2254 Lecture Course: Human and Divine Suffering in Late Antiquity
Prof. Paul Gavrilyuk
Spring 2007
Location & Time: Andover 102; Tue & Thur 10: 00-11: 00 AM, and section hour TBA.
Office Hours: Andover 301, Monday, 3: 00- 5: 00 PM, or by appointment. Please, make all
appointments and send all messages through Kristin Gunst, Kristin_Gunst@harvard.edu; 617495-8815; Andover 302.
Course webpage: http://www.stthomas.edu/theology/PLGAVRILYUK/theodicy/home.htm
The webpage provides hyperlinks to the readings available on-line. I recommend bookmarking
this page.
Aims of the Course: We will approach the early development of the doctrine of incarnation by
taking the problem of God's participation in the suffering of Christ as a common theme running
through the main controversies of patristic period. In addition, we will look at early Christian
readings of biblical passages that ascribe emotions and other anthropomorphic features to God;
discuss how the issue of divine (im)passibility was approached in Hellenistic philosophies;
reflect on the experience and theology of Christian martyrdom; finally, consider early Christian
solutions to theodicy and conceptualizations of atonement. In light of patristic insights we will
assess the strengths and weaknesses of modern tendency to represent God as a fellow-sufferer.
Enrollment: This lecture course is open to all. Some acquaintance with Greek philosophy and
course work in the history of Christian doctrine will be an advantage.
Requirements:
1. Regular attendance at lectures and active participation in section discussions are essential.
2. Each student will write at least one seminar paper designed to initiate the discussion of
the assigned readings. The paper must be 5-7 pages, double-spaced, in length. Please,
provide the instructor and each student in your section with a copy of your paper.
3. In addition, each student is required to write a research paper, 15-25 pages, doublespaced, 12 pt., on a topic to be selected in consultation with the instructor. The topic of
the research paper must be different from the topic of the seminar paper. The paper
proposal (up to 300 words) and bibliography are due on or before the class of April 3rd.
The paper is due May 16th, 12: 00PM, in Andover 302. The papers submitted after the
due date will be penalized.
For the list of books required for purchase, see the last page.
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Course Schedule
Feb 1
Introduction & Orientation.
Feb 6
Persecution and Martyrdom in the Early Church: History, Politics,
Contemporary Parallels.
Feb 8
Early Christian Martyrdom: The Main Theo-Political Themes.
Seminar
Reading
1. The Martyrdom of Polycarp, in Michael W. Holmes, ed., The Apostolic
Fathers (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker, 2002), p. 222-245.
2. Ignatius of Antioch, To the Romans, in M. W. Holmes, The Apostolic
Fathers, pp. 128-135, 166-175. [Note: most translations on the web are
either outdated or unreliable].
3. The Passion of the Holy Women Perpetua and Felicitas, on-line.
Suggested
Reading
1.
2.
3.
4.
Elizabeth Castelli, Martyrdom and Memory: Early Christian Culture Making (New
York: Columbia University Press, 2004), esp. ch. 3.
Paul Middleton, Radical Martyrdom and Cosmic Conflict (London: T&T Clark, 2006).
Robin Darling Young, In Procession Before the World: Martyrdom as Public Liturgy in
Early Christianity (Milwaukee, WI: Marquette University Press, 2001).
Gordon Jeanes, “Baptism Portrayed as Martyrdom in the Early Church,” Studia
Liturgica 23 (1993), 158-176.
Feb 13
The Problem of Evil in Antiquity: Methodological Considerations.
Feb 15
Select Ancient Philosophical Approaches to the Problem of Evil.
Seminar
Reading
1. Epicurus, Letter to Menoeceus, on-line.
2. Epicurus, Principal Doctrines, on-line.
3. Epictetus, Discourses, II. 16, on-line. (Scroll down to chapter 16, then
copy and paste this chapter into a word-processing document and print it
out).
