An Examination of the Approaches of Irenaeus’ Writings and of The Secret Revelation of John to the Problem of Evil

Abstract

This paper examines the approaches of Irenaeus’ Against Heresies and Proof of the Apostolic Preaching, and of The Secret Revelation of John (SRJ), which is known as a gnostic writing, to the problem of evil. If God is good and almighty, why does evil and suffering exist in this world? It has been one of the most difficult questions in the history of Christian theology and philosophy of religion. In Augustine’s view, which has been the traditional and major one in Christian history, evil is considered as privation of good stemming from misused free will. Compared to his view, Irenaeus and SRJ offers very interesting and distinctive views. Irenaeus says that evil is inescapable for humanity’s ethical development. According to SRJ, evil comes not from the good God but from an ignorant and malicious world creator. Though those views solve many problems raised by Augustine’s view, they also raise other problems. This shows how difficult it is to find a satisfying answer for the problem of evil, which holds both orthodox Christian faith and logical clarity.