Coyle's Reviews > Fathers of the Second Century: Hermas, Tatian, Theophilus, Athenagoras, Clement of Alexandria

This volume covers the rest of the Apologetic Fathers, the Shepherd of Hermas, and Clement of Alexandria. I'll give a few thoughts on the volume overall (when I've finished), and on each author (as I finish them in turn).
Overall thoughts:
-The similarity of conversion experiences of these apologetic writers is remarkable. Tatian, for example, writes of his own conversion that, having seen the depravity of Western culture,

retiring by myself, I sought how I might be able to discover the truth. And, while I was giving my most earnest attention to the matter, I happened to meet with certain barbaric writings, too old to be compared with the opinions of the Greeks, and too divine to be compared with their errors; and I was led to put faith in these by the unpretending cast of the language, the inartificial character of the writers, the foreknowledge displayed of future events, the excellent quality of the precepts, and the declaration of the government of the universe as centered in one Being. And my soul being taught of God, I discern that the former class of writings [pagan works] lead to condemnation, but that these put an end to the slavery that is in the world, and rescue us from a multiplicity of rulers and ten thousand tyrants, while they give us, not indeed what he had not before received, but what we had received but were prevented by error from retaining. (pg 77)

In other words, he wanted to know the truth and stumbled across Scriptures, which caught him by their historical antiquity and accuracy, their truth, and their declaration of the sovereignty of God. A similar story is told by Theophilus and Athenagoras.

-The authority given to Scripture is likewise remarkable. Especially in Clement (probably just because we have quite a bit more from him than from anyone else in this book), over and over the Bible is treated as the only source of truth in the world (any knowledge the Greek philosophers had they got because they had read the books of Moses), and as the Christians final authority. I don't know that we see this high a view of Scripture again until the Reformation...

-Uncertainty about what to do with pagans who say things that are true, but reject the Gospel. Clement simply says they are thieves, who have stolen what belongs to others but as a result have something true themselves. The others are a bit less certain about the best way to engage with pagan thinkers and artist. Perhaps this is a good parallel to how Christians are divided in thinking about science and modern philosophy today?


The Shepherd of Hermas: I skipped this one, as it is found in The Apostolic Fathers in English, which I have already read.

Address of Tatian to the Greeks (along with a few Fragments of his writings): I'm going to have to revisit this short work. Despite the fact that Tatian fell into Montanism at the end of his life, this is a solid work of philosophical and theological argument that bears re-reading. He has reasoned and lucid discussions of the shortcomings of Greek philosophy, the Christian doctrines of creation, resurrection, the fall, the Logos, the Holy Spirit, and how Christians ought to live in the world. Moreover, Christian writings are older and more accurate than anything in the Greek corpus.

Theophilus to Autolycus Like Tatian, Theophilus argues the various doctrines of Christianity as opposed to the Greek philosophy prevalent in his day. Theophilus is (I think) a better writer, if not quite as philosophically astute. He hinges his argument on the antiquity and historical accuracy of Christian Scriptures as opposed to Greek myths about the origin of the world. This, to the best of my knowledge (and according to the footnotes) also includes the first attempt to establish a Christian chronology and philosophy of history. Though of course the masterpieces of each would have to wait until Eusebius.

Athenagoras:
A Plea [Embassy] for the Christians This is a letter to the co-Emperors Marcus Aurelius and Commodus (not yet of Gladiator fame) arguing that Christians are being treated unjustly, despite the official policy of "religious toleration." Athenagoras argues that if Christians are breaking the law they should of course be punished -we are good subjects of the state, after all- but that such claims should be investigated. We should not just be punished because of the name "Christian."
Moreover, the charges of cannibalism and incest are false, and the government is more than welcome to investigate to confirm that we are actually innocent. Heck, it's your job as Emperor and judge to search this stuff out, not just assume that the charges are accurate.
Even more, Christians are not atheists- we just separate "God" from "matter", unlike the pagans and in line with the poets and philosophers (including Plato and Aristotle). Our view of God is of course better than the views of the poets and philosophers, and it is a view reinforced by the quality of our lives.
Overall, this is a fascinating and worthwhile read that gives a picture of early Christianity and how Christians thought about and interacted with the culture at large.

