Includes bibliographical references (p. [269]-295) and indexes.

Introduction -- Clement : Christian writer in second century Alexandria -- Alexandria : the social, cultural and religious world -- The origins of Alexandrian Christianity -- Clement in Alexandria : life, works and audience -- The concept of God in middle platonism -- The middle platonists, who were they? -- Main topics of middle platonic philosophy -- Theocentricity and the platonic background -- Alcinous, Numenius, and Atticus as sources for the middle platonic doctrine of the divine -- Hierarchy or levels of being -- Ineffability, divine attributes and the knowledge of God -- The question of transcendence -- Clement's method of concealment -- Esotericism and the 'secret Gospel of Mark' -- Esotericism and concealment -- Theory of symbolism : the inadequacy of language -- Esoteric knowledge and gnosis -- Clement's concept of God (i) : the apophatic essence of the Father -- The dilemma of transcendence : the ineffability of God -- The essence of God -- Clement's concept of God (ii) : the son as logos -- The doctrine of the logos -- The generation and incarnation of the logos -- Unity and distinction -- The knowledge of God -- The concept of knowledge -- The one and the one-many -- The Via Negativa -- The son as the revealer of the father : the kataphatic way -- The son as the dynamis of God -- Apophaticism and the distinction between essence and power -- Historical sketch -- The distinction between essence and dynamis -- Concluding remarks -- The reception of Clement -- Clement's contribution to apophatic theology.

Can humans know God? Eastern Orthodox theology affirms that we cannot know God in his essence, but may know him through his energies. The author investigates the beginnings of Christian negative (apophatic) theology, focusing on Clement of Alexandria in the late second century.

Description based on print version record.