The church as paradise and the way therein : early Christian appropriation of Genesis 3:22-24 / by Christopher A. Graham.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Graham, Christopher A., author.

Series:

Bible in ancient Christianity ; v. 12.

The Bible in Ancient Christianity ; volume 12

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Bible. Genesis, III, 22-24--Criticism, interpretation, etc--History.

Bible.

Irenaeus, Saint, Bishop of Lyon.

Irenaeus.

Church--History of doctrines--Early church, ca. 30-600.

Church.

Church--History of doctrines.

Church--History of doctrines--Early church.

Eden--History of doctrines--Early church, ca. 30-600.

Eden.

History.

Physical Description:

xiii, 249 pages ; 25 cm.

Place of Publication:

Leiden ; Boston : Brill, [2017]

Summary:

In 'The Church as Paradise and the Way Therein: Early Christian Appropriation of Genesis 3:22-24', Christopher A. Graham demonstrates that early Christian authors employed the words 'paradise' and 'way' as allusions to the expulsion narrative (Genesis 3:22-24) to signify that the benefits available in protological Paradise were once again accessible in and through Jesus and the Church. The centrality of the expulsion narrative in their literary milieus gave these authors confidence that readers would discern these allusions. After considering the reception of the expulsion in texts circulating within the early Christian milieu, Graham turns to the texts of Luke and Irenaeus of Lyons. Both authors drew from an interpretive tradition in which a return to Paradise was desirable. Both celebrated Jesus's reversal of Adam's expulsion and the constitution of Jesus's followers as the location and means by which humanity could continue to access divine truth and life. For both authors, the Church is Paradise and the way therein.

Contents:

1 Paradise Lost Again: Introduction 1

No Modern Way to Paradise 3

Recovering the Way to Paradise Step-by-Step 12

2 Paradise as Preface: Ancient Reception of Gen 3:22-24 18

Heirs of the Expulsion: Life Outside of Paradise 19

Returning to Paradise? 28

Exceptional and Exceptionally Righteous Individuals 31

Paradisiacal Access in the Temple 36

Democratization of Paradise 41

Conclusion 44

3 Far from Paradise but Near the Way: Early Christian Reception of Gen 3:22-24 46

Co-Heirs of the Expulsion 47

Whose Tree? Which Delights? 52

A Place of Deceptive Delights 54

The Source of True Nourishment 58

Back in Paradise 60

The Church and Paradise 63

Messianic Reentry 66

Conclusion 74

4 The Lukan Ways Back to Paradise 80

On the Way to Being the Way: Luke 23-24 81

"Their Eyes Were Opened, and They Knew": Luke 24:31 and Gen 3.7 82

The Way between Promise and Fulfillment: Gen 3:24 in Luke 23-24 87

On the Way While Being the Way: Acts 8-9 91

Many Possible Ways but None to Paradise 95

Conclusion 98

5 Irenaeus's Church: Paradise in This World 109

Paradise Past: Irenaeus and Gen 3:22-24 109

Paradise as Prelude to Immortality 117

Present Access to the Nourishment of Paradise in the Church 120

The Church Everywhere, Paradise Here and Now 121

Nourishment at the Tree of Knowledge, from the Scriptures 123

Conclusion 130

6 One Way: Irenaean Appropriation of Way-Language 136

The Way That Circumscribes the World in Against Heresies 136

The Spatial and Unitary Nature of Paradise, the Church, and the Way 139

The Light of Christ and the Spirit on the Way 143

The Single, Upward Way in Demonstration 148

The Purpose and Form of Demonstration 149

The Form-giving Meaning of "Way" 156

Conclusion 160

Is the Irenaean Way the Lukan Way? 162

Excursus: The Way in the Letter of the Martyrs of Lyons and Viennes 166

7 Conclusion 170

Back to Hermeneutical Biases: Where Hungry Husbands Really are Bears 172

Heading in Other Ways: Further Research 177.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pagres[201]-232) and indexes.

Other Format:

Online version: Graham, Christopher A. Church as paradise and the way therein.

ISBN:

9789004341814

9004341811

OCLC:

972062371