Thomas Koonammakkal: Ephrem's polemics on the human bodyDualism of human soul and human body and consequent denigration of the human body was common tosecond and third century gnostic systems. Generally speaking the Gnostic movement was characterised by adenigration of the human body. Christian gnostics too were falling in line with such a dualistic tendency. Thisfeature of gnosticism - Christian as well as non-Christian - descended into the Syriac Christian world throughMarcion, Bardaisan and Mani. Ephrem's antignostic polemics is centered around the views of these threetheological rivals. All three were very much alive through their followers in Ephrem's life-time (c. 306 - 373).Ephrem is keen to uphold the positive worth of the human body,1 since it is created by God. Naturally the bodyis not to be seen as anything evil or unbecoming. Basic doctrinal foundation for such a positive view on humanbody is threefold: Body as God's creation, incarnation in human body, incarnation in bread. What is attemptedhere is only an introduction to this Ephremic theology of the human body in its polemical context.Human body is the house of the soul since the soul dwells in it; so it is the tabernacle of the soul.2 God createdbody and soul and He bound them together with love.3 Sin brought in a tension between body and soul andfinally introduced death which separates both. All the same sin is common to both because freedom iscommon.4 Ephrem says that before God's breathing into the human body it was only a silent harp (arnkdhqtc).As the hand of the Creatorformed and fashioned the bodyso that it might sing to the Creator.It was a silent harpwithout sound until He breathed the soul into it.5The human soul is unable to see and hear without the help of the body.6 Nor can it gain paradise without thebody, its comrade, tool and harp. (! hrnkw ! hnam ! hptwc).7 The soul depends on the body for all its actions:"The soul, that is noble and perfect, why is it so dependent on the body that i...