Alleged Clement of Rome Quotation

[TryingToLearn]

Dr. C. Matthew McMahon lists this quote from Clement of Rome in his post about Calvinism in the early church (https://www.apuritansmind.com/armin...-of-grace-taught-by-the-early-church-fathers/):

“Whereas it is the will of God, that all whom he loves should partake of repentance, and so not perish with the unbelieving and impenitent, he has established it by his almighty will.’ But if any of those whom God wills should partake of the grace of repentance, should afterwards perish, where is his almighty will? And how is this matter settled and established by such a will of his?” (Ep. 1, ad Cor. p. 20).

As far as I can tell, this quotation does not exist. Do a search for any terms on sites such as this (http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/1clement-lightfoot.html) and you'll find that it simply isn't in Clement's epistle.

I checked out John Gill's "The Cause of God and Truth" and it turns out he quotes this same exact line and cites "pg. 20", so it seems that Dr. McMahon just copied Gill without checking the citation.

But my question here is, where exactly does this quotation come from? What is Gill actually quoting from? I can't find a bibliography for "The Cause of God and Truth", so I have no idea what "pg. 20" Gill is quoting from.

 

[RamistThomist]

Dr. C. Matthew McMahon lists this quote from Clement of Rome in his post about Calvinism in the early church (https://www.apuritansmind.com/armin...-of-grace-taught-by-the-early-church-fathers/):

“Whereas it is the will of God, that all whom he loves should partake of repentance, and so not perish with the unbelieving and impenitent, he has established it by his almighty will.’ But if any of those whom God wills should partake of the grace of repentance, should afterwards perish, where is his almighty will? And how is this matter settled and established by such a will of his?” (Ep. 1, ad Cor. p. 20).

As far as I can tell, this quotation does not exist. Do a search for any terms on sites such as this (http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/1clement-lightfoot.html) and you'll find that it simply isn't in Clement's epistle.

I checked out John Gill's "The Cause of God and Truth" and it turns out he quotes this same exact line and cites "pg. 20", so it seems that Dr. McMahon just copied Gill without checking the citation.

But my question here is, where exactly does this quotation come from? What is Gill actually quoting from? I can't find a bibliography for "The Cause of God and Truth", so I have no idea what "pg. 20" Gill is quoting from.

That's a good point. I have two thoughts on it:

1) Textual criticism applies just as much to church history documents as it does to the biblical texts. Sometimes "sayings" of the Fathers are passed down without actually being real.

2) There is the danger of reading a full system back into an early thinker who wasn't all that profound in the first place.

 

[iainduguid]

If you look carefully at John Gill's original, the quote from 1 Clement is limited to "He has established it by his almighty will" (Gill includes the Greek and translation in italics). The rest of the quote is Gill's commentary on 1 Clement. The whole thing is also mistakenly attributed to 1 Clement by other Reformed scholars as well.

See here: https://www.google.com/books/editio...h+a+will+of+his"&pg=PA373&printsec=frontcover).

 

[TryingToLearn]

If you look carefully at John Gill's original, the quote from 1 Clement is limited to "He has established it by his almighty will" (Gill includes the Greek and translation in italics). The rest of the quote is Gill's commentary on 1 Clement. The whole thing is also mistakenly attributed to 1 Clement by other Reformed scholars as well.

See here: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Cause_of_God_and_Truth_Being_an_Exam/_uCeLYmEWIUC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq="how+is+this+matter+settled+and+established+by+such+a+will+of+his"&pg=PA373&printsec=frontcover).

That makes sense. It looks like later copies misunderstood where Gill's quotation and his commentary started and ended.

 

[reformed grit]

They say, "great minds think alike".

Contrariwise, I might sometimes quote myself, but I'm unsure whether to attribute it to the new man or the old man, and since the new me is now also old, well, it gets a wee confusing.