Wherefore the greatest and chiefest point of the instructions which relate to life must be implanted in the soul from the beginning,—to know the eternal God, the giver of what is eternal, and by knowledge and comprehension to possess God, who is first, and highest, and one, and good. For this is the immutable and immoveable source and support of life, the knowledge of God, who really is, and who bestows the things which really are, that is, those which are eternal, from whom both being and the continuance of it are derived to other beings.
Clement of Alexandria, 150-215 AD, Who Is the Rich Man that Shall Be Saved?, VI, (translated by Rev. William Wilson, Fathers of the Second Century: Hermas, Tatian, Athenogoras, Theophilus, and Clement of Alexandria, editor Philip Schaff, Christian Classics Ethereal Library, 2004, p. 859)
Why is the chief point of instruction to know God? What are the implications of this?
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Probably to understand who God is and how his love is expressed in our world. The implication would be a generation of people who love like God.
ReplyDeleteCertainly that is the the most basic thing to know.
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