Recapitulation is the term used by Irenaeus to describe the manner in which God interacts with the world towards the final goal in space and time of man's salvation and redemption. It also describes the balance of Christ's actions opposing Adam's, towards the perfect balance in the world, righting of wrongs, and also Jesus' mother Mary, whose perfect obedience balances Eve's disobedience at the beginning of time.
Ther are many opposing and complimentary translations of Irenaeus' use of the word Recapitualtion, including "make a new start" "bring to climax" "to go over again", all of which help to give a fuller understanding of the term, recapitulation. Restoration is a feature, restoration of humanity to the holy state which was enjoyed by Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.
editted by J.James CIW undergrad. Religious Studies, Edinburgh University contact: cherrybrixx@yahoo.co.uk source: Lawson J. Biblical Theology of St Irenaeus
The idea that human embryonic developmentrecapitulates the evolutionary pathway has long been disproved but is still taught in some textbooks.
The Heritage of the Recapitulation Theory by Henry M. Morris
'ontogenesis is a brief and rapid recapitulation of phylogenesis, determined by the physiological functions of heredity (generation) and adaptation (maintenance).'" Haeckel, E. Riddle of the Universe at the Close of the Nineteenth Century.
The theory of recapitulation, also called the biogenetic law or ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny, is a theory in biology which attempts to explain apparent similarities between humans and other animals.
Although Haeckel's specific form of recapitulation theory is now discredited among biologists, it did have a strong impact in social and educational theories of the late 19th century.
Stanley Hall was based on the premise that growing children would recapitulate evolutionary stages of development as they grew up and that there was a one-to-one correspondence between childhood stages and evolutionary history, and that it was counterproductive to push a child ahead of its development stage.
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