Christ had always been the telos intended by God for human beings. Accord-
ing to Ireneaus, thefirst human beings were but infants in terms of their
humanity, who were to grow into their full humanity by becoming like Christ.
Transformative education is thus not a result of the fall but intrinsic to our
humanity as originally intended.^37 It is difficult to convey in a few sentences
the breathtaking scope of the patristic vision for humanity. We are confronted
with a comprehensive programme for elevating humanity to its divinely
intended place of god-likeness. As Clement of Alexandria put it,‘the greatest
and most regal work of God is the salvation of humanity’. Salvation, however,
pertains to the whole being—body, soul, and intellect—and involves the
renewal of human beings towards‘all that pertains to love of truth, love of
man, and love of excellence’.^38 For these theologians, salvation consisted in
returning us to the original purpose of human beings, namely communion
with God. This communion was not merely a mystical experience but the
ultimate telos of God to lift his human creatures above irrational behaviour to
their true rational and relational image in Christ. In short, for patristic
theologians, the humanistic goal of Christianity isdeification, becominglike
Christ. Clement of Alexandria summarizes this grand hope when he has
Christ declare his message to humanity:‘I desire to restore you according to
the original model, that ye may become also like Me’.^39
This Christological anthropology revolutionized ancient conceptions of
humanity and laid the foundation for many positive aspects of our culture.
Even if some of these aspects have developed with much help from secular
forces,^40 the Christian idea of the incarnation and the related notion of the
Christian life as the journey towards true humanity have given us a unique
definition of what it means to be human. For example, the Judeo-Christian
idea of theimago Deihas allowed for an intrinsic human dignity apart from
race, nationality, mental or physical abilities, and thus apart from our instru-
mental usefulness to society.^41 Along with this intrinsic human dignity,
Christianity afforded us a unique idea of human freedom.^42 The great German
philosopher Hegel still knew of this important Christian humanist legacy
(^37) See Gustav Wingren,Man and the Incarnation: A Study in the Biblical Theology of Irenaeus
(Philadelphia, PA: Muhlenberg Press, 1959), 33–5.
(^38) Clement,The Instructor12, inANF, vol. 2, 235.
(^39) Clement,Exhortation to the Heathen1, inANF, vol. 2, 172–3.
(^40) Hans Joas has recently described how the generalization of important Western values from
particular religious roots occurred through the confluence of many secular and religious
influences. SeeDie Sakralität der Person:Eine neue Genealogie der Menschenrechte(Frankfurt
a.M.: Suhrkamp, 2011), 276.
(^41) On the importance of‘intrinsic human dignity’, see Margaret Somerville,‘Defining Human
Dignity’, http://www.family.org.au/care/articles/Somerville%20defining%20human%20dignity.
pdf, accessed 17 May 2012.
(^42) See also John Behr’s reference in this volume to Irenaeus’s insistence on human freedom as
reflection of our divine image.
146 Jens Zimmermann