A Life Beyond Reproach

“ For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.”

Ephesians 1:4 NIV

Writing in the 7th century A.D., Saint Isidora of Seville claimed that “Philosophy is the knowledge of things human and divine, accompanied by the desire to live a life beyond reproach.” In ancient times, and up until a few hundred years ago, philosophers were expected to be exemplars of virtue, and not just people who knew a lot of arcane things. What happened to change this? There is a hint in the quote from Saint Isidora. He says that philosophy is the knowledge of things human and divine, and this quest for divine wisdom is largely what separates modern (and post-modern) philosophy from that of the ancients. We hardly ever hear the phrase “beyond reproach” anymore. It means that we should act in such a way that there is no question about our integrity; others will know that we will always do the right thing.

Applied to limited areas of our lives, some of us may be beyond reproach, for instance when it comes to being trusted with money or someone’s property.

But who of us can say that our entire life is beyond reproach?

Probably none of us, and yet that is what we should aim for.

–Christopher Simon