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Licensed Unlicensed Requires Authentication Published by De Gruyter May 12, 2015

Clement of Alexandria’s Anti-Valentinian Interpretation of Gen 1:26−27

  • Robert G. T. Edwards EMAIL logo

Abstract

Clement of Alexandria’s interpretations of Gen 1:26−27 are made in reaction to what he perceived to be heretical Valentinian interpretations of the same passage. Clement’s notes on Valentinian biblical interpretation, the Excerpta ex Theodoto, contain the content against which he is reacting, which he perceives to be heretical in terms of their determinism: people made according to the “image” and the “likeness” of God consist of two different classes of people, non- Christians and ecclesial Christians respectively. On top of this the Valentinians add one more category of humanity which is according to “its own” nature-this is the category to which the gnostic Christians, the Valentinians, belong. Clement counters this perceived determinism by having “image” and “likeness” correspond to two stages of the Christian life: “faith” (πίστις) and “knowledge” (γνῶσις) respectively. By doing this, he appropriates this aspect of Valentinian theology into his own orthodox-that is, apostolic and ecclesiastical-Christian theological and philosophical project.

Published Online: 2015-5-12
Published in Print: 2014-12-19

© 2015 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin/Boston

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