The Treatise of Athenagoras on the Resurrection of the Dead This is, well, a treatise on the resurrection. I wasn't quite as impressed by this as by the Plea for the Christians. Athenagoras makes two broad arguments here:
1) It's more important to articulate and defend truth than it is to attack falsehood, though both are necessary and sometimes the latter can be more useful.
2) The resurrection of the dead is well within the power and will of God, so there are no actual objections to it. We know that there will be a resurrection because a) God's goals in creation (that we would worship Him body and soul) require it; b) our nature is a mixture of body and soul, and after the body dies if there is to be any kind of fulfilling afterlife there must be a reunion of the two, therefore there must be a resurrection; c) final judgment requires that there be a body to be judged (or forgiven, in the case of Christians) as well as a soul, since the body and soul work together in sin. This last one seems to be the point that Athenagoras hinges most of his arguments on, assuming that all of his audience believes in a final judgment of some sort. Clearly, this wouldn't necessarily work as an apologetic approach today. (Nor would his claims about cannibalism, where he argues that "cannibalism" doesn't hinder resurrection because the stuff that will be resurrected isn't actually digest, it's expelled from the system until God reassembles the body. Which I find both a weird and fascinating argument at the same time, reminiscent of the last couple of books of City of God. There's a treatise to be written on the ancient world's obsession with cannibalism...)

Like I said, not as impressive as the plea, but worth the read nonetheless. His apologetic approach of taking things that the culture commonly assumes to be true and showing points of agreement and disagreement as a starting point for defending Christianity is an interesting one, though perhaps one I wouldn't use myself.

I'll get back to Clement. Frankly, he intimidates me, and I want a bit of a break before tackling the last 400 pages of this volume...

[later]

Okay Clement, I've read all the short pieces around you, and now I will tackle you head on I don't even care that your works are 400 pages of this book I will read and try to get something out of you!

[later again]


Exhortation to the HeathenIf you're anything like me and have been slogging your way through the church Fathers in some kind of loosely-chronological order, then this monograph by Clement of Alexandria is your reward. It is witty, thoughtful, scathing, and magnanimous all at the same time. In it, he exhorts the heathen (appropriately enough) to recognize the limitations and evils of paganism and see the truth and hope offered through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He walks through several aspects of pagan life -poetry, philosophy, art, and so on- and shows how each of these are on the one hand corrupted by human sin and twisted into instruments of our destruction, and on the other hand are lived rightly in Christ and become pictures of God's mercy to and sovereignty over the world.

For example, Clement discusses how music has been used in the service of myth and fable to lead individuals astray into sin (171-172). For the Christian, however:

Not such is my song, which has come to loose, and that speedily, the bitter bondage of tyrannizing demons; and leading us back to the mild and loving yoke of piety, recalls to heaven those that had been cast prostrate to the earth. (172)

Art, likewise, has been corrupted by being used to create idols. For the Christian, the universe is God's art, which we picture when we create out of the material he has made. How awful it is then for us to take God's art and use it in rebellion against Him! (189-190)


Philosophy and poetry also have been used to rebel against God. The small bit of truth available to philosophers and poets has done them no good, and indeed has simply revealed how deep the need for the true philosophy and poetry of the living Word runs in the world:

For I think it has now become evident to all that those who do or speak aught without the Word of truth are like people compelled to walk without feet. (193)

 Even custom itself has become a source of sin. Giving up the good things custom has prepared for us (citizenship, family inheritance, social respectability) in the name of Christ simply means we get the benefits of those things returned to us in their better and proper form. We become citizens of heaven, receive the inheritance of the children of God, and the social respectability of living a life of true virtue and obedience. All of these are given not by conforming to the customs of the world, but by living the life of faith.


In addition to making all of these important points, this particular work is exceptionally well-written. I don't know if credit for that goes to the translator, to Clement himself, or to some combination of the two, but in many ways this has been the most delightful of the ante-Nicene fathers to read so far.


