Freethought & Rationalism Archive

stephan huller · 04-21-2012, 04:59 PM

Strom 1.17 -

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For it is the work of the divine wisdom, and excellence, and power, not alone to do good [ἀγαθοποιεῖν] (for this is, so to speak, the nature of God, as it is of fire to warm and of light to illumine), but especially to ensure that what happens through the evils hatched by any, may come to a good and useful issue, and to use to advantage those things which appear to be evils, as also the testimony which accrues from temptation.

Strom 1.27 -

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But it is the highest and most perfect good, when one is able to lead back any one from the practice of evil to virtue and well-doing, which is the very function of the law. So that, when one fails into any incurable evil, -- when taken possession of, for example, by wrong or covetousness, -- it will be for his good if he is put to death. For the law is beneficent, being able to make some righteous from unrighteous, if they will only give ear to it, and by releasing others from present evils; for those who have chosen to live temperately and justly, it conducts to immortality. To know the law is characteristic of a good disposition. And again: "Wicked men do not understand the law; but they who seek the Lord shall have understanding in all that is good."

It is essential, certainly, that the providence which manages all, be both supreme and good. For it is the power of both that dispenses salvation [σωτηρίαν] -- the one correcting by punishment, as supreme, the other showing kindness in the exercise of beneficence, as a benefactor [ἣ δὲ δι' εὐποιίας χρηστευομένη ὡς εὐεργέτις]. It is in your power not to be a son of disobedience [ἀπειθείας υἱόν], but to pass from darkness to life, and lending your ear to wisdom, to be the legal slave of God, in the first instance, and then to become a faithful servant, fearing the Lord God. And if one ascend higher, he is enrolled among the sons. But when "charity covers the multitude of sins," by the consummation of the blessed hope, then may we welcome him as one who has been enriched in love, and received into the elect adoption, which is called the beloved of God, while he chants the prayer, saying, "Let the Lord be my God."

stephan huller · 04-21-2012, 07:53 PM

There is apparently a 'good doing' or 'good doing' of the law in what immediately follows our last citation:

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The beneficent action of the law [τοῦ νόμου δὲ τὴν εὐποιίαν], the apostle showed in the passage relating to the Jews, writing thus: "Behold, thou art called a Jew and restest in the law, and makest thy boast in God, and knowest the will of God, and approvest the things that are more excellent, being instructed out of the law, and art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light of them who are in darkness, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, who hast the form of knowledge and of truth in the law." For it is admitted that such is the power of the law, although those whose conduct is not according to the law, make a false pretence, as if they lived in the law.

Stromata 2:1 - 'peacemaker' ἐλέγχει μετὰ παρρησίας εἰρηνοποιεῖ

Stromata 2:6 -

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Wherefore we believe Him in whom we have confidence unto divine glory and salvation [δόξαν θείαν καὶ σωτηρίαν]. And we confide in Him, who is God alone [τῷ μόνῳ θεῷ], whom we know, that those things nobly [τὰ καλῶς] promised to us, and for this end benevolently created and bestowed [εὐνοϊκῶς] by Him on us, will not fail. Benevolence [εὔνοια] is the wishing of good things to another for his sake. For He needs nothing; and the beneficence [εὐεργεσία] and benignity [εὐμένεια] which flow from the Lord terminate in us, being divine benevolence [εὔνοια θεία], and benevolence [εὔνοια] resulting in beneficence [εὖ ποιεῖν οὖσα].

stephan huller · 04-21-2012, 08:19 PM

Strom 2:6 -

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For, if [faith] were a mere human habit, as the Greeks supposed, it would have been extinguished. But if it grow, and there be no place where it is not; then I affirm, that faith, whether founded in love [ἀγάπης], or in fear, as its disparagers assert, is something divine; which is neither rent asunder by other mundane friendship [φιλίας κοσμικῆς], nor dissolved by the presence of fear. For love [ἀγάπη], on account of its friendly alliance with faith, makes men believers [πιστοὺς ποιεῖ]; and faith, which is the foundation of love [ἀγάπης], in its turn introduces the doing of good [εὐποιίαν]; since also fear, the paedagogue of the law, is believed to be fear by those, by whom it is believed. For, if its existence is shown in its working, it is yet believed when about to do and threatening, and when not working and present; and being believed to exist, it does not itself generate faith, but is by faith tested and proved trustworthy. Such a change, then, from unbelief to faith -- and to trust in hope and fear, is divine. And, in truth, faith is discovered, by us, to be the first movement towards salvation; after which fear, and hope, and repentance, advancing in company with temperance and patience, lead us to love and knowledge. Rightly, therefore, the Apostle Barnabas says, "From the portion I have received I have done my diligence to send by little and little to you; that along with your faith you may also have perfect knowledge."

