinced that the New Heavens and the New Earth will have many other things which will be quite distinctly different from those encountered in this present age and earth!

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[1] I have not made a thorough study of this topic. If you want a thorough study of this topic, feel free to write the dissertation on this issue.  I promise that I will read it when you send me the pdf.

[2] Adversus Haereses 5.33.

[3] This is especially the case when there are very estimable Fathers such as Irenaeus and Basil in disagreement on a minor point.

[4] Saint Symeon the New Theologian, First Ethical Discourse.