Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Complete Infidel's Guide to the Koran

I recently finished reading The Complete Infidel’s Guide to the Koran by Robert Spencer. Although the Koran is a jumbled and rambling collection of sayings, Spencer does a remarkable job of explaining some of the main themes, including its views on Jews, Christians, women, war and bringing the world into submission to Allah.

Spencer shows that the Koran’s virulent anti-Semitism, obsession with the tortures of hell, and mandate for global violence is not a matter of isolated passages taken out of context—as Islamic apologists and those on the Left like to assert—but are major themes of the book. Although I am not the expert on the Koran that Robert Spencer is, I’ve read the Koran from cover to cover and I can attest that he is telling the truth. I have to believe that those who argue that the Koran is about peace either have never actually read it or are lying through their teeth.

It is true, that there are some Islamic apologists who genuinely try to explain away all the commands to violence in the Koran. For example, “the twentieth-century Sudanese Muslim theologian Mahmud Muhammad Taha argued that the most of the Koran’s more violent and politically incorrect commands applied specifically to Muhammad’s situation in seventh century Medina and do not apply to the modern world.

Taha’s novel interpretation of the Koran might have been a good solution: “Were Taha’s ideas accepted, most of the Shari’a would disappear, including outdated provisions concerning warfare, theft, and women. Muslims could then more readily modernize.”

Unfortunately, in 1985 Taha was tried for apostasy and executed. His views were simply not acceptable to mainline Islam.

The Complete Infidel’s Guide to the Koran is informative, clear, concise, well documented and hard to put down. Every American needs to read this book. It is not too melodramatic to say that the future of the West is at stake.

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Five views on the historical Jesus

I just finished reading, The Historical Jesus; Five Views. The first view was given by Robert Price, a leading Jesus myth proponent. He is willing to concede that there could possibly have been a historical Jesus who “has been irretrievably lost behind the stained glass curtain of his own glorification,” (83) but Price believes that Jesus' existence has not been adequately demonstrated.

Price believes that the story of Jesus in the Gospels has been fabricated by borrowing from the stories and heroes of pagan mythology. If any story in the Gospels has even a remote resemblance to some previous story in the ancient word, Price assumes that the Gospel writers must have borrowed the story. This is so self-evident to Price that he repeatedly simply asserts the point rather than bothering to demonstrate it. I have argued elsewhere that such methodology is patently absurd.

The title of Price’s chapter is “Jesus at the Vanishing Point.” I am convinced that if Price’s total skepticism were applied fairly and consistently to other figures in ancient history (Alexander the Great, Ptolemy, Cleopatra, Nero, etc.), they would all be reduced to “the vanishing point.” Price’s chapter is a perfect example of how someone can always, always find excuses to not believe something they don’t want to believe, whether that be the existence of Jesus or the existence of the holocaust.

The second view was written by John Dominic Crossan, an emeritus professor at DePaul University and co-founder of the notorious Jesus Seminar. Contrary to Price, Crossan is convinced that Jesus was an actual person of history. In his discussion of Jesus, however, it almost seemed like Crossan spent as much time writing about the Roman Empire as he did about Jesus.

Crossan says that his historical reconstruction of Jesus is based on the twin assumptions that 1) the so-called Q gospel actually existed and 2) that the Gospel of Thomas was written independently of the biblical gospels. He acknowledges “If I am wrong on those presuppositions, my reconstruction is methodologically invalidated” (106).

Although the existence of Q is affirmed by the majority of New Testament scholars, the majority of scholars have often been show to be wrong. I am convinced that if scholars like Crossan where even half as skeptical about "Q" as they are about Jesus, they would drop the idea of Q in a heartbeat. Recently the existence of Q has been strongly and persuasively challenged by prominent and reputable scholars (see The Case against Q and Questioning Q and, from another perspective, Beyond the Q Impasse.

Regarding the independence of the Gospel of Thomas: In November, 2004 I was on a panel discussion of the Gospel of Thomas which included Dr. Crossan. Crossan presented his argument for the independence of Thomas and the panelists had an opportunity to make a brief response.

I argued that Crossan was partially right. I agreed with Crossan that the Gospel of Thomas was not literarily dependent on the biblical Gospels, but was dependent on oral teachings from the Gospels (roughly half of the Gospel of Thomas has parallels to the biblical Gospels).

I have since been convinced that Crossan and I were both wrong. Nickolas Perrin has convincingly demonstrated that the Gospel of Thomas was actually based on the gospel readings in Tatian’s Diatessaron (see Thomas, the other Gospel). The Gospel of Thomas looks like a collection of unconnected verses which defies any kind of organized arrangement—at least until Nicolas Perrin came along. I once heard Nicolas Perrin give a presentation in which he demonstrated that when the Gospel of Thomas is translated back into Syriac, almost every verse in that gospel is connected to the adjacent verse by “catchwords.” The Gospel of Thomas, therefore, was not just based on oral teachings of the Gospels as I had argued, but was based on the harmony of the Gospels found in Tatian’s Diatessaron which wasn’t even written until about AD 170. (For more information, see my essay on the Gospel of Thomas).

In other words, Crossan’s two core foundations are based on some pretty shaky assumptions. Even if only one of these assumptions was false, Crossan’s entire methodology would be invalid by his own admission.

Crossan’s Jesus was one who “announced the presence of the kingdom of God by inviting all to come and see how he and his companions had already accepted it, had already entered it and were already living it” (126). This involved a “communal program” in which Jesus and his disciples were to “heal the sick, eat with those you heal and announce the kingdom’s presence in that mutuality” (126). Any evidence that does not agree with Crossan’s minimalist portrait is simply dismissed as unhistorical. I have critiqued Crossan at greater length in an article which was published in the Princeton Theological Review.

