Mark Stone

“We must keep in mind Edward Said's important warning that the first reality for thinking creatively (and for us, theologically) about exile is that it is a form of disaster and trauma that is inseparably connected to human actions related to power, dominance, and brutality:

'To think of exile as beneficial, as a spur to humanism or to creativity, is to belittle its mutliations.' (p. 21)”
― Daniel L. Smith-Christopher, A Biblical Theology of Exile

“Indeed, the first thing to be noticed is the complexity of the notions of apokatastasis that Clement received, as they were already present in various traditions with which he was acquainted:

– the idea of ἀποκατάστασις in Stoic philosophy, which was characterized by necessity and an infinite repetition;
– the notion of eschatological universal ἀποκατάστασις as described in Peter's speech in the Acts of the Apostles, who connects it with the return of Christ and with comfort and consolation coming from God;
– the "Gnostic" (and especially "Valentinian") concept of ἀποκατάστασις which was generally neither holistic [e.g., denied physicality] nor universal;
– the notion of an eschatological intercession of the just and of the salvation of the damned from the "river of fire" in the Apocalypse of Peter, which Clement considered to be divinely inspired;
– Irenaeus's concept of ἀνακεφαλαίωσις [recapitulation] and of ἀναστασις-ἀποκατάστασις, which Clement very probably knew;
– Bardaisan's clear concept of the eventual universal ἀποκατάστασις in which, thanks to instruction, "the fools will be persuaded," "the lacks will be filled," and "there will be safety and peace, as a gift of the Lord of all natures" (a concept that Clement may indeed have known);
– the eschatological notion of ἀποκατάστασις as a return to unity in Pantaenus, a notion that Clement knew very well and indeed is preserved precisely by him (whatever its exact formulation by Pantaenus himself was). (pp. 119-120)”
― Ilaria Ramelli, The Christian Doctrine of Apokatastasis: A Critical Assessment from the New Testament to Eriugena

“Part of the myth of Persian benevolence is the idea of an end to the exile in 539. But all that was ended was Neo-Babylonian hegemony, to be replaced by that of the Persians. (p. 65)”
― Daniel L. Smith-Christopher, A Biblical Theology of Exile

“That language is demonstrably stereotypical -- in either the Bible or the modern Mediterranean cultures -- is not the same thing as saying that a language is demonstrably fraudulent -- or that it is language that is not reacting to real trauma. (p. 103)”
― Daniel L. Smith-Christopher, A Biblical Theology of Exile