If the Lord counts the natural beauty of the body inferior to that of the soul, what thinks He of spurious beauty, rejecting utterly as He does all falsehood?
Clement Of AlexandriaRead
For, in truth, an image is only dead matter shaped by the craftsman's hand. But we have no sensible image of sensible matter, but an image that is perceived by the mind alone: God, who alone is truly God.
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes the distinction between physical reality and the perception of it, suggesting that true understanding lies beyond mere images.
Clement of Alexandria's quote conveys the idea that physical representations, such as images created by craftsmen, are inanimate and devoid of true essence. It suggests that our understanding and perception of reality is deeply mental rather than purely sensory, positing that God embodies the ultimate truth that transcends material representations.
In practice
During a philosophy lecture discussing the nature of reality and perception.
If the Lord counts the natural beauty of the body inferior to that of the soul, what thinks He of spurious beauty, rejecting utterly as He does all falsehood?
His Son Jesus, the Word of God, is our Instructor.... He is God and Creator.
But those who are ready to toil in the most excellent pursuits, will not desist from the search after truth, till they get the demonstration from the Scriptures themselves.
The Word of God became man, that thou mayest learn from man how man may become God.
We are not to throw away those things which can benefit our neighbor. Goods are called good because they can be used for good: they are instruments for good, in the hands of those who use them properly.
The true cost to the world of a burger is far greater than the money you hand over to buy it.
Michelle Alexander's brave and bold new book paints a haunting picture in which dreary felon garb, post-prison joblessness, and loss of voting rights now do the stigmatizing work once done by colored-only water fountains and legally segregated schools. With dazzling candor, Alexander argues that we all pay the cost of the new Jim Crow.
Oh, breathe not his name! let it sleep in the shade, Where cold and unhonour'd his relics are laid
The teachings of Christianity - from vicarious redemption to the love of enemies, no thought for the morrow need be taken, that no thrift or care or family or society or solidarity is necessary - these are immoral teachings that have done and continue to inflict untold moral and physical harm on our species. And until we outgrow this nonsense, we have no chance of emancipating ourselves.
There have been men before who got so interested in proving the existence of God that they came to care nothing for God himself, as if the good Lord had nothing to do but to exist. There have been some who were so preoccupied with spreading Christianity that they never gave a thought to Christ.
Of what use are all the codes in the world, if by means of confidential reports, if for trifling reasons, if through anonymous traitors any honest citizen may be exiled or banished without a hearing, without a trial?
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