4. Plotinus, Enneades, I. 8, on-line. Note, however, that the following
translation is strongly preferred: A. H. Armstrong, trans., Plotinus:
Ennead I, LCL 440, pp. 278-317.
Background
Reading
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Feb 20
Michael, Peterson, ed., The Problem of Evil: Selected Readings (Notre Dame:
University of Notre Dame Press, 1992), pp. 1-19, 339-349.
Peter Preuss, Epicurean Ethics: Katastematic Hedonism (Lewiston: Edwin Mellen
Press, 1994), esp. ch. 2.
Mark Larrimore, ed., The Problem of Evil: A Reader (Oxford: Blackwell, 2001), chap.
1-8.
John Hick, Evil and the God of Love (San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1978), ch. 1.
Theognis, Elegies, 731-52, 833-6, 897-930, 1029-36, 1162a-f, 1187-90.
Plotinus, Enneades, II.
Biblical Responses to the Problem of Evil.
2
Feb 22
Dualistic Theodicies: Marcion and Gnostics in Focus.
Seminar
Reading
Tertullian, Against Marcion, Book 2 (entire), on-line. You should consult the
Latin original, also available on-line.
Suggested
Reading
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
E. C. Blackman, Marcion and His Influence (London: SPCK, 1948), esp. ch. 4-6.
Adolf von Harnack, The Gospel of the Alien God (Durham, N.C.: Labirinth Press,
1990). [Although Harnack’s advocacy of Marcion’s stance is dated, it is still worth a
serious engagement].
John Hick, Evil and the God of Love (San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1978), ch. 2.
James L. Crenshaw, Defending God: Biblical Responses to the Problem of Evil (Oxford:
Oxford University Press, 2005).
N. T. Wright, Evil and the Justice of God (Downers Grove: IVP Books, 2006).
J. Cheryl Exum, Tragedy and the Biblical Narrative: Arrows of the Almighty
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992), esp. ch. 1.
Feb 27
Irenaeus’s Soteriology.
Mar 1
Understandings of Atonement Throughout History: A General Survey.
Seminar
Reading
Irenaeus, Against Heresies (selections), on-line.
1.
Suggested
Reading
2.
3.
4.
5.
John Hick, “The World as a Vale of Soul-Making,” in Michael Peterson, ed., The
Problem of Evil, pp. 215-230.
Gustav Aulén, Christus Victor (Eugene, Oregon: Wipf and Stock), p. 1-60.
Paul Fiddes, Past Event and Present Salvation (Louisville, KY: Westminster Press,
1989), esp. parts I & II.
John Behr, Asceticism and Anthropology in Irenaeus and Clement (Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 2000).
Paul Gavrilyuk, The Suffering of the Impassible God, ch. 3.
Mar 6
The Main Contours of Origen’s System.
Mar 8
Origen’s Soteriology and Universalism.
Seminar
Reading
1. Origen, On First Principles, (selections: Praef., I. viii; II. i; II. ix-x), online.
2. Origen, Against Celsus, book IV (selections), on-line.
Better translations (not available on-line): Henry Chadwick, trans., Origen: Contra Celsum
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1980); G. W. Butterworth, trans., Origen: On
First Principles (Gloucester, Mass.: Peter Smith, 1973).
Suggested
Reading
1.
2.
3.
W. E. G. Floyd, Clement of Alexandria’s Treatment of the Problem of Evil (Oxford:
Oxford University Press, 1971).
John M. Rist, “Beyond Stoic and Platonist: A Sample of Origen’s Treatment of
Philosophy (Contra Celsum 4. 62-70),” Platonismus und Christentum (Aschendorff,
1983), pp. 228-238.
Michihiko Kuyama, “Evil and Diversity in Origen’s De Principiis,” in Origeniana
octava (Leuven: Leuven University Press, 2003), pp. 489-501; on-line.
3
Mar 13
Divine Emotions in the Bible.
Mar 15
Early Christian Authors on Divine Emotions.
