Polycarp and virtue

In chapter 10 Polycarp urges his readers to practice virtue. This is contrasted to the unfortunate example of a former presbyter Valens, and his wife, who have succumbed to coveoutness. Nonetheless Polycarp grieves for the couple and urges moderation towards them, desiring that his readers "call them back as suffering and straying members, that ye may save your whole body. For by so acting ye shall edify yourselves"

Thus in chapter 12 Polycarp continues to emphasise virtue. One item that I found striking, especially considering his martyrdom, was his plea for them to pray for all, including "those that persecute and hate you"

Finally chapters 13-14 conclude with adminstrative concern for the transmission of this epistle and similar one's written by Ignatius.

Polycarp on false teaching and perseverance

In chapter 7 Polycarp warns his readers against false teachings notably:

1. Denial that Christ came in the flesh
2. Denial that Christ suffered on the cross
3. Denial of the resurrection
4. Denial of the final judgement

The remainder of chapter 7 and 8-9 consists of exhortations to perseverance, with certain people, notably Paul, being presented as examples of those who are now with Christ as they have shared in his sufferings.

Polycarp on Leadership

Chapter 6 is interesting in the way it describes Polycarp's expectations concerning church leaders (presbyters). These involve:

• compassion, mercy and forgiveness
• care for those who have wandered astray, the sick, the poor, the widow and the orphan
• rejection of coveoutness
• respect for other people, avoiding anger or severe judgement
• separation from false teachers.
  

Polycarp and virtue

In chapter 2 Polycarp exhorts his readers towards virtue, once again weaving many NT passages into his text. What is particularly significant is the way in which he sees Christian virtue as part and parcel of Christian life and is thus able to affirm that God will raise us from the dead "if we do His will, and walk in His commandments, and love what He loved, keeping ourselves from all unrighteousness, covetousness, love of money, evil speaking, false witness; “not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing". It is probably anachronistic to read the faith x works dillemma into this text, but it stands as an expression of the classical Christian teaching that without holiness one cannot see the Father.

In Chapter 3 Polycarp is self-depreciating, emphasising that he is nothing compared to "the blessed and glorified Paul."

In chapters 4 and 5 the exhortations continue, once again following NT themes.

Epistle of Polycarp to the Phillipians

My next journey in the Ancient Sources is the Epistle of Polycarp to the Phillipians. It is late, and I have only read chapter 1, but I am struck how, already, New Testament passages flow authoritatively in his prose.

The Epistle of Diognetus concludes

Chapters 10 -12 emphasise the role of faith and belief for salvation. Chapter 10 emphasises that faith should lead us to love of the Father and therefore to his imitation. There is a beautiful exposition of what it means to imitate the Father, in which one can see concerns of the emerging church, such as vulnerability, service rather than power, being echoed:

"or it is not by ruling over his neighbours, or by seeking to hold the supremacy over those that are weaker, or by being rich, and showing violence towards those that are inferior, that happiness is found; nor can any one by these things become an imitator of God. But these things do not at all constitute His majesty. On the contrary he who takes upon himself the burden of his neighbour; he who, in whatsoever respect he may be superior, is ready to benefit another who is deficient; he who, whatsoever things he has received from God, by distributing these to the needy, becomes a god to those who receive [his benefits]: he is an imitator of God."

Chapter 11 shows that already the concept of a tradition of the apostles is playing an important role, especially in the shaping of Christology. Chapter 12 extols the virtues of knowledge, but of a particular knowledge. For it is not knowledge in itself which is valuable, for there is a knowledge which destroys, but knowledge that leads to life, based on love and the fear of God. [I would not be surprised if there are scholars who believe that chapter 12 is the work of a different author, for having lambasted the OT earlier, this chapter provides us with a positive narration of the Genesis story of the Garden of Eden]

The coming of Christ in Diognetus

Chapters 7-9 provide an exposition for the rationale for the coming of Christ. Chapter 7 emphasises the status of the one who comes, Jesus is referred to as God, creator and fashioner, [with no theological explanation provided], with a great importance attached to the fact that Jesus comes in clemency and meekness rather than anger.

