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1 results

  • 4 - Christ’s Defeat of the Devil

  • Gabrielle Thomas, Yale University
  • Book:
    The Problem of the Devil in Cappadocian Thought
    Published online:
    20 May 2026
    Print publication:
    25 June 2026, pp 103-134

  • Summary

    Christ’s defeat of the devil poses theological difficulties for the Cappadocians, which they navigate in different but equally creative ways. Gregory of Nazianzus and Gregory of Nyssa preach that God is truth, and yet their use of the Christ-as-fishhook motif suggests that the devil is deceived by God, for Christ uses his mortal flesh as bait to lure and catch the devil. Gregory of Nazianzus sees no need to justify his use of the fishhook motif, but Gregory of Nyssa provides a comprehensive defence, going so far as to describe the crucifixion as ‘a kind of deceit’. This chapter, then, draws on Greek philosophical, cultural, and biblical thought to investigate how the Gregories tackle complications arising from Christ’s defeat of the devil.