Article Title

To Heaven with the Devil: The Importance of Satan's Salvation for God's Goodness in the Works of Gregory of Nyssa

Authors

Paul Anthony, Abilene Christian UniversityFollow

Abstract

Scholars generally agree on two points regarding Gregory of Nyssa’s eschatology: That he believed in universal reconciliation, and that the salvation of all rational beings eventually will include Satan himself. Such beliefs, far from making Gregory a notorious figure, have largely gone unnoticed outside of academia. Further, even among those for whom Gregory’s universalism is a given, his contention that even Satan will be saved often is treated as an afterthought.

Yet Gregory seemed to think the salvation of Satan was quite important. He discussed this eventuality most clearly in his treatises On the Soul and Resurrection and the Catechetical Oration, and in the latter ties it to his core teaching on the incarnation and atonement. A close reading of the two works reveals how Gregory saw God’s goodness – a prominent theological theme throughout his career – as requiring such a broad eschatological vision. Scholars appear to have overlooked the centrality of Satan’s salvation to Gregory’s overarching theology; nevertheless, Gregory believed God could not be good – and therefore not be God – if he did not ultimately save his greatest enemy, the devil himself.

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Recommended Citation

Anthony, Paul (2015) "To Heaven with the Devil: The Importance of Satan's Salvation for God's Goodness in the Works of Gregory of Nyssa," Conversations: A Graduate Student Journal of the Humanities, Social Sciences, and Theology: Vol. 2: No. 1, Article 1.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.acu.edu/conversations/vol2/iss1/1