A sampler of quotes:

Do not play the tyrant, O man, over beauty... Be king over beauty, not its tyrant. Remain free, and then I shall acknowledge thy beauty, because thou hast kept its image pure: then I will worship that true Beauty which is the archetype of all who are beautiful. (185)

 O the prodigious folly of being ashamed of the Lord! He offers freedom, you flee into bondage; He bestows salvation, you sink down into destruction; He confers everlasting life, you wait for punishment, and prefer the fire which the Lord 'has prepared for the devils and his angels.' (195)

 The union of many in one, issuing in the production of divine harmony out of a medley of sounds and division, becomes one symphony following one choir-leader and teacher, the Word, reaching and resting in the same truth and crying Abba, Father. (197)

 For man has been otherwise constituted by nature, so as to have fellowship with God... placing our finger on what is man's peculiar and distinguishing characteristic above other creatures, we invite him -born, as he is, for the contemplation of heaven, and being, as he is, a truly heavenly plant- to the knowledge of God, counselling him to furnish himself with what is his sufficient provision for eternity, namely piety. Practise husbandry, we say, if you are a husbandman; but while you till your fields, know God. Sail the sea, you who are devoted to navigation, yet call the whilst on the heavenly Pilot. (200)

For in us, buried in darkness, shut up in the shadow of death, light has shone forth from heaven, purer than the sun, sweeter than life here below. That light is eternal life; and whatever partakes of it lives.... He hath changed the sunset into sunrise, and through the cross brought death to life; and having wrenched man from destruction, He hath raised him to the skies, transplanting mortality into immortality, and translating earth to heaven. (203)

The Instructor
This is Clement's Christology. In broad scope, Clement believes that man is composed of habit, action, and passion, and once one is saved the same Word redeems all three. Thus, the Word (Jesus) is our Tutor, Pedagogue, and Instructor all at the same time. Specifically, the Word instructs us in the practical way of virtue and teaches us how to grow in holiness. He deals with the sickness of our sin and encourages us to grow in Christ-like behavior.
Ultimately, as we are increasingly conformed to the word our souls become more Beautiful. This is not crass materialism, but a growth in true, inner beauty.
Overall, this work is perhaps not as interesting (while being significantly longer) as "Exhortation to the Heathen", but is still worth a quick once-over.

Who is the Rich Man that Shall be Saved?
The lesson of Jesus' encounter with the rich young ruler is not that we should be poor, but rather that we should be saved. This salvation comes only through Jesus himself. He saved us by becoming a man and giving his life for us. This doesn't mean that we can go on sinning, but rather that once we have been saved we should go out and tell others about Jesus in turn, all the while being aware of the enemy that lurks within us and would tempt us to stray from the redemption worked by Christ.
An excellent little meditation, though not without its theological difficulties (a bit heavy on the free will at times).

Stromata, or Miscellanies
Well, this is it. The reason most people (I assume) don't read this book. The "Stromata" is almost three hundred pages of systematic theology without the "systematic" part.
In broad strokes, Clement is following the Hellenistic philosophical categories of physics, logic, and ethics (that is, "what is the world like?", "how should we think about the world?", "how should we live in the world?") from a Christian perspective. In this sense, the book is fascinating as it basically gives a Christian response to the various philosophies at play in the ancient world (sometimes even explicitly, as when Clement takes on the Skeptics).
And yet, Clement regularly warns us that there is no particular order to his work, and instead we should read it as a shotgun-blast (not his phrase) of theology and practical guidance. As we read through his rambling reflections, what should emerge is a picture of the whole Christian life, the life of the true "Gnostic." (That is, one who knows the truth.)
And, a word here about the word "gnostic." Clement is not talking about "gnosticism," which assumes a secret and personal knowledge revealed only to those in the inside. Instead, Clement uses the phrase to mean a Christian who embraces the very public declaration of salvation through Christ, and brings his entire life (but especially his intellectual life) into line with that declaration.
That is basically the point of this very length work: to guide the Christian in shaping a whole life according to what God has revealed in Scripture about Christ.

While parts of the "Stromata" drag, to be sure, it's still worth reading. If you just can't bring yourself to dedicate the amount of time it takes to read the whole thing, I recommend reading just Books I and II. You'll get the bulk of what Clement engages, as well as all of the main points he makes (including the final authority of the Bible as the source of truth; the relationship between Christianity and pagan philosophy; and how Christians should think about ethics).