stephan huller · 04-21-2012, 08:28 PM

Strom 2:18 -

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For by these instances it is shown that both good things [τε ἀγαθὰ] and gifts [τε δωρεὰς] are supplied by God; and that we, becoming ministers of the divine grace [τῆς θείας χάριτος], ought to sow the benefits of God [τοῦ θεοῦ εὐποιίας], and make those who approach us noble and good [καλούς τε καὶ ἀγαθούς]; so that, as far as possible, the temperate man may make others continent, he that is manly may make them noble, he that is wise may make them intelligent, and the just may make them just. He is the Gnostic, who is after the image and likeness of God [ὁ κατ' εἰκόνα καὶ ὁμοίωσιν], who imitates God as far as possible [ὁ μιμούμενος τὸν θεὸν], deficient in none of the things which contribute to the likeness as far as compatible [τὴν ἐνδεχομένην ὁμοίωσιν], practising self-restraint and endurance, living righteously, reigning over the passions [βασιλεύων τῶν παθῶν], bestowing of what he has as far as possible, and doing good [εὐεργετῶν] both by word and deed. "He is the greatest," it is said, "in the kingdom who shall do [ποιῇ] and teach;" imitating God [μιμούμενος τὸν θεὸν] in conferring like benefits. For God's gifts are for the common good.

stephan huller · 04-21-2012, 08:49 PM

Strom 3.6 -

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The "righteousness" [δικαιοσύνη]of Carpocrates, however, and those like him who pursue immoral "communion" [κοινωνίαν] is to be refuted by an argument along the following lines. Immediately after the words "Give to him that asks you," he continues: " And do not turn away from him who wishes to borrow ."Thus it is this kind of communion which he is teaching, not the immoral kind. How can there be one who asks and receives and borrows unless there is someone who possesses and gives and lends? What, then, is the position when the Lord says, "I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you took me in, naked and you clothed me," after which he adds "inasmuch as you did it to one of these little ones, you did it to me"? And does he not lay down the same principle in the Old Testament? "He who gives to the poor lends to God," and "Do not avoid doing good [εὖ ποιεῖν] to the needy," he says.

stephan huller · 04-21-2012, 09:06 PM

Stromata 4:6 -

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Now the philosophers also allow the good man an exit from life in accordance with reason, in the case of one depriving him of active exertion, so that the hope of action is no longer left him. And the judge who compels us to deny Him whom we love, I regard as showing who is and who is not the friend of God. In that case there is not left ground for even examining what one prefers -- the menaces of man or the love of God. And abstinence from vicious acts is found, somehow, [to result in] the diminution and extinction of vicious propensities, their energy being destroyed by inaction. And this is the import of "Sell what thou hast, and give to the poor, and come, follow Me" -- that is, follow what is said by the Lord. Some say that by what "thou hast" He designated the things in the soul, of a nature not akin to it, though how these are bestowed on the poor they are not able to say. For God dispenses to all according to desert, His distribution being righteous. Despising, therefore, the possessions which God apportions to thee in thy magnificence, comply with what is spoken by me; haste to the ascent of the Spirit, being not only justified by abstinence from what is evil, but in addition also perfected, by Christlike beneficence [τῇ κυριακῇ τελειωθεὶς εὐποιίᾳ]. In this instance He convicted the man, who boasted that he had fulfilled the injunctions of the law, of not loving his neighbour [τὸν πλησίον ἀγαπήσαντα]; and it is by beneficence that the love [ἀγάπη] which, according to the gnostic ascending scale, is Lord of the Sabbath, proclaims itself. We must then, according to my view, have recourse to the word of salvation neither from fear of punishment nor promise of a gift, but on account of the good itself. Such, as do so, stand on the right hand of the sanctuary; but those who think that by the gift of what is perishable they shall receive in exchange what belongs to immortality are in the parable of the two brothers called "hirelings." And is there not some light thrown here on the expression "in the likeness and image," in the fact that some live according to the likeness of Christ, while those who stand on the left hand live according to their image? There are then two things proceeding from the truth, one root lying beneath both, -- the choice being, however, not equal, or rather the difference that is in the choice not being equal. To choose by way of imitation differs, as appears to me, from the choice of him who chooses according to knowledge, as that which is set on fire differs from that which is illuminated. Israel, then, is the light of the likeness which is according to the Scripture. But the image is another thing.