Luke Timothy Johnson, professor at Candler School of Theology, Emory University, is the third contributor. Johnson is not as skeptical as Crossan about what historians can know about Jesus. In fact, he provides a convenient list of things historians can know with the “highest degree of probability” (e.g. “that Jesus existed as a Jew in the first century,” was executed by Roman authority, etc.) and what can be known with “a very high degree of probability (e.g. Jesus proclaimed God’s rule, he performed healings, “he taught in parables and interpreted Torah, etc.) (159).

Nevertheless, Johnson spent a lot of time discussing the limitations of history (161-167) and emphasized “Jesus is best learned through the practices of faith in the church: through prayer, worship, the reading of Scripture, and encounters with saints and strangers” (154-155). In the end, I can’t help thinking that Johnson holds to an existential view which, like Bultmann, says that we can know very little about the historical Jesus but we should worship the Christ of faith.

The fourth contributor was James Dunn, a professor emeritus of Divinity at Durham University and author of a massive work on the historical Jesus entitled Jesus Remembered. Dunn takes issue with those in the past who have engaged in the “Quest for the historical Jesus” who began with the assumption that “the real Jesus must have been different from the Christ of Faith” (200). These critics set about to separate what they thought was the historical Jesus from the Christ of faith in the Gospels. As a result, their reconstruction of Jesus was methodologically pre-determined to be different than the Jesus of the Gospels.

Dunn’s disagreement is expressed in his first proposal: “the quest should start from the recognition that Jesus evoked faith from the outset of his mission and that this faith is the surest indication of the historical reality and effect of his mission” (203).

Dunn’s second proposal is that we take the “oral phase of the history of the Jesus Tradition with all seriousness (211). Dunn argues that the Gospels should be understood as separate oral performances of the Gospel story and that when these stories agree, they should be taken as evidence for the impact Jesus made on his followers: “the characteristic emphases and motifs of the Jesus tradition give us a broad, clear and compelling picture of the characteristic Jesus” (223). For a more detailed discussion of Dunn’s book, Jesus Remembered, see my article published in Trinity Journal.

The fifth contributor was Darrell Bock, research professor of New Testament at Dallas Theological Seminary. Bock used the standard historical criteria like multiple independent attestation and the criteria of embarrassment to reconstruct a sketch of the historical Jesus. Bock arrives at a very biblical view of Jesus. He was the only one to discuss a historical basis for the resurrection.

The difference between these five views can be summed up in one word: Methodology. Price’s methodology involves thoroughgoing skepticism to the extent that there is virtually no evidence that he cannot explain away—regardless of how silly some of those explanations might be. Crossan was slightly less skeptical of his biblical sources, but he relies to a large extent on the hypothetical Gospel of Q and the second century Gospel of Thomas for his reconstruction of Jesus. Johnson is not quite as skeptical of the historical value of the Gospels as Price or Crossan, but he believes that the real Jesus is discovered by faith.

The difference between the methodology of Bock and Dunn is that Bock takes the critics own methodology to show that if used consistently, it will produce a very biblical sketch of Jesus, while Dunn proposes an entirely new methodology. In standard historical-critical analysis, when Matthew and/or Luke agree with Mark, this agreement is only viewed as one source since Matthew and Luke are assumed to have copied from Mark. In Dunn’s methodology, Matthew, Mark and Luke are assumed to have provided us with somewhat independent oral performances of the Jesus story so when Mathew, Mark and Luke agree, Dunn takes this agreement as evidence that goes back to what the very earliest followers of Jesus remembered about him.

The historical reconstruction of Jesus by both Bock and Dunn cohere well with the portrait of Jesus presented in the Gospels, though Bock comes closer than Dunn.

The Historical Jesus; Five Views is an excellent resource for better understanding the historical debates about Jesus, though I found myself wishing that the authors of each essay had the opportunity to briefly respond to their critics’ responses.

Saturday, November 28, 2009

The Case for the Real Jesus

Has the tomb of Jesus and his family been discovered at Talpiot?

Did Jesus survive the crucifixion?

Was Jesus really even crucified? (The Qur'an denies this)

What about the "Jesus Papers" i.e. the reported discovery of two papyrus documents dating back to the time of Jesus' crucifixion?

Were the ancient New Testament documents been tampered with?

How can anyone trust ancient New Testament manuscripts if they contain 200,000 to 400,000 differences as some charge?

In the first and second century, was their "Christianity" or were there "Christianities?

Why were some gospels left out of the Bible, e.g. The Gospel of Thomas, The Gospel of Mary, The Gospel of Judas, etc.

Was Jesus married?

What about the homoerotic "Secret Gospel of Mark"?

Was the virgin birth story copied from previous myths about virgin births?

Isn't the resurrection of Jesus just a myth based on ancient myths of the dying and raising gods in other religions?

Were the stories about Jesus in the Gospels based on stories about Mithras, Osiris, Adonis, Attis, Marduk, Cybele, Tammuz and other ancient mystery religions?

Was Paul's sighting of Jesus just a hallucination due to heat, guilt or stress?

Did Paul think Jesus had just risen "spiritually" and not physically?

Was Jesus' dead body relocated?

Can we really know what happened in ancient history at all?

Isn't it all just a matter of interpretation anyway?

Lee Strobel, whose education is in law and journalism, leaves no stone unturned searching for answers to these and other questions as he interviews Ph.D's who are experts in the historical study of Jesus.

The interviews and answers are recorded in his book, The Case for the Real Jesus, which is much more substantive than his previous best-seller, The Case for Christ.

The book does an excellent job of bringing the arguments of scholars down to a level that non-scholars can not only understand, but will probably find enjoyable.

