The Epistle of Diognetus concludes

Chapters 10 -12 emphasise the role of faith and belief for salvation. Chapter 10 emphasises that faith should lead us to love of the Father and therefore to his imitation. There is a beautiful exposition of what it means to imitate the Father, in which one can see concerns of the emerging church, such as vulnerability, service rather than power, being echoed:

"or it is not by ruling over his neighbours, or by seeking to hold the supremacy over those that are weaker, or by being rich, and showing violence towards those that are inferior, that happiness is found; nor can any one by these things become an imitator of God. But these things do not at all constitute His majesty. On the contrary he who takes upon himself the burden of his neighbour; he who, in whatsoever respect he may be superior, is ready to benefit another who is deficient; he who, whatsoever things he has received from God, by distributing these to the needy, becomes a god to those who receive [his benefits]: he is an imitator of God."

Chapter 11 shows that already the concept of a tradition of the apostles is playing an important role, especially in the shaping of Christology. Chapter 12 extols the virtues of knowledge, but of a particular knowledge. For it is not knowledge in itself which is valuable, for there is a knowledge which destroys, but knowledge that leads to life, based on love and the fear of God. [I would not be surprised if there are scholars who believe that chapter 12 is the work of a different author, for having lambasted the OT earlier, this chapter provides us with a positive narration of the Genesis story of the Garden of Eden]

The coming of Christ in Diognetus

Chapters 7-9 provide an exposition for the rationale for the coming of Christ. Chapter 7 emphasises the status of the one who comes, Jesus is referred to as God, creator and fashioner, [with no theological explanation provided], with a great importance attached to the fact that Jesus comes in clemency and meekness rather than anger.

Chapter 8 emphasises that prior to the coming of Christ our knowledge of God was very limited, whilst chapter 9 reflects that the delay in the coming of Christ was so as to convince us that without Christ we had no chance of salvation.

Who are these Christians

Chapters 5 and 6 introduce the reader to the Christians. Granted that there is probably more than a small element of propaganda involved, Chapter 5 is still very striking, not the least in the way it presents the ideal Christian life:

"Every foreign land is to them as their native country, and every land of their birth as a land of strangers. They marry, as do all [others]; they beget children; but they do not destroy their offspring. They have a common table, but not a common bed.They are in the flesh, but they do not live after the flesh.They pass their days on earth, but they are citizens of heaven."

Chapter 6 introduces an analogy of the Christian relationship with the world along the lines of the soul's relationship with the flesh. Again this left me curious, as the author seems to be espousing a dualism very close to Gnosticism.

Epistle to Diognetus

My next stopping stage in browsing through ancient sources is the "Epistle to Diognetus" . Written to someone who was not a Christian it seeks to demonstrate how Christians are different from pagans and Jews. Thus, chapter 2 provides a strong statement of the futility of idols, drawing on the Old Testament tradition of satire towards their existence.

Chapters 3 and 4 provide a critique of Judaism. Sacrifices, sabbath keeping, circumcision and festivals are particularly singled out for attention. What puzzles me at the moment is that these are all outlined in the Old Testament, and yet the author seems to suggest that they are unworthy for Christian worship.

Will the next chapters provide an answer to the riddle? Or does the author have an almost marcionite approach to the OT?