stephan huller · 04-21-2012, 09:14 PM

Stromata 4:21 -

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Here I find perfection apprehended variously in relation to Him who excels in every virtue. Accordingly one is perfected as pious, and as patient, and as continent, and as a worker, and as a martyr, and as a Gnostic. But I know no one of men perfect in all things at once, while still human, though according to the mere letter of the law, except Him alone who for us clothed Himself with humanity. Who then is perfect? He who professes abstinence from what is bad. Well, this is the way to the Gospel and to well-doing [τὸ εὐαγγέλιον ἐπί τε τὴν εὐποιίαν]. But gnostic perfection in the case of the legal man is the acceptance of the Gospel, that he that is after the law may be perfect. For so he, who was after the law, Moses, foretold that it was necessary to hear in order that we might, according to the apostle, receive Christ, the fulness of the law. But now in the Gospel the Gnostic attains proficiency not only by making use of the law as a step, but by understanding and comprehending it, as the Lord who gave the Covenants delivered it to the apostles. And if he conduct himself rightly (as assuredly it is impossible to attain knowledge (gnosis) by bad conduct); and if, further, having made an eminently right confession, he become a martyr out of love, obtaining considerable renown as among men; not even thus will he be called perfect in the flesh beforehand; since it is the close of life which claims this appellation, when the gnostic martyr has first shown the perfect work, and rightly exhibited it, and having thankfully shed his blood, has yielded up the ghost: blessed then will he be, and truly proclaimed perfect, "that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us," as the apostle says. Only let us preserve free-will and love: "troubled on every side, yet not distressed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed." For those who strive after perfection, according to the same apostle, must "give no offence in anything, but in everything approve themselves not to men, but to God."

stephan huller · 04-21-2012, 09:55 PM

Strom 4:22 -

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The man of understanding and perspicacity is, then, a Gnostic. And his business is not abstinence from what is evil (for this is a step to the highest perfection), or the doing of good out of fear. For it is written, "Whither shall I flee, and where shall I hide myself from Thy presence? If I ascend into heaven, Thou art there; if I go away to the uttermost parts of the sea, there is Thy right hand; if I go down into the depths, there is Thy Spirit." Nor any more is he to do so from hope of promised recompense. For it is said, "Behold the Lord, and His reward is before His face, to give to every one according to his works; what eye hath not seen, and ear hath not heard, and hath not entered into the heart of man what God hath prepared for them that love Him." But only the doing of good out of love [δι' ἀγάπην εὐποιία], and for the sake of its own excellence, is to be the Gnostic's choice. Now, in the person of God it is said to the Lord, "Ask of Me, and I will give the heathen for Thine inheritance;" teaching Him to ask a truly regal request -- that is, the salvation of men without price, that we may inherit and possess the Lord. For, on the contrary, to desire knowledge about God for any practical purpose, that this may be done, or that may not be done, is not proper to the Gnostic; but the knowledge itself suffices as the reason for contemplation. For I will dare aver that it is not because he wishes to be saved that he, who devotes himself to knowledge for the sake of the divine science itself, chooses knowledge. For the exertion of the intellect by exercise is prolonged to a perpetual exertion. And the perpetual exertion of the intellect is the essence of an intelligent being, which results from an uninterrupted process of admixture, and remains eternal contemplation, a living substance. Could we, then, suppose any one proposing to the Gnostic whether he would choose the knowledge of God or everlasting salvation; and if these, which are entirely identical, were separable, he would without the least hesitation choose the knowledge of God, deeming that property of faith, which from love ascends to knowledge, desirable, for its own sake. This, then, is the perfect man's first form of doing good [ἡ πρώτη ἀγαθοποιία], when it is done not for any advantage in what pertains to him, but because he judges it right to do good [δ' ὅτι καλὸν τὸ ἀγαθὸν ποιεῖν]; and the energy being vigorously exerted in all things, in the very act becomes good [ἐν πάσῃ πράξει ἀγαθύνηται]; not, good in some things, and not good in others; but consisting in the habit of doing good [ἐν ἕξει εὐποιίας], neither for glory, nor, as the philosophers say, for reputation, nor from reward [εὔκλειαν] either from men or God; but so as to pass life after the image and likeness of the Lord [κατ' εἰκόνα καὶ καθ' ὁμοίωσιν τοῦ κυρίου].