My only criticism of the book is that the dialogue sounds a bit contrived and even corny at times, but the dialogue helps to keep the book interesting.

I highly recommend The Case for the Real Jesus for every Christian regardless of your denomination.

I also recommend the book to non-Christians who are open-minded and want to be aware of the issues. Even if the book doesn't convince you, it may help you separate the real issues from some of the nonsensical theories floating around.

On reincarnation

Philosopher, Dr. Paul Copan speaking to journalist Lee Strobel:
"Some people in the West see reincarnation as another crack at life in order to get things right, sort of like the movie Groundhog Day. There is an attraction to saying we have many opportunities an not just one lifetime. Actually, the reality is quite different." He gestured toward me. "You've been to India, right?"

"I've spent some time there, yes," I said.

"I have too. And I'm sure you've noticed that reincarnation is a very oppressive burden in that Hindu culture, as it is in the Buddhist world," He said. "For example, if you're a low caste or no caste Hindu, then you're stuck at that low level because that's what you deserve from your previous life. And people shouldn't reach out to help you, because they might jeopardize their own karma by interfering with you living out the miserable existence that you deserve."

I knew he was right. What sounds on the surface like a magnanimous belief that gives people multiple opportunities to live a better life turns out to create a devastating situation for millions upon millions of people who are mired in hopeless poverty day to day (Strobel, Lee. The Case for the Real Jesus. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 2007, 241-242).
Buy the book.

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

The Jesus Papers by Michael Baigent

The Jesus Papers is a bestselling book by Michael Baigent describing the supposed discovery of two ancient documents, written in Aramaic, in which "The writer calls himself 'the Messiah of the children of Israel" and says he "never intended to claim that he was God..."

Craig Evans, one of the world's foremost Jesus scholars, was asked about this.
Baigent describes how he went into a walk-in safe of an antiquities collector and saw the papyri under glass. He couldn't take a picture of them, of course. He has admitted that he doesn't read Aramaic and said the other guy doesn't either--so how does he know what they say? He's assured that two well-known archaeologists, Yigael Yadin and Nahman Avigad, have confirmed it. Oh, but did I mention that Yadin and Avigad are dead?

So we have an author with dubious credibility in the first place; an antiquities dealer who can't be identified; documents that Baigent can't read or produce and for which we have no translation or verification; and two archaeologists who are dead. This is just the dumbest thing (Craig Evans as quoted in The Case for the Real Jesus by Lee Strobel. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 2007. 52-53).
Yep. But the fact that it is nonsense doesn't stop gullible people from believing it.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Clement of Rome on faith and works

This afternoon, I presented the following paper at the annual convention of the Evangelical Theological Society in New Orleans:

The Personal ethics of Clemens Romanus;
Did Clement of Rome teach salvation by faith plus works?

Dennis Ingolfsland

Introduction


The question addressed in this paper is what Clement of Rome taught about the relationship between faith and works. According to W.K. Lowther Clarke, in First Clement 32:4 Clement “clearly intends to teach St Paul’s doctrine of faith” but in First Clement 10:1 Abraham’s faith is “defined as becoming ‘obedient to the words of God.” In First Clement 12:1 Rahab “is saved ‘by faith and hospitality” and in 30:3 Clement says “we are ‘justified by works.”[1]


Clarke concludes that Clement adopted Paul’s doctrine of justification by faith’ but “quite failed to appreciate what was meant.” Clarke rules out of bounds any attempt to see Clement as reconciling Paul and James saying, “To conclude that Clement was deliberately reconciling the teaching of St. Paul and St James would not be a historical judgment.” [2]


Clarke is not the only one who has come to this conclusion. Harold Bumpus writes,


“Close examination of possible resonances with the Pauline theology indicate that Clement had not deeply entered into the mind of the Apostle of the Gentiles. But this lacuna is to be expected, since the early Roman community did not owe its foundation to Paul.[3]


The ultimate question asked by this paper, therefore, is whether Clement has failed to understand Paul and other New Testament documents by combining faith and works a prerequisite for salvation. As seen above, the core issue is that Clement seems to contradict himself. On the one hand he writes that we “are not justified through ourselves or through…works…but through faith (1 Clem. 32:4) but on the other hand he writes about “being justified by works and not by words” (1 Clem. 30:3. Note: All italics in this paper have been added by the author).[4]


A foundational assumption of this paper is that Paul does not contradict other New Testament authors on the relationship between faith and works.


Clement on salvation by faith alone


Clement follows in the footsteps of Paul, James, and other Jewish writers who appealed to Abraham in their discussions of faith and works.[5] After several quotations about the evilness of self-adulation and empty words, Clement asks, “Why was our father Abraham blessed? Was it not because he attained righteousness and truth through faith” (δια πιστεως. 31.2)?


Clement goes on to cite examples like Isaac who, “with confidence…knowing the future, went willingly to be sacrificed” (1 Clem. 31:3) and Jacob who “with humility…departed from his land because of his brother and went to Laban and served him…” (1 Clem. 31:4). Clement says that from Jacob come “priests and Levites”, “kings and rulers and governors in the line of Judah” and that they “were glorified and magnified, not through themselves or their own works or the righteousness actions that they did, but through his will (1 Clem. 32:2-3).


Clement then applies this principle directly to himself and his readers saying, “And so we, having been called through his will in Christ Jesus, are not justified through ourselves or through our own wisdom or understanding or piety, or works which we wrought in holiness of heart, but through faith, by which the Almighty God has justified all who have existed from the beginning…”(1 Clem. 32:4).


This is a clear affirmation of salvation by grace through faith apart from works, and if this were all Clement had to say on the subject, there would be no need for this paper. Unfortunately, as noted in the introduction, Clement makes other statements which are either ambiguous or in some cases seem to flatly contradict this teaching.