Chapter 8 emphasises that prior to the coming of Christ our knowledge of God was very limited, whilst chapter 9 reflects that the delay in the coming of Christ was so as to convince us that without Christ we had no chance of salvation.

Who are these Christians

Chapters 5 and 6 introduce the reader to the Christians. Granted that there is probably more than a small element of propaganda involved, Chapter 5 is still very striking, not the least in the way it presents the ideal Christian life:

"Every foreign land is to them as their native country, and every land of their birth as a land of strangers. They marry, as do all [others]; they beget children; but they do not destroy their offspring. They have a common table, but not a common bed.They are in the flesh, but they do not live after the flesh.They pass their days on earth, but they are citizens of heaven."

Chapter 6 introduces an analogy of the Christian relationship with the world along the lines of the soul's relationship with the flesh. Again this left me curious, as the author seems to be espousing a dualism very close to Gnosticism.

Epistle to Diognetus

My next stopping stage in browsing through ancient sources is the "Epistle to Diognetus" . Written to someone who was not a Christian it seeks to demonstrate how Christians are different from pagans and Jews. Thus, chapter 2 provides a strong statement of the futility of idols, drawing on the Old Testament tradition of satire towards their existence.

Chapters 3 and 4 provide a critique of Judaism. Sacrifices, sabbath keeping, circumcision and festivals are particularly singled out for attention. What puzzles me at the moment is that these are all outlined in the Old Testament, and yet the author seems to suggest that they are unworthy for Christian worship.

Will the next chapters provide an answer to the riddle? Or does the author have an almost marcionite approach to the OT?

Step in line!

Chapters 51-57 consist of Clement's appeal to the church for unity, and for the leaders of the sedition to step in line.

(1) The authors of sedition are urged to repent from their sin, with OT examples of the dire consequences of not repenting quoted.

(2) From Moses' example in the OT, interceding for the people when they sinned and asking to be punished for their sakes, Clement urges the leaders of the sedition that they be willing to step down and suffer loss for the sake of their community. Clement strengthens his argument by referring to heathen kings who were prepared to do the say. Significantly, (in terms of his understanding of the OT canon), Clement quotes not only Ester but also Judith as examples of women interceding for their people.

(3) The readers are urged to correct and admonish one another, and the leaders of the sedition are urged to submit to those leaders they had sort to depose.

"All you need is love"...

Interesting to observe how yet another person writing to the church in Corinth has to resort to emphasising the importance of love. Clement is not a writer of Paul's stature in this regards, but he does have an equally high expectation of the quality of life his readers will be able to achieve as the quotation below shows:

Blessed are we, beloved, if we keep the commandments of God in the harmony of love; that so through love our sins may be forgiven us.

The problem in Corinth

Clement's gloves come off in chapters 45-48. For those who in their zeal would remove church leaders he states that the persecution of the Old Testament saints was always at the hands of the wicked. The schismatics are blamed for tearing apart the body of Christ. According to Clement "Your schism has subverted [the faith of] many, has discouraged many, has given rise to doubt in many, and has caused grief to us all. And still your sedition continueth." He accuses them of not having learnt the same lesson when they committed similar mistakes and were rebuked by the Apostle Paul. Thus, he urges his readers into immediate repentence.

However, one responds to Clement's position, the following advice offered in Chapter 48 seems suitable for all Christians, but especially leaders:

"Let a man be faithful: let him be powerful in the utterance of knowledge; let him be wise in judging of words; let him be pure in all his deeds; yet the more he seems to be superior to others [in these respects], the more humble-minded ought he to be, and to seek the common good of all, and not merely his own advantage."

Reading these chapters made me wonder how effective Clement's argument would have been. He seems to suppose that the leaders were blameless and in the right, yet this is precisely what his opponents would have disputed. I wonder whether they might have also appealed to the OT, seeing themselves as prophets rebuking flawed leaders.