Seminar
Reading
Lactantius, A Treatise on the Anger of God (entire), on-line.
Background
Reading
1.
Better translation: M. F. McDonald, trans., Lactantius: The Minor Works (Washington,
D.C.: Catholic University of America, 1965), pp. 59-118.
2.
3.
4.
E. F. Micka, The Problem of Divine Anger in Arnobius and Lactantius (Washington, D.
C.: Catholic University of America, 1943).
Abraham J. Heschel, The Prophets (New York, NY: Harper & Row, 1962).
Terence Fretheim, The Suffering of God: An Old Testament Perspective (Philadelphia:
Fortress, 1984).
Paul Gavrilyuk, The Suffering of the Impassible God, ch. 2.
Mar 20
The Logic of Conciliar Christology.
Mar 22
The Issue of God’s Participation in Suffering in the “Arian” Crisis.
Seminar
Reading
1. Athanasius, Against Arians (selections), on-line.
2. Athanasius, Letter to Epictetus, on-line.
Suggested
Reading
1.
2.
3.
4.
Richard Hanson, The Search for the Christian Doctrine of God (Edinburgh: T&T Clark,
1988, or later reprint), pp. 109-117.
Maurice Wiles, “In Defense of Arius,” Journal of Theological Studies 13 (1962), 33947.
Rowan Williams, Arius: Heresy and Tradition (London: Darton, Longman & Todd,
1987).
Paul Gavrilyuk, The Suffering of the Impassible God, ch. 5.
Mar 27, 29
No class. Spring recess. Research paper proposal and bibliography are due
after the break.
Apr 3
The Doctrine of Deification in the Greek Fathers.
Research paper proposal and bibliography are due today.
Apr 5
Divine Kenosis in the Nestorian Controversy.
Seminar
Reading
John McGuckin, Saint Cyril of Alexandria and the Christological Controversy
(Crestwood: Saint Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2004), pp. 263-265, 364-368,
266-275, 336-342, 359-363.
Suggested
Reading
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Select works of Theodore of Mopsuestia, Nestorius of Constantinople and Cyril of
Alexandria in Richard A. Norris, ed., The Christological Controversy, pp. 113-144.
Paul Gavrilyuk, The Suffering of the Impassible God, ch. 6.
John J. O’Keefe, ‘Impassible Suffering? Divine Passion and Fifth Century Christology’,
Theological Studies 58 (1997), 39-60.
John McGuckin, Saint Cyril of Alexandria and the Christological Controversy, pp. 1226.
Henry Chadwick, “Eucharist and Christology in the Nestorian Controversy,” Journal of
4
6.
Theological Studies 2 (1951), p. 145-164.
Norman Russell, The Doctrine of Deification in the Greek Patristic Tradition (Oxford:
Oxford University Press, 2006).
Apr 10
Early Christian Asceticism and the Beginnings of the Monastic Movement.
Apr 12
Monastic Psychoanalysis and the State of Apatheia.
Seminar
Reading
Evagrius of Pontus, Praktikos, in J. E. Bamberger, Evagrius Ponticus: The
Praktikos & Chapters on Prayer (Kalamazoo: Mich.: Cistercian Publications,
1981), pp. 12-42. [On-line: http://www.ldysinger.com/Evagrius/01_Prak/00a_start.htm See
file in readings folder??]
Suggested
Reading
1.
2.
Robert E. Sinkewicz, Evagrius of Pontus: The Greek Ascetic Corpus (Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 2006).
David Brakke, Demons and the Making of the Monk: Spiritual Combat in Early
Christianity (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2006), esp. ch. 2 & 3.
Apr 17
Augustine’s Theological Anthropology.
Apr 19
Augustine on the Problem of Evil.
Seminar
Reading
1. Augustine, City of God, XI. 13-18; XI. 22-23; XII. 1-8; XIII. 21; XIV.128., on-line.
Strongly recommended edition: Henry Bettenson, trans., St Augustine: Concerning the City
of God against the Pagans, pp. 444-449, 453-456, 471-481, 534-535, 547-594.