Clement on obedience and works

First Clement 9-12


After an extended discussion on the importance of repentance in chapters 7 and 8, Clement exhorts his readers to “be obedient to his magnificent and glorious will” (1 Clem. 9:1). Citing what Hall calls “the heroes of obedience,”[6] Clement mentions Enoch “who was found righteous in obedience” (1 Clem. 9:3, cf. Heb. 11:5), “Noah, being found faithful, proclaimed a second birth to the world…” (1 Clem. 9:4, cf. Heb. 11:7), and Abraham “was found faithful when he became obedient to the words of God” (1 Clem. 10:1; cf. Heb. 11:8-10).


Clement adds that, “Abraham believed God and it was reckoned to him as righteousness” (1 Clem. 10:6; Genesis 15:6) but then concludes that it was for Abraham’s “faith and hospitality a son was given to him” (1 Clem. 10:7). Further, it was because of “hospitality and godliness” that Lot was saved from Sodom (1 Clem. 11:1). It was because of “faith and hospitality” that Rahab was saved (1 Clem. 12:1).[7]


On the surface, it sounds very much like Clarke and Bumpus were right about Clement failing to understand the principle of salvation by faith apart from works, but that conclusion may be a bit premature, at least in this passage.


It is possible that Clement got his theology in part from the book of James which, like Clement, cites both Abraham and Rahab as examples of faith (Jas. 2:20-26). For example, James 2:15-16 says, “If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ without giving them the things needed for the body,” i.e. without providing the necessary hospitality, “what good is that” (Jas. 2:14-16). It may well be that James chose Abraham and Rahab as examples because their lives exemplify both faith and hospitality.[8] The point is that Clement may have chosen Abraham and Rahab as examples of faith and hospitality precisely because he was dependent on James at this point.


A more likely possibility, however, is that Clement was actually relying on Hebrews which teaches that, “By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice” (Heb. 11:4); “By faith Noah…constructed an ark” (Heb. 11:7); “By faith Abraham obeyed” (Heb 11:8), “By faith Abraham…offered up Isaac” (Heb. 11:17); By faith Moses “was hidden” (Heb. 11:23), “left Egypt” (Heb 11:27), and “kept the Passover” (Heb. 11:28). In Hebrews as in First Clement, faith produces action.


That Clement is relying on Hebrews is supported by at least three facts. First, of the examples cited in First Clement 9-13 (Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Lot, Rahab, and Joshua) the only one not found in Hebrews 11 is Lot, whose name may have presented itself to Clement as he recalled the story of Abraham.


Second, Clement not only alludes to the book of Hebrews several times in his letter (1 Clem. 7:1; 19:2; 21:9; 27:2, 4; 36:2-5; and 45:8), he also directly quotes from Hebrews as scripture (1 Clem. 36:3-5).[9]


Third, Clement’s statement that it was because of “faith and hospitality” that Rahab was saved (1 Clem. 12:1) seems to be precisely the point of Hebrews 11:31 which says that “Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.


Since Clement quotes Hebrews several times as an authority and even cites Hebrews as Scripture, it is possible, if not probable, that Clement’s statements on faith and obedience or faith and hospitality, etc. may simply be Clement’s way of stating the truths he found in Hebrews 11, i.e. that faith produces action. Unless we are prepared to argue that the writer of Hebrews misunderstood or contradicted Paul, the statements in First Clement 9-12 do not necessarily prove that Clement misunderstood Paul either.


First Clement 17-21


In chapter 17 Clement urges his readers to be “imitators also of those who went about in goatskins and sheepskins, preaching the coming of Christ” (1 Clem. 17:1). Clement refers to Elijah, Elisha, Ezekiel, Abraham, Job, Moses, and David as examples (1 Clem. 17:2-18:1). Clement then quotes Psalm 51:1-17 in which David says,


“Have mercy on me, O God, according to your great mercy; and according to the abundance of your compassion blot out my iniquity. Wash me thoroughly from my transgression, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgression and my sin is always before me…you will sprinkle me with hyssop, and I will be cleansed; you walk wash me and I will become whiter than snow…hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my transgression. Create within me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me…Deliver me from bloodguilt, O God, the God of my salvation…if you had desired sacrifice, I would have given it; but in whole burnt offerings you will take no pleasure. The sacrifice for God is a broken spirit; a broken and humbled heart God will not despise” (1 Clem. 18:2-17).


Clement concludes this quote saying “Accordingly, the humility and subordination of so many people of great renown have, through their obedience, improved not only us, but also the generation before us, and likewise those who have received his oracles in fear and truth (1 Clem. 19:1).


I’ve included this passage just to be thorough, since it emphasizes obedience, but the fact is that there in nothing in this passage that indicates a salvation by works theology. Quite the contrary. Clement’s quote is from Psalm 51:1-17 which is a passage of grace. David fully acknowledges his sin and pleads that God would blot out his iniquity and cleanse him from sin solely because of God’s great mercy and grace, not because of any works that David has done, and in fact, in spite of the sinful deeds that David has done. The obedience of which Clement speaks flows from this heart of “humility and “subordination” (1 Clem. 19:1).


Following this passage (i.e. 1 Clem. 19:1), Clement recounts the mighty power of God in creation (1 Clem. 19:2-20:12) and then warns readers to beware “lest his benefits, which are many, turn unto judgment to all of us, if we walk not worthily of Him, and do those things which are good and well pleasing in his sight with concord” (1 Clem. 21:1).