Clement's approach to scripture comes across in these chapters. They are "the true utterances of the Holy Spirit...nothing of an unjust or counterfeit character is written in them". What is also significant is that Paul's epistles already have a similar status. Therefore, Clement claims that "Truly, under the inspiration of the Spirit, he wrote to you"

Self-conceit and the order of the Church

In chapter 39 Clement draws heavily upon the book of Job to indicate the foolishness of all human conceit.

God is presented as having established and order for worship, both concerning when, by who, and where offerings were to be presented. There is an enigmatic reference to offerings in the Jerusalem temple, which must every now and then allow a maverick scholar to suggest an earlier date for the epistle, but which more significantly raises the question of what Clement thought about the sacrifices in the Jerusalem temple.

Based on this, Chapter 42 presents Clement's understanding of the order of the Church. First are the apostles, commissioned by Christ, witnesses of the resurrection and empowered by the Holy Spirit. They then appointed and entrusted bishops and deacons from those who first converted. There is a curious hermeneutical use of the Old Testament in the way that Clement adapts Isaiah 60:17 "I will give thy rulers in peace, and thy overseers in righteousness.” (LXX) to say "I will appoint their bishops in righteousness, and their deacons in faith.”

Chapters 43 and 44 develop this further. What the apostles have done is analogous to what Moses did in the OT when he set up the priesthood. The problem in Corinth is that this order has been broken, those whom the apostles [or other eminent men] have appointed have been displaced without reason and the church is rebuked for having " removed some men of excellent behaviour from the ministry, which they fulfilled blamelessly and with honour."

Blessings come from Christ

Having focused on our rewards, Clement seeks to emphasise that our blessings come from Christ, whom he describes in chapter 36 in language evocative of the Epistle of Hebrews.

In chapter 37 Clement likens our submission to Christ to that of soldiers in an army and, in a pauline manner, to the different parts of a body which work together "under one common rule".

Humility is the theme of chapter 38. As all our blessings flow from Christ, we have no reason to be proud. Even the one who is holy, should recognise that the source of holiness comes from God.

Faith and works

In chapters 31-35 Clement deals with the thorny issue of the relationship between faith and works.

Clement begins, as usual, referring to OT characters. Abraham "wrought righteousness and truth through faith" though rather less convincingly he claims that "Isaac, with perfect confidence, as if knowing what was to happen, cheerfully yielded himself as a sacrifice" [did he really?]. Clement is quite clear that salvation is through faith, not works, "And we, too, being called by His will in Christ Jesus, are not justified by ourselves, nor by our own wisdom, or understanding, or godliness, or works which we have wrought in holiness of heart; but by that faith through which, from the beginning, Almighty God has justified all men."

Clement is also adamant that good works are to be expected from Christians. After all, this is the example God provides us. We have the expectation of rewards for our good work which go beyond our understanding and which should stimulate us towards holiness.

Clement and holiness

In Chapters 28-30 Clement urges his readers to holiness. There are some interesting points to look at here:

(1) Clement presents the church as the one which takes on the role and the status which in the OT belonged to Israel.

(2) It is because the church is the holy portion of God and recipient of his blessings that holiness becomes so important.

(3) Clement seems to believe that those Christians who do not live holy lives, will need to be in fear of some form of future judgement.

Clement and the Resurrection

Having mentioned the return of Christ in chapter 23, Clement wishes to guide his readers into a greater trust in the future resurrection in Chapter 24.

Clement's first argument is quite sound, that one can trust in the future resurrection based on Christ's resurrection, "the first-fruits" of what is to come. However, he does seek to back this up with natural examples, which end up being much more metaphors for the resurrection, rather than evidence.

Clement's second argument rings strange in modern ears, as he provides the example of the phoenix as an analogy for the resurrection. It seems to be that he really believed that the phoenix existed, possibly influenced by sources such as Herodutus and Pliny.

In Chapter 26 Clement moves unto firmer ground using OT passages to back up his belief in the resurrection. His argument may not pass the author-centred canons of the historical critical method, but a more reader sensitive approach will appreciate the thrust of his argument.

Finally in chapter 27 he emphasises that our hope in the resurrection should be strengthened focusing on the omnipotence and omniscience of God. For those who are interested in philosophical hair-splitting, Clement, whilst referring to God as omnipotent, is still able to say that it is impossible for God to lie.