And if, in doing good [ἀγαθοεργοῦντι], he be met with anything adverse, he will let the recompense pass without resentment as if it were good, he being just and good "to the just and the unjust." To such the Lord says, "Be ye, as your Father is perfect." To him the flesh is dead; but he himself lives alone, having consecrated the sepulchre into a holy temple to the Lord, having turned towards God the old sinful soul. [Strom 4.22]

stephan huller · 04-21-2012, 10:03 PM

Strom 4:24 -

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For it is not suitable to the nature of the thing itself, that they should apprehend in the truly gnostic manner the truth, that all things which were created for our use are good; as, for example, marriage and procreation, when used in moderation; and that it is better than good to i become free of passion, and virtuous by assimilation to the divine. But in the case of external things, agreeable or disagreeable, from some they abstain, from others not. But in those things from which they abstain from disgust, they plainly find fault with the creature and the Creator; and though in appearance they walk faithfully, the opinion they maintain is impious. That command, "Thou shall not lust," needs neither the necessity arising from fear, which compels to keep from things that are pleasant; nor the reward, which by promise persuades to restrain the impulses of passion.

And those who obey God through the promise, caught by the bait of pleasure, choose obedience not for the sake of the commandment, but for the sake of the promise. Nor will turning away from objects of sense, as a matter of necessary consequence, produce attachment to intellectual objects. On the contrary, the attachment to intellectual objects naturally becomes to the Gnostic an influence which draws away from the objects of sense; inasmuch as he, in virtue of the selection of what is good, has chosen what is good according to knowledge (gnwstikwu), admiring generation, and by sanctifying the Creator sanctifying assimilation to the divine. But I shall free myself from lust, let him say, O Lord, for the sake of alliance with Thee. For the economy of creation is good, and all things are well administered: nothing happens without a cause. I must be in what is Thine, O Omnipotent One. And if I am there, I am near Thee. And I would be free of fear that I may be able to draw near to Thee, and to be satisfied with little, practising Thy just choice between things good and things like.

Right mystically and sacredly the apostle, teaching us the choice which is truly gracious, not in the way of rejection of other things as bad, but so as to do things better than what is good, has spoken, saying, "So he that giveth his virgin in marriage doeth well [καλῶς ποιεῖ]; and he that giveth her not doeth better [κρεῖσσον ποιεῖ]; as far as respects seemliness and undistracted attendance on the Lord."

stephan huller · 04-21-2012, 10:13 PM

Strom 5:1 -

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But were they to say that the visit of the Saviour was necessary, then the properties of nature are gone from them, the elect being saved by instruction, and purification, and the doing of good works [τῶν ἔργων εὐποιίᾳ]. Abraham, accordingly, who through hearing believed the voice, which promised under the oak in Mamre," I will give this land to thee, and to thy seed," was either elect or not. But if he was not, how did he straightway believe, as it were naturally? And if he was elect, their hypothesis is done away with, inasmuch as even previous to the coming of the Lord an election was found, and that saved: "For it was reckoned to him for righteousness." For if any one, following Marcion, should dare to say that the Creator (Dhmiourgon) saved the man that believed on him, even before the advent of the Lord, (the' election being saved with their own proper salvation); the power of the good Being will be eclipsed; inasmuch as late only, and subsequent to the Creator spoken of by them in words of be good men, it made the attempt to save, and by instruction, and in imitation of him. But if, being such, the good Being save, according to them; neither is it his own that he saves, nor is it with the consent of him who formed the creation that he essays salvation, but by force or fraud. And how can he any more be good, acting thus, and being posterior? But if the locality is different, and the dwelling-place of the Omnipotent is remote from the dwelling-place of the good God; yet the will of him who saves, having been the first to begin, is not inferior to that of the good God.

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