Adam Powell - Irenaeus and God's Gifts: Reciprocity in Against Heresies, III and IV

This paper is exploratory in that it endeavours to discuss Irenaean theology in light of anthropological theories of reciprocity.  The field of anthropology has benefitted greatly from the theories of gift exchange presented by individuals such as Marcel Mauss, Claude Lévi-Strauss, and Maurice Godelier.  Their ideas often address the role of reciprocity in the development of bilateral relationships.  Appropriately nuanced applications of gift exchange and its effects on human relationships can also inform our understanding of the bond between humans and the Divine.  Reciprocity implies balance, and gift theory helps explain the interplay between obligation, altruism, social order, and power.  

For Irenaeus, the relationship of God to humanity is characterised by an ontological gap.  By virtue of having been created, humans are of a different essence than that which is uncreated.  That does not mean, however, that humanity and its creator were engaged in an asymmetrical relationship.  In discussing this, Irenaeus speaks of gifts many times, particularly in the third and fourth books of Against Heresies.  Where the Latin is translated as donum or munus, the bishop is essentially listing inalienable gifts given unilaterally from God to humanity or the catholic church.  These gifts include spiritual gifts, adoption, incorruptibility, glory, eternal life, and the Paraclitum.

This paper argues, however, that at least two profound examples of reciprocity also exist in Against Heresies.  First, III.20.2 mentions God becoming accustomed (adsuesceret) to humanity and humanity becoming accustomed to God.  Another form of inalienable gift (beneficium) is discussed in IV.14.1 which implies an act of service in both directions, God serving humanity and humanity serving God (‘contractual exchange’).  Instead of a chance to ‘participate’ in God, it may be that the gifts from God create a sense of obligation in the individual, an acknowledgement of the difference in status between the two parties.  Through reciprocity, humanity comprehends its relationship with an overtly social deity.