Further exhortations

In chapters 21 and 22 Clement develops further his exhortation for his readers to resist those who are promoting sedition. These come accompanied with "traditional" recommendation concerning respect for one's elders, training of the youth and orderly behaviour by women and children.

I found the opening of chapter 21 quite enigmatic: "Take heed, beloved, lest His many kindnesses lead to the condemnation of us all."This juxtaposition of kindness and condemnation seems counter intuitive. This statement is only really explained in Chapter 23 when Clement points out that God has so much kindness towards us that there is a danger that we become double-minded and proud as a result. In consequence we may be caught out when Christ returns.

It is also interesting to see the trinitarian thrust of Clement's understanding of scripture in chapter 22 when he affirms that Christ speaks through the Holy Spirit in an Old Testament passage.

The order of the Universe

In Chapter 20 Clement makes a rather weak point. He tries to use the apparent order of the universe, following its laws, to persuade his readers towards harmony. Whatever its rhetorical effect upon his readers, Clement here seems to be downplaying the presence of chaotic forces in nature, which the OT was well aware of [and the Book of Revelation!].

Clement urges humility

In chapters 13-19, concerned with the problems of sedition within the Corinthian church, Clement urges his readers to search for peace and to be humble. To make his case stronger, he points to the example of Christ and Old Testament "saints."

It is interesting to observe how the Servant passage of Isaiah 52-53 is applied in its fullness to Christ, along with Psalm 22, developing further a theme we find within the New Testament.

On a more pastoral note, Clement's plea "Let us cleave, therefore, to those who cultivate peace with godliness, and not to those who hypocritically profess to desire it", rings true in many contexts, even today.

Clement on obedience and hospitality

In chapters 9-12 Clement urges his readers towards obedience by quoting Old Testament examples. Although Abraham and Enoch are quite standard fare in being presented as examples, Lot [who despite Clement's strictures is not the most convincing example of godliness] and Rahab are more surprising examples. Both, however, seem to have been chosen because they exemplified the virtue of hospitality which Clement seems to be particularly concerned with.

An interesting hermeneutical feature is the way in which Clement interprets the scarlet thread in the Rahab story in a Christological way affirming that "it manifest that redemption should flow through the blood of the Lord to all them that believe and hope in God." (12:53)

Clement urges his readers to repentance

In chapters 7 and 8, through a weaving of Old Testament quotations and allusions Clement urges his readers to repentance. They can trust in the possibility of repentance as this is based on Christ's death as his blood "having been shed for our salvation, has set the grace of repentance before the whole world"

Of interest is the way that Clement places himself amongst those who are in need of repentance, rhetorically associating himself with his readers and facilitating their acceptance of his message.

Clement on Envy

Chapters four to six then try to set the sin of envy present in the church in a wider context. Envy is seen at the heart of many of the stories in the OT, starting with Cain and Abel, Jacob and Esau, Moses and ending with Saul's hatred of David.

Envy is also seen at the heart of the persecution of Christians. A real eulogy follows for Peter and Paul, especially the latter, showing the high regard with which they were held, and other martyrs are also remembered.

It would be interesting to reflect on how envy is so often a motivator on our own behaviour. Often hidden or spiritualised, but nonetheless an ugly presence.

Clement of Rome: First Epistle to the Corinthians

In the first three chapters of the epistle, the author, actually anonymous, condemns the sedition present in the church, which he attributes to a few selfish men. This criticism is strengthened as the author remembers how in the past his readers had been a model of Christian faith, their fall being attributed to pride.

Already in the first three chapters the writer's mastery of the Old Testament stands out, especially in the way that the OT flows into his natural style. Included is also a reference to the apocryphal Wisdom of Solomon [which would have been part of the Greek OT that he read.]

Ancient Sources

To balance out from my explorations of John Milbank, I will also try to run a series on Ancient Sources for the Christian faith. I will focus on the texts, as available at the Christian Classics Library avoiding any more "historical-critical" discussions as regards the authors.