Letter 1131: Anger is a fire: useful when controlled, devastating when unleashed.
Against Origen. The doctrine of the fall of souls, which Origen proposed as true, is a fable unworthy of serious consideration. For he taught that souls pre-existed in a higher state and fell into bodies as a punishment for sins committed in that prior existence. But this contradicts the clear teaching of Scripture, which says that God fashioned man from the dust of the ground and breathed into him the breath of life. There was no prior fall, no pre-existent soul that sinned before entering the body. The body is not a prison but a creation of God, fashioned with wisdom and declared good. Origen's error springs from his excessive reliance on Platonic philosophy, which he imported into the interpretation of Scripture where it did not belong. We must not follow philosophical speculation beyond the bounds set by divine revelation. The Scriptures teach that the soul and body were created together, that both will be raised together, and that God's original creation was very good. Those who see the body as a penalty for the soul's transgression dishonor the Creator who made it and the Savior who assumed it in the incarnation. Let no one deceive himself into thinking that knowledge of the truth is sufficient without the practice of it. For the person who knows the good and does not do it commits a greater sin than the person who does evil in ignorance. Knowledge increases responsibility, and the person who has been given much will have much required of him. The devils themselves possess extensive theological knowledge — they know that God is one, as James tells us — yet their knowledge does not save them, because it is not accompanied by love and obedience. Let our knowledge therefore be always joined to practice, our understanding to obedience, and our theology to holiness of life.
AI-assisted translation — This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek below for scholarly use.
Latin / Greek Original
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in parceciam alienam inradere, or qnidijuam in ea, inconsiillo ipsitis to the bishop, ugere not licere.
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