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Various accounts have been given of the meaning of the distinctive word in the title; but all agree in regarding it as indicating the miscellaneous character of its contents. And they are very miscellaneous. They consist of the speculations of Greek philosophers, of heretics, and of those who cultivated the true Christian gnosis, and of quotations from sacred Scripture. The latter he affirms to be the source from which the higher Christian knowledge is to be drawn; as it was that from which the germs of truth in Plato and the Hellenic philosophy were derived. He describes philosophy as a divinely ordered preparation of the Greeks for faith in Christ, as the law was for the Hebrews; and shows the necessity and value of literature and philosophic culture for the attainment of true Christian knowledge, in opposition to the numerous body among Christians who regarded learning as useless and dangerous. He proclaims himself an eclectic, believing in the existence of fragments of truth in all systems, which may be separated from error; but declaring that the truth can be found in unity and completeness only in Christ, as it was from Him that all its scattered germs originally proceeded. The Stromata are written carelessly, and even confusedly; but the work is one of prodigious learning, and supplies materials of the greatest value for understanding the various conflicting systems which Christianity had to combat.
About the author
Alan Lewis Silva was born in Ridgecrest, California in 1983. He is a California author of six books: Two Essene Gospels (2023), Early Christianity Unveiled (2022), Keys to the Hebrew Alphabet and Numbers (2021), Claims of Identity (2018), New Century Poems (2017), and Musical Shadows (2016). Alan has published numerous books about individual choice, human rights, spirituality, and Christianity. Alan is the minister of Sdbiblestudy Church Sdbiblestudy.org, an online Bible study church he began in 2016. Before that and today, Alan is a singer-songwriter of original music, having published (words and music) more than 400 lyrically oriented songs (see http://lusitonerecords.com). Alan has published hundreds of educational and creative arts videos on Odysee (https://odysee.com/@californiaauthor:d). His main bookstore landing page is located at https://www.lulu.com/spotlight/alanlewissilva.
