Quotes from the epistle to Diognetus

I am uncertain as to who specifically Diognetus is, and to when this letter was written.  Some believe it was written in the first century while others think the late second.  Quotes are from the book "The Apostolic Fathers," whereas, most of the quotes I post are from the online "Christian Classics Ethereal Library".

What God do they believe in and how do they worship Him, so that they disregard the whole world and despise death, neither recognizing those who are considered to be gods by the Greeks nor observing the superstition of the Jews; what is the nature of the heartfelt love they have for one another; and why did this new race of men or way of life come into the world we live in now and not before?  (Apostolic Fathers, 1:1)

Might not the ordinary utensils now formed out of the same material be made similar to such images as these, if the same craftsmen were available?  Again, could not these things which are now worshiped by you be made by men into utensils like the rest?  Are they not all deaf and blind, without souls, without feelings, without movement?  Do they not all rot, do they not all decay?  These are the things you call gods; you serve them, you worship them, and in the end you become like them.  This is why you hate the Christians:  because they do not consider these objects to be gods.  (Apostolic Fathers, 2:3-6) 

Well, I could say many other things about the fact that Christians are not enslaved to such gods, but if these arguments should seem insufficient to anyone, then I think it is useless to say more.  (Apostolic Fathers, 2:10) 

In any case, those who imagine that they are offering sacrifices to Him by means of blood and fat and whole burnt offerings and are honoring Him from these tokens of respect do not seem to me to be the least bit different from those who show respect to deaf images.  (Apostolic Fathers, 3:5) 

But with regard to their qualms about meats, and superstitions concerning the Sabbath, and pride in circumcision, and hypocrisy about fasting and new moons, I doubt that you need to learn from me that they are ridiculous and not worth discussing.  (Apostolic Fathers 4:1)

But as for the mystery of the Christian’s own religion, do not expect to be able to learn this from man.  (Apostolic Fathers 4:6)

For Christians are not distinguished from the rest of humanity by country, language, or custom.  For nowhere do they live in cities of their own, nor do they speak some unusual dialect, nor do they practice an eccentric life-style.  This teaching of theirs has not been discovered by the thought and reflection of ingenious men, nor do they promote any human doctrine as some do.  (Apostolic Fathers 5:1-3)

But while they live in both Greek and Barbarian cities, as each one’s lot was cast, and follow the local customs in dress and food and other aspects of life, at the same time they demonstrate the remarkable and admittedly unusual character of their own citizenship.  They live in their own countries, but only as aliens; they participate in everything as citizens, and endure everything as foreigners.  Every foreign country is their fatherland, and every fatherland is foreign.  They marry like everyone else, and have children, but they do not expose their offspring.  They share their food but not their wives.  They are “in the flesh,” but do not live “according to the flesh.”  They live on earth but their citizenship is in heaven.  They obey the established laws; indeed in their private lives they transcend the laws.  They love everyone, and by everyone they are persecuted.  They are unknown, yet they are condemned; they are put to death, yet they are brought to life.  They are poor, yet they make many rich; they are in need of everything, yet they abound in everything.  They are dishonored, yet they are glorified in their dishonor; they are slandered, yet they are vindicated.  They are cursed, yet they bless; they are insulted, yet they offer respect.  When they do good, they are punished as evildoers; when they are punished, they rejoice as though brought to life.  By the Jews they are assaulted as foreigners, and by the Greeks they are persecuted, yet those who hate them are unable to give a reason for their hostility.  (Apostolic Fathers 5:4-17)

In a word, what the soul is to the body, Christians are to the world.  The soul is dispersed through all the members of the body, and Christians throughout the cities of the world.  The soul dwells in the body, but is not of the body; likewise Christians dwell in the world, but are not of the world.  The soul, which is invisible, is confined in the body, which is visible; in the same way, Christians are recognized as being in the world, and yet their religion remains invisible.  The flesh hates the soul and wages war against it, even though it has suffered no wrong, because it is hindered from indulging in its pleasures; so also the world hates the Christians, even though it has suffered no wrong, because they set themselves against its pleasures.  The soul loves the flesh that hates it, and its members, and Christians love those who hate them.  The soul is enclosed in the body, but it holds the body together; and though Christians are detained in the world as if in a prison, they in fact hold the world together.  The soul, which is immortal, lives in a mortal dwelling; similarly Christians live as strangers amidst perishable things, while waiting for the imperishable heaven.  The soul, when poorly treated with respect to food and drink, becomes all the better; and so Christians when punished daily increase more and more.  Such is the important position to which God had appointed them, and it is not right for them to decline it.  (Apostolic Fathers 6:1-10)

When he sent him, he did so as one who saved by persuasion, not compulsion, for compulsion is no attribute of God.  When he sent him, he did so as one calling, not pursuing; when he sent him, he did so as one loving, not judging.  For he will send him as Judge, and who will endure His coming?  (Apostolic Fathers 7:4-6)

For what man had any knowledge at all of what God was, before He came.  (Apostolic Fathers 8:1)

If you also desire [to possess] this faith, you likewise shall receive first of all the knowledge of the Father. For God has loved mankind, on whose account He made the world, to whom He rendered subject all the things that are in it, to whom He gave reason and understanding, to whom alone He imparted the privilege of looking upwards to Himself, whom He formed after His own image, to whom He sent His only-begotten Son, to whom He has promised a kingdom in heaven, and will give it to those who have loved Him. And when you have attained this knowledge, with what joy do you think you will be filled? Or, how will you love Him who has first so loved you? And if you love Him, you will be an imitator of His kindness. And do not wonder that a man may become an imitator of God. He can, if he is willing. For 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. Then thou shalt see, while still on earth, that God in the heavens rules over [the universe]; then thou shall begin to speak the mysteries of God; then shalt thou both love and admire those that suffer punishment because they will not deny God; then shall thou condemn the deceit and error of the world when thou shall know what it is to live truly in heaven, when thou shalt despise that which is here esteemed to be death, when thou shalt fear what is truly death, which is reserved for those who shall be condemned to the eternal fire, which shall afflict those even to the end that are committed to it. Then shalt thou admire those who for righteousness’ sake endure the fire that is but for a moment, and shalt count them happy when thou shalt know [the nature of] that fire.  (Chapter 10)

To those who are becoming disciples of the truth I try to minister in a worthy manner the teachings which have been handed down.  Indeed, does anyone who has been rightly taught and has come to love the Word not seek to learn exactly the things openly made known by the Word to disciples?  To them the Word appeared and revealed these things, speaking quite plainly as he did so; though not understood by unbelievers, he explained them to disciples who, being regarded as faithful by him, learned the mysteries of the Father.  (Apostolic Fathers 11:1-2)

This is the Eternal One, who today is accounted a Son, through whom the church is enriched and grace is unfolded and multiplied among the saints, grace which gives understanding, reveals mysteries, announces seasons, rejoices over the faithful, is given to those who seek—those, that is, by whom the pledges of faith are not broken nor the boundaries set by the fathers transgressed.  Then the fear of the law is chanted, and the grace of the prophets is known, and the faith of the gospels is established, and the tradition of the Apostles is preserved, and the grace of the Church exults; which grace if you grieve not, you shall know those things which the Word teaches, by whom He wills, and when He pleases.  (Chapter 11)