Christ, Creation, and the Cosmic Goal of Redemption: A Study of Pauline Creation Theology as Read by Irenaeus and Applied to Ecotheology

Abstract

Leese’s work, like Caesar’s Gaul, is divided into three parts: an investigation into creation motifs in Paul’s letters, an exploration of Irenaeus’s creation theology, with a particular emphasis on his reading of Paul, and (far more briefly) a gesture toward how these two theologians might inform contemporary ecotheology.After a brief introduction, Leese begins her work in earnest in ch. 2 by arguing that the term new creation in Paul refers to full-blown cosmic redemption and not merely to personal salvation. Considerable time is devoted to countering M. Hubbard’s contention for the latter proposition. She continues with a detailed analysis of Paul’s vocabulary to demonstrate that he is “deeply indebted to Jewish apocalyptic themes” (p. 59), which furthers her argument that Paul’s concern is for the deliverance of both humanity and the rest of creation.Chapter 3 details the Christological connection in Paul between creation and consummation. She focuses here on 1 Corinthians, with particular emphasis on 1 Cor 8:6, 10:26, and 15:20–28. As she notes, “The sovereignty of Christ thus becomes the theological foundation from which Paul articulates the interrelatedness of ‘all things’ and the consequential ethical imperatives that result from this interrelatedness” (p. 88).Chapter 4 turns to the question of Christ “as image of God and as Adam.” In addition to further reflections on 1 Corinthians, Leese is able to take up some of the Christological motifs in Col 1, particularly the notion that Christ is depicted here as the archetypal image of God. She demonstrates that Paul reads the creation narrative in light of the Christ event: “Hermeneutically, the first creation narrative functions as a theological lens for understanding God’s new creative work in Christ, which partly includes the creation of a church that embodies and reflects Christ to the world” (p. 127).At this juncture, Leese introduces Irenaeus’s theology of creation. She starts in ch. 5 with a very helpful overview of Irenaeus’s historical setting as an opponent of “Gnosticism” (she employs the quotation marks in recognition of the vexed question of precisely what “Gnosticism” points to in antiquity, but she rightly recognizes one can hardly do without the term). She follows with a closer look at Irenaeus’s reading of Paul (ch. 6), comparing and contrasting her contemporary academic perspective from earlier in the book with Irenaeus’s more theological and integrative approach. This is in many respects the heart of the book, as she is able to move beyond the foundational material of the earlier chapters and devote her attention to the interplay of Paul and Irenaeus. While Leese does a very capable job interacting with the academic treatment of Paul, her sympathies seem to lie with Irenaeus’s reading strategies, which afford greater liberty for bringing the apostle’s insights into ecotheological discussions.The final chapter sketches out some of the ways in which modern-day theologians might deploy Paul and Irenaeus as they seek to address environmental concerns.The book will prove most useful for readers looking for an introduction to how creation motifs work themselves out in Paul and Irenaeus. She does solid work in establishing Paul’s commitment to cosmic (as opposed to merely personal) redemption, and her introduction to Irenaeus’s thought is well-informed and lucid. At times, she is somewhat hampered by the constraints of scholarly etiquette: she does deal with the seminal account of Christ and creation in Col 1:15–20, but one suspects that her treatment is not as thorough as it might have been were Colossians more widely accepted as coming from Paul’s hand; the Pastoral Epistles—which are arguably the richest resource for reflections on creation in the traditional Pauline corpus— are left to the side. One looks forward to how Leese might delve more deeply into Paul and Irenaeus in the future.The book is clearly laid out, and her engagement with secondary literature is thorough and even handed. If her treatment of ecotheology is by her own admission only a sketch; it does indicate how a retrieval of Paul and Irenaeus could serve the present-day church in its engagement with pressing ecological matters.