Suggested
Reading
1.
2.
3.
David Ray Griffin, “Augustine and the Denial of Genuine Evil,” in Michael L. Peterson,
ed., The Problem of Evil: Select Readings, pp. 197-214.
Gillian R. Evans, Augustine on Evil (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000).
Augustine, Confessions, VII; City of God, XI-XIV (entire); XXI-XXII; Enchiridion.
Apr 24
Theodicy: Main Shifts from Antiquity to Modernity.
Apr 26
Contemporary Theodicists and Their Critics.
Seminar
Reading
Michael Peterson, ed., The Problem of Evil: Selected Readings, pp. 231-265,
303-329.
Suggested
Reading
1.
2.
3.
4.
May 1
Michael Peterson, ed., The Problem of Evil (the remaining articles).
Kenneth Surin, Theology and the Problem of Evil (Eugene, Oregon: Wipf & Stock, nd).
Marilyn McCord Adams, Horrendous Evils and the Goodness of God (Ithaca: Cornell
University Press, 1999).
Richard Swinburne, Providence and the Problem of Evil (Oxford: Oxford University
Press, 1998).
The Suffering of God in Contemporary Theology. The Varieties of Modern
Kenoticism.
5
May 3
Summing Up the Results. Q & A session.
Seminar
Reading
1. Ronald Goetz, “The Suffering of God: The Rise of a New Orthodoxy,”
on-line.
2. Richard A. Bauckham, “Only the Suffering God Can Help: Divine
Passibility in Modern Theology”, on-line.
3. Sarah Coakley, “Kenosis and Subversion: On the Repression of
Vulnerability in Christian Feminist Writing,” in (most recently) Powers
and Submissions (Oxford: Blackwell, 2002).
Suggested
Reading
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Paul S. Fiddes, The Creative Suffering of God (Clarendon: Oxford University Press,
1992), pp. 1-45.
C. Stephen Evans, ed., Exploring Kenotic Christology: The Self-Empyting of God
(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006).
John Polkinghorne, ed., The Work of Love: Creation as Kenosis (Grand Rapids, Mich.:
Eerdmans, 2001).
Clark H. Pinnock, Most Moved Mover: A Theology of God’s Openness (Grand Rapids,
Mich.: Baker, 2001).
Richard E. Creel, Divine Impassiblity: An Essay in Philosophical Theology (Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 1986; recently republished by Wipf & Stock, nd).
Thomas G. Weinandy, Does God Suffer? (Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame
Press, 2000).
May 16. Final paper due at 12: 00 PM in Andover 302.
Title
Author/Ed
ISBN
Publisher
The Apostolic Fathers: Greek
Texts and English Translations
The Problem of Evil: Selected
Readings
Evagrius Ponticus: The
Practicos & Chapters on Prayer
Augustine: Concerning the City
of God Against the Pagans
Saint Cyril of Alexandria and
the Christological Controversy
Christus Victor: An Historical
Study of The Three Main Types
of the Idea of Atonement
Past Event and Present
Salvation: The Christian Idea of
Atonement
Plotinus: Ennead I, LCL 440
Michael W. Holmes,
ed.
Michael, Peterson,
ed.
John E. Bamberger
0801022258
Baker, 1992
0268015147
Henry Bettenson,
trans.
John McGuckin
0140444262
University of Notre
Dame Press, 1992
Cistercian
Publications, 1981
Penguin Classics
Gustaf Aulén
1592443303
The Suffering of the Impassible
God
0879079045
0881412597
St Vladimir’s
Seminar Press
Wipf and Stock
RQ or
(OP)
RQ
RQ
RQ
OP
RQ
OP
Paul S. Fiddes
A. H. Armstrong,
trans.
Paul Gavrilyuk
066425036X
Darton, Longman &
Todd
0674994841
HUP
0199297118
Oxford University
Press
OP
OP
OP
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