Chapters 17-20 (the immediate context) are not about salvation, however, but are, rather, an exhortation to follow the examples of the heroes of faith, obeying out of humility. The exhortation begins with Jesus: “For Christ is with those who are humble, not with those who exalt themselves over his flock” (1 Clem. 16:1) and “…if the Lord so humbled himself, what should we do who through him have come under the yoke of his grace?” (1 Clem. 16:17). The example of Jesus is followed by the examples of Elijah, Elisha, Ezekiel, Abraham, Job, Moses and David (1 Clem. 17:1-18:17) concluding that “Accordingly, the humility and subordination of so many people of such great renown have, though their obedience, improved not only us but also the generations before us” (1 Clem. 19:1). Clement then argues, “Seeing then, that we have a share in many great and glorious deeds, let us hasten on to the goal of peace…” (1 Clem. 19:2). Clement’s objective in this section is not to tell readers how to be saved but how to pursue peace in the church which is, after all, the primary point of the entire letter.


This theme of peace is continued in chapter 20 with a discussion of how even “The heavens move at his direction and obey him in peace” (1 Clem. 20:1). Clement’s conclusion is to:



“Take care, dear friends, lest his many benefits turn into a judgment upon all of us, as will happen if we fail to live worthily of him and do harmoniously those things that are good and pleasing in his sight” (1 Clem. 21:1).


Some theologians who affirm salvation by faith alone, would also insist that persistence in deliberate sin can, as Clement writes, “turn into a judgment upon all of us.” They would undoubtedly say that even if Clement is talking about eternal judgment, he has not contradicted the New Testament.


It is also possible that Clement was not thinking of eternal judgment at all, but rather warning of the possibility of temporal judgment in the sense of chastisement or discipline mentioned in Hebrews 12:6 (Clement quotes Hebrews 12:6 in 1 Clement 56:4). The fact that Clement includes himself in his warning (πασιν ημιν) would make this more likely.


Clement’s statements in chapters 17-21, therefore, do not prove that he made works a prerequisite for salvation.


First Clement 26-32


After affirming the resurrection of Jesus in chapters 24 and 25, Clement asks, “How, then, can we consider it to be some great and marvelous thing, if the Creator of the universe shall bring about the resurrection of those who have served him in holiness, in the assurance born of a good faith…” (εν πεποιθησει πιστεως αγαθης; 1 Clem. 26:1).


While the emphasis here is on works, it is not necessarily a violation of sola fide to speak of the “resurrection of those who have served Him in holiness,” especially when this holiness stems from faith. Clement may be referring to holiness as the result of faith, not as the grounds for salvation.


Clement’s point is arguably similar to that of Jesus who said, “all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment” (John 5:29). Clement’s point may also be similar to the point Paul made when he taught that God would “render to each one according to his works” and would grant eternal life to those “by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality,” but that there would be “wrath and fury” to those who “are self seeking and do not obey the truth” (Rom. 2:6-8).


Clement continues this line of thought writing,

“Since, therefore, all things are seen and heard, let us fear him and abandon the abominable lusts that spawn evil works, in order that we may be shielded by his mercy from the coming judgments” (1 Clem. 28:1).


Let us, therefore, approach him in holiness of soul, lifting up to him pure and undefiled hands, loving our gentle and compassionate Father who made us his own portion (1 Clem. 29:1).


Seeing that we are the portion of the Holy One, let us do all the things that pertain to holiness, forsaking slander, disgusting and impure embraces, drunkenness and rioting and detestable lusts, abominable adultery, detestable pride…(1 Clem. 30:1).


Let us clothe ourselves in concord, being humble and self-controlled, keeping ourselves far from all backbiting and slander, being justified by works and not by words” (1 Clem. 30:3).


Being justified by works and not by words” (εργοις δικαιουμενοι και μη λογοις; 1 Clem. 30:3) is one of the key passages for this paper since this phrase, taken in isolation, certainly seems like Clement may be teaching salvation by works.


As we have seen, however, this phrase is part of a longer train of thought that can be traced back to First Clement 26:1 where Clement is talking about holiness that is the result of “good faith.” Clement is not speaking of people who need to be saved but to those who are already “his own portion” (1 Clem. 29:1; 30:1). Clement is arguing that those who already belong to the Lord should be careful to do good works. It is in this context that Clement must be understood when he continues, “keeping ourselves from all backbiting and slander, being justified by works and not by words” (1 Clem. 30:3).


Clement is simply making the same point James makes when he exhorts his readers to “be doers of the word and not hearers only” (Jas. 1:22). Like James, Clement uses the word δικαιοω in 1 Clement 30:3 not in the legal sense of being declared right, but in the sense of vindicated (cf. BAGD, 197), i.e. that something has been validated or demonstrated to be right, true or genuine.[10] As in the book of James, our works which come from faith, “justify” or demonstrate that we did in fact have faith in the first place. As James puts it “…Show me your faith apart from works and I will show you my faith by my works (Jas. 2:18).


When Clement writes about “being justified by works and not by words” (1 Clem. 30:3), he may have actually had James in mind. Not only do both James and Clement use Abraham and Rahab as examples of justification by faith, as seen above, but in the immediate context of the passage currently under discussion (i.e., 1 Clem. 30:1-3), Clement quotes from a passage that is found in James 4:6.[11]


That Clement really does not believe we are justified (in the Pauline sense) by works is demonstrated by the fact that only 13 verses later Clement, now using “justified” in the Pauline sense of being declared righteous, writes about how godly examples in the Old Testament were,


“glorified and magnified, not through themselves or their own works or the righteous actions that they did, but through his will. And so we, having been called through his will in Christ Jesus, are not justified through ourselves [ου διεαυτων δικαιουμεθα] or thorough our own wisdom or understanding or piety, or works that we have done in holiness of heart, but through faith…” (1 Clem. 32:3-4).


