Clement of Alexandria, Who is the Rich Man That Shall Be Saved? (Part 8 of 8)

JTR

Clement of Alexandria, Who is the Rich Man That Shall Be Saved? (Part 7 of 8)

 

 JTR

Clement of Alexandria, Who is The Rich Man That Shall Be Saved? (Part 6 of 8)

 

 JTR

Clement of Alexandria: Who Is the Rich Man That Shall Be Saved? (Part 5 of 8)

 

 

 JTR

Clement of Alexandria, Who is the Rich Man That Shall Be Saved? (Part 4 of 8)

 

 JTR

Clement of Alexandria: Who is the Rich Man That Shall Be Saved? (Part 3 of 8)

 

 

 JTR

Clement of Alexandria: Who is the Rich Man That Shall Be Saved? (Part 2 of 8)

 

I have added Part 2 of 8 (covering chapters 6-10) of Clement of Alexandria's "Who is the Rich Man That Shall Be Saved?" (Mark 10:17-31).

A few points to be clear:

I am not necessarily suggesting that everything Clement says about this text is accurate, nor am I commending all aspects of his interpretation. It should be taken with some caution (especially his views on soteriology).

I am more interested in how a second century Christian would approach interpretation of a Gospel text from a pre-critical perspective.

So, I am interested in things like:

How he harmonizes this account with the other Synoptic Gospels.

How he makes use of allegorical/spiritual interpretations alongside literal ones.

How his views may or may not be shaped by Socratic thought.

Etc.

Enjoy, JTR

Clement of Alexandria: Who is the Rich Man That Shall Be Saved? (Part 1 of 8)

 

I am continuing to preach through the Sermon on the Mount on Sunday mornings at CRBC. Yesterday's message was on Matthew 6:19-22, with a focus on Christ's admonition not to lay up treasures on earth but to lay up treasures in heaven.

In some of my commentary reading, I ran across a reference to Clement of Alexandria (c. 150-215) and his treatise "Who is the Rich Man That Shall Be Saved?", which is an exposition of Mark's account of the Christ's encounter with the Rich Young Ruler (Mark 10:17-31). This work consists of 42 short chapters. I decided to launch a new series to read through this treatise. Episode 1 of 8 appears above.

I'm interested not only in how Clement dealt with Christ's teaching on the difficulty of the rich entering the kingdom, but also how pre-critical exegetes dealt with the Gospels in general.

In chapter 5, for example, Clement stresses the harmony of the account of the Rich Young Ruler in the Synoptic accounts (Matthew 19; Mark 10; Luke 18):

These things are written in the Gospel according to Mark; and in all the rest correspondingly; although perchance the expressions vary slightly in each, yet all show identical agreement in meaning.

I am making use of the translation by William Wilson. You can find the complete text of the treatise online here.

JTR

Eusebius, EH.6.13-15: Clement of Alexandria and Origen

This is an occasional series of readings from and brief notes and commentary upon Eusebius of Caesarea’s The Ecclesiastical History: Book 6, chapters 13-15. Listen here.

Notes and Commentary:

These chapters focus on Clement of Alexandria, teacher of Origen, and on Clement’s writings.

Chapter 13 gives an overview of the writings of Clement, student of Pantaenus.

His chief works are listed as:

Stromateis. Note: J. E. L. Oulton says this term came from “the striped bag in which slaves rolled up the bedclothes.” It came to refer to a “patchwork” or collection of miscellanies. Works by this title were also produced by Plutarch and Origen.

Hypotyposeis. Interpretations of Scripture and tradition.

Exhortation to the Greeks.

Paedogagus.

Who is the Rich Man that is being Saved?

On the Pascha.

On Fasting.

On Slander.

Exhortation to Endurance, or To the Recently Baptized.

The Ecclesiastical Canon, or Against the Judaizers.

Turning to the Stromateis, Eusebius points out that it includes references to the disputed works (the antilegomenoi). He includes in this works both apocryphal (the Wisdom of Solomon, Sirach, Barnabas, and 1 Clement) and canonical (Hebrews and Jude).

In On the Pascha, Clement made reference to traditions “from the elders of olden times”, including Melito and Irenaeus.

Chapter 14 begins with a description of the content of the Hypotyposeis, noting that here also Clement addressed the disputed works (the antilegomenoi), listing both apocryphal (Barnabas and the Apocalypse of Peter) and canonical works (Jude and the Catholic epistles).

Special attention is given to Hebrews. Clement says it was written by Paul in Hebrew and Luke translated it for the Greeks, as is evident by its similarity in style to Acts. He adds that Paul’s name was not attached to the work, since the Jews had great prejudice and suspicion against Paul. He adds that Paul did not add his name also out of modesty, since he was primarily an apostle to the Gentiles.

Also, in this work, Clement discusses the order of the Gospels. He says that the first Gospels written were those with genealogies (Matthew and Luke). Mark then wrote his Gospel based on Peter’s preaching in Rome. Finally, John wrote his “spiritual Gospel”, urged by his disciples, aware that “the outward facts” had been set down in the other Gospels.

A letter from Alexander to Origen is cited mentioning both Pantaenus and Clement.

It is then noted that Adamantius (Origen) had visited Rome during the time of Zephyrinus, before returning to Alexandria, to serve under the bishop Demetrius.

Chapter 15 describes how Origen was committed to doctrinal study, especially to Scripture and teaching. When overwhelmed with students, he made his pupil Heraclas his assistant, with Heraclas teaching the beginning students and Origen the more experienced.

Conclusion:

These chapters provide a useful survey of Clement of Alexandria and especially his insights into Scripture and canon. It also shows his influence on Origen, fueling his particular interest in the study of Scripture.

JTR

Eusebius, EH.5.9-11: Pantaenus and Clement of Alexandria

This is an occasional series of readings from and brief notes and commentary upon Eusebius of Caesarea’s The Ecclesiastical History: Book 5, chapters 9-11. Listen here.

Notes and Commentary:

These three chapters focus on the bishops and teachers at Alexandria, Egypt.

Chapter 9 notes the imperial transition from Antoninus to Commodus (sole emperor, 180-192). In Alexandria Julian succeeded Agrippinus as bishop.

Chapter 10 introduced Pantaenus, a man “very famous for his learning”, who directed a “school of sacred learning” in Alexandria, which, Eusebius says, continued to his day. It is noted that Pantaenus had been influenced by Stoicism and that tradition holds he had been a herald of the gospel to the East and had gone as far as India as an “evangelist.” It is also noted that when he arrived in India, he found that there were already those who knew Christ, since the apostle Bartholomew had preached to them and left them the Gospel of Matthew “in Hebrew letters.”

Chapter 11 turns to Clement of Alexandria (named after Clement of Rome), who had studied the Scriptures with Pantaenus. Eusebius says that Clement made reference to Pantaenus in his Hypotyposes and alluded to him also in his Stromateis, where he also makes reference to having consulted various men who had known the ancient men and preserved the “true tradition” directly from the apostles.

Conclusion:

We see another emphasis on imperial and ecclesiastical succession. We also see an emphasis on Alexandria as a key center of early Christianity and especially a center of learning, scholarship, and study of the Scriptures.

JTR