Clement of Alexandria

whatever is useful from mathematics, the fine arts, literary studies, and, of course, philosophy, and protects the faith from all attacks” (171 ). For Clement, the study of the liberal arts prepared the individual to possess a solid faith and to share that hope with others. Origen (c. 185-250) became head of the catechetical school in Alexandria at the age of seventeen or eighteen. Educated in both the Scriptures and Greek literature himself, Origen urged others to continue this practice. He

he came into contact with Gnostics of the Valentinian school, Neoplatonist worshipers, and teachings from Philo of Alexandria. Overall Origen’s formative years and early life were a rough time period for him, and the time period in which he was raised was difficult for Christians everywhere. When Origen turned 18-years-old he became the principle of a catechetical school in Alexandria. This is when Origen started working on First Principles, his attempt to make a presentation of what Christians believe

Merriam-Webster defines the word gematria as, “a cryptograph in the form of a word whose letters have the numerical values of a word taken as a hidden meaning” and as “the cabalistic method of explaining the Hebrew Scriptures by means of the cryptographic significance of the words”. Simply put – gematria is one technique used for understanding sacred texts. This technique was derived from Greek influences and created by the practitioners of Jewish mysticism. As an essential piece to the Kabbalistic

Jesus’ Christ hostility and demise against Satan coincides with the Acts of Peter and the letter to Theodore by Clement of Alexandria; plainly, demonstrating an ongoing battle of evil within early Christian development and its teachings. Although, outwardly the church condemned Peter’s teaching of ‘celibacy for everyone;’ nevertheless, the sanctified reality of celibacy for a quantity of Jesus’ followers (also known as the elect), generates a solid state of dedication and loyalty regarding this believed

Peter, 2 and 3 John, and Jude. The status of these books was murky at best until after 400 a.d.. On the other hand, the Epistle of Barnabas, the Apocalypse of Peter, the Shepherd of Hermas, the Didache, the Acts of Paul and the First Letter of Clement were considered by many Church fathers to be part of the early Christian scriptures. Early Christian Works Sometimes Considered Canonical

were Christians, the Gnostics based their knowledge on the goodness of thought, as a primary source for the belief of God, [p. 167] Through the use of Hellenic thought, Gnostics used language as a forefront of knowledge to convey the truth. Clement of Alexandria noted” Jesus is the first efficient cause of motion - a power incapable of being apprehended by sensation," [p. 8] Jesus arrived to show man obedience to the commandments. This quote enabled Clement's initial belief for godliness of this obedience

Faith and reason were two modes of belief that dominated the history of Western Civilization. Both faith and reason were popularized as tools to understand the universe in Greco-Roman and Judeo-Christian eras. By conflicting with each other, these two modes of belief sparked a lot of controversy. Reason or rationality is belief based on concrete evidence and logic. The development of one’s reason relies heavily on observation and questioning. Greco-Roman philosophers believed in the power of the

This quote has become somewhat of a Christian idiom which comes from the book of Exodus, when the children of Israel left Egypt, took the gold relics of the Egyptians, and used them to build God’s temple. Augustine uses this to say that neither Clement nor Tertullian are completely correct. Christians should not completely accept the culture around us, nor should they completely ignore it. A Christian should have balance and nuance, taking ideas from the culture which are excellent and profitable

the early church fathers during the Patristic Period made a significant impact on the actions, practices and beliefs of the Christian community during the past as well as today. The Apostolic Fathers such as Papias, Polycarp, Hermas, Ignatius and Clement of Rome focused on matters such as church organization, righteous living and faith (“Church Fathers” 2). With their writings, these fathers fought to keep the faith within the old church in the face of persecution. As the attention turned to defending

Out of the four Church Fathers, I liked St. Clement of Alexandria the most (in a close second was Origen of Alexandria.) He was probably the most appealing to me because of his openness to other cultures and their ideas, and being able to connect with them and write works that could be open to and appeal to those people from the other cultures. His idea of spiritual refinement I found to be in total agreement with, and that faith is truly not in opposition to reasoning. If there was one that I found