This is about as clear a statement on justification by faith as any Reformation scholar could hope for and it seems unlikely that Clement would be contradicting himself so blatantly only 13 verses apart. It is only fair to interpret passages in Clement which are not so clear in light of passages which are very clear.


Clement continues by exhorting readers to “Let the testimony to our good deeds be given by others” (1 Clem. 30:7) and to “cling to his blessing” following the example of Abraham who was blessed and “attained righteousness through faith” (1 Clem. 31:1-2). It would appear that although Clement writes of “being justified by works and not by words” the context indicates that he views this “justification” in chapter 30 not as the basis for our salvation, but as the result of other’s “testimony to our good deeds” (1 Clem. 30:7).


First Clement 33-35


Immediately after Clement’s eloquent defense of salvation by grace apart from works in chapter 32, in which he argues that we “are not justified through ourselves or through our own wisdom or understanding or piety, or works” (1 Clem. 32:4), Clement asks, “What then shall we do, brothers? Shall we idly abstain from doing good, and forsake love” (1 Clem. 33:1). Clement’s rhetorical response is, “May the Master never allow this to happen…” (1 Clem. 33:1. μηθαμως τοθτο εασαι ο δεσποτης εφ ημιν γε γενηθηναι).


Clement’s response is reminiscent of Paul in Romans in which, after an extended discussion of salvation by grace through faith (Rom. 3:21-5:21), Paul asks, “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?” μη γενοιτο! (Rom. 6:1).


Both Clement and Paul, after expounding on salvation by grace through faith alone, then feel it necessary to defend their positions against possible charges of antinomianism. The parallel between Clement and Paul may not just be coincidental. Clement seems to be directly dependent on Romans 1 and 2 in this passage.


We will argue this point below, but first, Clement continues his argument exhorting his readers to “hasten with earnestness and zeal to accomplish every good work,” arguing that even God rejoices in his works (1 Clem. 33:1-2). We must, Clement insists, “be zealous to do good” since God forewarned us saying, “Behold the Lord comes, and his reward is with him, to pay each one according to his work” (1 Clem. 34:2-3).


It will be hard to find fault with Clement here since his quotation is found in Revelation 22:12—unless, of course, someone is prepared to argue that the author of Revelation has also contradicted Paul!


Clement continues saying that God exhorts those who “believe on Him with our whole heart not to be idle nor careless about any good work” (1 Clem. 34:4). After then exhorting readers to consider how God’s angels stand by to serve his will, and quoting First Corinthians 2:9 (Eye has not seen and ear has not heard…what great things he has prepared for those who patiently wait for him”)[12] Clement exclaims “How blessed and marvelous are the gifts of God, dear friends! Life in immortality, splendor in righteousness, truth with boldness, faith with obedience, self-control with holiness” (1 Clem. 35:1-2). Clement, therefore, urges readers to, “make every effort to be found in the number of those who patiently wait for him, so that we may share in his promised gifts” (1 Clem. 35:4).


It may sound as though Clement is saying that in order to “share in his promised gifts” we must “make every effort”, i.e. work, to be found among the ranks of the saved. But Clement is exhorting those who already “believe on him with our whole heart not to be idle or careless about any good work” (1 Clem. 34:4). Clement’s point may not be so much about entering into salvation, as it is about making “your calling and election sure. As the writer of Second Peter exhorts,


For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ…. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall (2 Peter 1:5-10).


After urging readers to “make every effort to be found in the number of those who patiently wait for him, so that we may share in his promised gifts” (1 Clem. 35:4), Clement asks, “But how shall this be? i.e. how shall we make every effort to be found in the number of those who patiently wait for him…” and the answer is “If our mind be fixed on God through faith” (1 Clem. 35:5). It may be that the effort Clement envisions is produced by faith. In fact, it appears that Clement may actually have Romans 1-2 in mind when he writes:


“But how shall this be, dear friends?—if our mind is fixed on God through faith; if we seek out those things that are well pleasing and acceptable to him; if we accomplish those things that are in harmony with his faultless will, and follow the way of truth, casting off from ourselves all unrighteousness and lawlessness, covetousness, strife, malice and deceit, gossip and slander, hatred of God, pride and arrogance, vanity and inhospitality (1 Clem. 35:5).


The evidence for thinking that Clement is referring to Romans 1-2 is, first, of the thirteen vices mentioned above by Clement, ten of them appear in Romans 1:29-31 in the same order (except that δολου and κακοηθειας are transposed. See table 1).


Second, after concluding this list of vices, Clement concludes with, “Though they know God’s decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them, but give approval to those who practice them” (1 Clem. 35:6) which appears to be a paraphrase of Romans 1:32.


1 Clement 35:6: ταθτα γαρ οι πρασσοντες στυγητοι τω θεω υπαρχουσιν. ου μονον

Romans 1:32: οτι οι τα τοιυτα πρασσοντες αξιοι θανατου εισιν, ου μονον


1 Clement 35:6: δε οι πρασσοντες αυτα, αλλα και οι συνευδοκουντες ουτοις.

Romans 1:32: αυτα ποιουσιν αλλα και συνευδοκουσιν τος πρασσουσιν.

Finally, Clement begins chapter 35 writing about the marvelous gifts of God, including immortality, that God has prepared for those who “patiently wait for him” (υπομενουσιν αυτον, 1 Clem. 34:8; τοις υπομενουσιν, 1 Clem. 35:3; των υπομενοντων, 1 Clem. 35:4). Similarly, only eight verses after Paul provides the list of vices above, Paul writes that God will “render to each according to his works: to those who by patience [υπομονην] in well-doing seek for glory, honor and immortality[13] he will give life eternal (Romans 2:7).


