Clement’s Christ is not a tyrant but a teacher — one who disciplines by love. For him, obedience is not loss of freedom but its birth. Augustine echoes this beautifully in his letter to Licentius, warning that the “bonds of this world” may glitter, yet they enslave. True liberty lies in the “sweet bonds” of wisdom, the gentle mastery of Christ. Aquinas agrees that fear, when ordered by reason, perfects us: we flee from evil not as slaves, but as children who dread displeasing the Father who loves them. The yoke of Christ is light precisely because it is love’s own harness (Matthew 11:29–30).
Readings: Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor, Book 1, Chapter 6 Augustine, Letter 26 (continued) Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Part 1–2, Question 41, Article 3
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