The nature, function, and destiny of the human body—Origen's interpretation of 1 Cor 15
In this article, I will investigate Origen's use of two metaphors: The seed metaphor and the clothing metaphor. Both metaphors are found in Paul's first letter to the Corinthians, which Origen uses as his biblical foundation in the passage from On First Principles that will be analyzed in...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
De Gruyter
[2019]
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| In: |
Zeitschrift für antikes Christentum
Year: 2019, Volume: 23, Issue: 1, Pages: 36-52 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Origenes 185-254, De principiis
/ Bible. Corinthians 1. 15
/ Body
/ Seeds
/ Clothing
/ Metaphor
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| IxTheo Classification: | HC New Testament KAB Church history 30-500; early Christianity NBE Anthropology |
| Further subjects: | B
First Principles
B Origen of Alexandria B Punishment B Spiritual Progress B seed metaphor B spiritual education B 1 Cor 15 B Body B clothing metaphor |
| Online Access: |
Presumably Free Access Volltext (Resolving-System) Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | In this article, I will investigate Origen's use of two metaphors: The seed metaphor and the clothing metaphor. Both metaphors are found in Paul's first letter to the Corinthians, which Origen uses as his biblical foundation in the passage from On First Principles that will be analyzed in this article. My focus will be on how Origen understands the nature, the function, and the destiny of human beings and especially of human bodies. According to Origen, the nature of the human body is changeable and unstable. This is because the bodily matter has merely been added to the rational beings at a certain time and will disappear again when its function is fulfilled. The function of the human body is to clothe the rational being on its way through fall and spiritual progress towards perfection. Thus, the body allows the rational being to be punished and educated. The destiny of the human body is eventually to disappear, but this will only happen when the body has gone through many stages of fall and progress in its service of the rational being. |
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| ISSN: | 1612-961X |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Zeitschrift für antikes Christentum
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1515/zac-2019-0003 |