Table 1: Romans 1:29 and 1 Clement 35:5

Romans 1:29

1 Clement 35:5


αδικια

Aδικιαν

Unrighteous


Aνομιαν

Lawlessness

Πονηρια



Πλεονξια

Πλεονεξιαν

Covetousness

Κακια



μεστους φθονου



Φονου



Εριδος

Ερεις

Strife

δολου, κακοηθειας

κακοηθειας τε και δολους

Deceit, malice

Ψιθυριστας

Ψιθυρισμους

Gossip

Καταλαλους

Καταλαλιας

Slander

Θεοστυγεις

Θεοστυγιαν

God haters

Υβριστας


Insolent

Υπερηφανους

Υπερηφανιαν

Pride

Αλαζονας

Αλαζονειαν

Arrogance

Εφεθρετας κακων


Inventors of evil

υονεθσιν απειθεις


Disobedient to parents

Ασενετους


Senseless

Ασθνθετους


Faithless

Αστοργους


Unaffectionate

Ανελημονας


Merciless


Κενοδοξιαν

Vanity


Αφιλοξενιαν

Inhospitality


It seems likely that Clement, therefore, has Romans 1-2 in mind when he urges readers to “make every effort to be found in the number of those who patiently wait for him, so that we may share in his promised gifts.” Clement apparently believes that he is making the same argument Paul makes when Paul says that God will “render to each according to his works: to those who by patience [υπομονην] in well-doing seek for glory, honor and immortality[14] he will give life eternal (Romans 2:7).


Clement apparently did not believe his doctrine was contradicting Paul. It could be argued, however, that even if Clement has Romans 1 and 2 in mind, he has simply misunderstood Paul, but it is also possible that Clement is really not saying anything different that what Paul wrote, not only in Romans 2:6-8, 13[15] but, for example, in Philippians 2:12: “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.”


First Clement 57-58


In chapter 57 Clement directly addresses the leaders of the revolt, urging them to repent and submit to the legitimate leaders of the church. Clement says that it is better that they “be found small but included in the flock of Christ, than to have a preeminent reputation and yet be excluded from this hope. He then quotes “all-virtuous Wisdom”, i.e. Proverbs 1:23-33, which contains a stern warning of imminent destruction against those who pay no attention to God’s words and disobey his correction; evil ones who “hated wisdom and did not choose to fear the Lord” (1 Clem. 57:3-7). Clement concludes, “Let us, therefore, obey his most holy and glorious name, thereby escaping the threats spoken by Wisdom long ago against those who disobey, so that we may dwell safely, trusting in his most holy and majestic name” (1 Clem. 58:1).


Clement is clearly contrasting those who choose not to fear the Lord, hating Wisdom/God’s instruction, with those who obey and trust “in his most holy and majestic name.” There is no doubt that obedience and trust are inseparably linked by Clement but this is no evidence that Clement has misunderstood Paul or is being inconsistent with his declaration about being saved by faith alone (1 Clem. 32:3-4). Paul himself warned of the dire consequences for disobedience:


Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these, I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God (Gal. 5:19-21).

“Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Cor. 6:9-10).


For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God (Eph. 5:5).


In our rightful attempts to defend sola fide, we must never forget just how strongly Paul and other New Testament authors link faith and works together. Paul writes, “It is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified (Romans 2:13; cf. Rom. 8:3-4). Paul writes that those who “are self-seeking and do not obey the truth” are destined for wrath and fury (Rom.2:8) and that God will one day inflict vengeance in flaming fire on those who “do not obey the gospel…” (2 Thess.1:8; cf. 2 Thess. 2:13).


Of course this connection between faith and works in not just found in Paul but throughout the New Testament. James teaches that “faith without works is dead” (James 2:17, 26) and that those who hear the Word of God but do not obey are deceiving themselves (Jas. 1:22-25). James was probably just echoing the teaching of Jesus who said that it was those who hear the Word of God and do it who are his mothers, brothers and sisters (Lk.8:21). In response to a woman who blessed him, Jesus said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the Word of God and obey it” (Lk.11:28; cf. Mt. 7:17-27; 16:27; 25:31-46; Mk 4:16-20). In fact, Jesus said that it was those who keep his Word who shall not see death (Jn.8:51-52, cf. Jn.8:31; 14:19-21). Jesus promises that “…an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment (John 5:28-29). The Gospel of John, says, “…whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him” (Jn.3:36). As Witherington writes, “Belief and behavior belong together in Jesus’ thought world.”[16]


Similarly, the Book of Acts says God has given his Holy Spirit “to those who obey him” (Acts 5:32). The writer of Hebrews said that Jesus is “the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him” (Heb.5:9; cf. Heb. 10-10-14; 13:12). The writer of First John says, “Whoever says ‘I know him but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him…” (1 John 2:4).


Peter writes about how we are “sanctified by the Spirit for obedience to Jesus Christ… (1 Peter 1:1-4). Both Peter and Jude absolutely rail against “ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality” (Jude 4, cf. 2 Pet.2) and in the Book of Revelation Jesus promises “to repay everyone for what he has done” (Revelation 22:12).


Such passages, however they may be interpreted, make it more difficult to simply assume that Clement was teaching something contrary to Paul or the rest of the New Testament.


Conclusion


This paper examined the question of whether Clement has failed to understand Paul and other New Testament documents by making works a prerequisite for salvation. Several considerations are important:


First, even Clarke and Bumpus acknowledge that Clement intended to teach Paul’s doctrine of justification by faith. Indeed, Clement’s statement on justification by faith alone is as clear and unambiguous as any Reformation scholar could hope for.


