4 - The Image of God and the Devil

Summary

Chapter 4 explores Gregory’s re-telling of the fall against the backdrop of the ‘garments of glory’ tradition. After being persuaded by the devil to eat the fruit in paradise, the image of God is banished and clothed in garments of ‘thick, dull flesh’, which equates to being shrouded in sin. This renders the human person at greater risk from the devil. Here, we examine the way in which Gregory discusses the devil, arguing that Gregory attributes to the devil a diminishing existence. The battles with the spiritual powers of darkness form a primary strand in Gregory’s narrative of the image of God’s existence, in which the devil hovers behind conversations of sin, the flesh, the world and the passions.