Asceticism and Anthropology in Irenaeus and Clement (review)

Abstract

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).