Second, we need to bear in mind that Clement, like James was writing an intensely practical exhortation intended to cause those responsible for the schism in the Corinthian church to repent of their sin and to submit themselves to the proper authorities in the church. Clement’s extensive exhortations to obedience, faithfulness and good works must be understood in this context.[17] He is not writing a theological treatise on justification by faith.


Third, we need to bear in mind the extent to which Paul and other New Testament authors also emphasize obedience and works. In our rightful desire to defend sola fide, we must never just downplay or dismiss this emphasis.


Fourth, although Clement was not always as clear as we might have liked, this study found no case in which Clement clearly and necessarily contradicted Paul on justification by faith.


Fifth, Clement affirms and even takes for granted that genuine faith will produce works.


In light of these considerations, it seems most likely that Clement has not misunderstood Paul or other New Testament writers but would have readily subscribed to the proposition that we are saved by grace through faith alone, but not by faith that is alone.



[1] Clarke, W.K. Lowther. The First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians (New York : Macmillan, 1937) 27.

[2] Clarke 27.

[3] Bumpus, Harold Bertram. The Christological Awareness of Clement of Rome and its sources. (Cambridge : University Press of Cambridge, 1972) 1.

[4] The translation of First Clement used in this paper is by Michael Holmes, ed. The Apostolic Fathers. 3rd ed. (Grand Rapids : Baker) 2007.

[5] E.g. First Maccabees 2:52; Sirach 44:19-21; Jubilees 23:1-10; Philo, On Abraham et. al.

[6] Hall. S.G.; “Repentance in I Clement,” Studia Patristica. Vol. VIII. Part II (966): 37.

[7] Chadwick suggests that the Clement’s emphasis on hospitality may be explained by supposing “that some visiting Christians at Corinth accepted hospitality from the old clergy rather than the new; that the old clergy had seen in this act of communion on the part of eh other churches a golden opportunity of reaffirming their position; and that the visitors would have become the object of hostile comment from the rest of the church and therefore come away from Corinth with unfavorable impressions” (Chadwick. H. “Justification by Faith and Hospitality.” Studia Patristica, Vol. IV, Part II, (1961): 284.

[8] I am indebted here to Ben Witherington who makes this observation from his exegesis of the book of James apart from any discussion of First Clement (Witherington, Ben. The Indelible Image; The Theological and Ethical Thought World of the New Testament. Downers Grove, IL : IVP Academic, 2009).

[9] “For so it is written: ‘He makes his angels winds and his ministers flames of fire.’ But of his Son the Master spoke thus: ‘You are my son’ today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will give you the Gentiles for your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for your possession.’ And again he says to him: ‘Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet” (First Clement 36:2-5, cf. Hebrews 1:7//Ps 104:4; Heb 1:5//Ps 2:7-8; Heb 1:13//Ps. 110:1). It would be possible to argue that Clement was just quoting from Psalms, but the chances are slim (to say the least) that Clement would independently and coincidentally just happen to select and group together the same three verses from the same book (Psalms 104, 2, and 110) that the writer of Hebrews uses in 1:5-13).

[10] Cf. 1 Clement 18:4 which, quoting from Psalms 51 says, “Against you only have I sinned, and I have done evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words, and may win when you are judged.”

[11] The quote is “For God, it says, resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Since this quote also appears in Proverbs 3:34 and First Peter 5:5, it is impossible to know for sure whether Clement is quoting from James. Since Clement’s quote in Greek is closer to the wording of James and First Peter than to the Septuagint version of Proverbs 3:34, and since both Clement and James use Rahab as an example of faith whereas Peter does not, it may be slightly more probable that Clement is quoting from James.

[12] Clement’s quotation is very similar to what we have in the UBS 4th edition with the most notable exception being that Clement reads υπομενουσιν (with a textual variant reading of αγαπωσιν) while First Corinthians 2:8 reads αυαπωσιν.

[13] Clement is just paraphrasing Paul from memory. The word translated “immortality” in First Clement 35:2 is αθανασια which Paul uses in First Corinthians 15:53 and First Timothy 6:16, but in Romans 2:7 Paul speaks of ζωην αιωνιον.

[14] Clement is just paraphrasing Paul from memory. The word translated “immortality” in First Clement 35:2 is αθανασια which Paul uses in First Corinthians 15:53 and First Timothy 6:16, but in Romans 2:7 Paul speaks of ζωην αιωνιον.

[15] The apparent problem of Paul teaching salvation by works in Romans 2:6-8, 13 is resolved, in my opinion, when Romans 1:5 and 16:26 (εις υπακοην πιστεως) are translated as subjective genitives, i.e. the obedience that comes from faith.” Not only does Paul begin and end Romans with “obedience that comes from faith,” but we see the same idea in Romans 6:17 where Paul writes that “you who were slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart…” When Paul writes, therefore, that God “will render to each one according to his works” (Romans 2:6) or that it is “the doers of the law who will be justified” (Rom. 2:12), he is not contradicting his own teaching about salvation by faith alone, but is, rather, teaching—like Jesus, James, Hebrews and Clement—that genuine faith produces works.

[16] Witherington, Ben. The Indelible Image; The Theological and Ethical Thought World of the New Testament (Downers Grove, IL : IVP, 2009) 632.

[17] In what may be regarded as the point of the entire letter, Clement writes, “These, therefore, who were appointed by them [i.e. the Apostles] or, later on, by other reputable men with the consent of the whole church, and who have ministered to the flock of Christ blamelessly, humbly, peaceably, and unselfishly, and for a long time, have been well-spoken of by all—these we consider to be unjustly removed from their ministry. For it will be no small sin for us if we depose from the bishop’s office those who have offered the gifts blamelessly and in holiness…for we see that you have removed certain people, their good conduct notwithstanding, from the ministry that had been held in honor by them blamelessly” (1 Clem. 44:3-6).