Sami Yli-Karjanmaa: The Reception of Philo’s Reincarnational Soteriology in Clement

It is usually assumed in scholarship that Christianity inherited a negative attitude from Judaism towards the tenet of reincarnation. However, I have shown that, despite his reticence about the issue, Philo of Alexandria endorsed the doctrine (Reincarnation in Philo of Alexandria, SBL Press 2015). In Philo’s Platonic two-tier worldview the soul must orientate away from the sense-perceptible realm to the noetic in order to become liberated from repeated “prison terms” in the body. The soul’s orientation to things corporeal constitutes the major driving force of reincarnation in his thought. Clement of Alexandria is a highly interesting point of comparison because of the influence both Plato and Philo exerted on him. Contrary to the view of many scholars, a close reading of Clement’s works makes it clear that in his repeated mentions of reincarnation he never reveals his own stance – in marked contrast to heresiologists like Irenaeus and Tertullian, who vehemently denounce the doctrine. Yet Clement clearly implies he has a position. It thus remains for scholars to turn to the more indirect evidence: does reincarnation have a niche in which to thrive in Clement’s thought? Are his ethics and soteriology easier to understand with or without reincarnation? This paper summarizes the findings of a research project focusing on this question.