Clement of Alexandria
“Let Truth, darting her light to the most distant points, cast her rays all around on those that are involved in darkness, and deliver men from delusion, stretching out her very strong right hand, which is wisdom, for their salvation.”
Exhortation to the Greeks, Clement of Alexandria
Today, in the church’s calendar, we remember Clement of Alexandria. Clement was born in Athens, Greece sometime in the middle of the second century and was a Christian theologian who taught in the Catechetical School in Alexandria. Before his conversion to Christianity, Clement spent his early years traveling throughout the Mediterranean world studying with various philosophers.
Clement, even after his conversion, still esteemed the Greek philosophers who deeply influenced his thinking as a young man. He contended that Greek philosophy provided preparation for the Gospel. For Clement, God was the source of all good, including the insight that came from great thinkers like Plato and Aristotle. The Christian, Clement said, “will gladly learn all that he can from all branches of human knowledge, whether music, mathematics, astronomy, dialectics or Greek philosophy.”1
While much could be gleaned from Greek philosophy, Clement also argued that ultimate truth is found in God Himself. In his book the Exhortation to the Greeks, Clement urges pagans to let God’s truth, found in divine revelation, illumine their minds. Clement wrote, “Let Truth, darting her light to the most distant points, cast her rays all around on those that are involved in darkness, and deliver men from delusion, stretching out her very strong right hand, which is wisdom, for their salvation.” Augustine, the 4th-century theologian, made a similar claim, “wherever truth may be found, it belongs to his Master.”2
Clement saw a divine harmony woven into the fabric of God’s creation. Every aspect of creation is part of a larger project — a larger reality, which finds its source in God himself. The key for Christians is seeing this reality through a Christ-centered lens. Paul tells us that “all things have been created through Him and for Him. He himself is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” (Colossians 1:16-17) This means that many of the things that we interact with and benefit from in our daily lives, e.g., technology, modern medicine, and music — insofar as these things are good and beautiful — are derivative from God.
As you begin your day today, I encourage you to see and affirm the good in all aspects of creation. Whether you are using your iPhone, listening to a song, or gleaning insight from something that you have read, remember that all truth is God’s truth.
1 Latourette, K. S. “A History of Christianity.” Prince Press.
2 Augustine. “On Christian Doctrine.”
