‘In a Man who Loves Wisdom the Father will Be Glad’ (Stromata A1). Clement's of Alexandria Teaching about the Cryptic Philosophical Tradition

Abstract

Clement emphasizes the permanent importance of philosophy for the fullness of Christian knowledge, explains with special predilection the relation between knowledge and faith, and sharply criticizes those who are unwilling to make any use of philosophy. He pronounces definitely against the sophists and against the hedonism of the school of Epicurus. For Clement the tradition of apocrypha is very different from the tradition of the Church. Clement insists that educated and mature Christians inevitably seek an understanding superior to that of catechesis, and in this progressive theology necessarily included philosophy. He underlines that God gave the Jews the Old Testament as a preparation for the uptake of Christ, gave the Greek philosophy for the same purpose. The Old Testament and Greek philosophy are two great tributaries of the same river. Clement explains with emphasis that the cryptic tradition leads the gnostic to become the embodiment of the presence of Christ in the world. Although the Christian tradition belongs to the Church, for this reason Clemen doesn’t refer frequently to the Church, because he makes reference to another tradition. At the same time he doesn’t want to delete the genuine ecclesiastic tradition.