Grant Gasse: Making Manifest: Irenaeus and the Plain Gospel

Recent studies have shown Irenaeus’ reliance on inherited literary-critical tools within his Adversus Haereses.In particular, they have demonstrated how Irenaeus’ emphasis on plain language coheres with a literary account of oikonomia, and resembles a broader, anti-allegorical literary tradition. Within this paper I consider Irenaeus’ principle of clarity, which states that ambiguous or parabolic passages of scripture ought to be adapted to more clear or plain passages. My work situates this principle within Irenaeus' theological vision. In the first part of the paper, I set out the state of Irenaean literature, and develop on this work by briefly outlining the history of clarity and ambiguity in classical philology. In the second part, I note the various uses of clarity and ambiguity throughout the AH. This leads me to an analysis of AH IV.1-35, wherein Irenaeus provides a theology of prophecy and defines the OT scriptures as prophetic and, therefore, ambiguous and parabolic texts. I conclude that Irenaeus’ hermeneutic method is analogous to his account of prophecy broadly construed. I then consider the recapitulatory and ecclesiological force of manifestusand its related terms: in short, the clear passages are understood in reference to the clarity brought about by Christ, and handed on within a community of readers. In the third part, I argue that this theological force speaks to Irenaeus’ unique, constructive use of clarity as a literary tool.