I just had to make this version of the Epistle of Mathetes to Diognetus but with bulleted lists in some places. I changed the language to fit the lists in some places, and in some places not. Very little thought went into this. I am sorry. You should not read this version, go read the original at the link.
Chapter 1. Occasion of the epistle
Most excellent Diognetus: I can see that you deeply desire to learn how Christians worship their God. You have so carefully and earnestly asked your questions about them:
- What is it about the God they believe in, and the form of religion they observe, that lets them look down upon the world and despise death?
- Why do they reject the Greek gods and the Jewish superstitions alike?
- What about the affection they all have for each other?
- And why has this new group and their practices come to life only now, and not long ago?
I cordially welcome this desire of yours, and I implore God, who enables us both to speak and to hear, to grant
- to me so to speak, that, above all, I may hear you have been edified, and
- to you so to hear, that I who speak may have no cause of regret for having done so.
Chapter 2. The vanity of idols
Come, then, after you have
- freed yourself from all prejudices possessing your mind, and
- laid aside what you have been accustomed to, as something apt to deceive you, and
- being made, as if from the beginning, a new man, inasmuch as, according to your own confession, you are to be the hearer of a new [system of] doctrine;
- Is not one of them a stone similar to that on which we tread?
- Is not a second brass, in no way superior to those vessels which are constructed for our ordinary use?
- Is not a third wood, and that already rotten?
- Is not a fourth silver, which needs a man to watch it, lest it be stolen?
- Is not a fifth iron, consumed by rust?
- Is not a sixth earthenware, in no degree more valuable than that which is formed for the humblest purposes?
- Are not all these of corruptible matter?
- Are they not fabricated by means of iron and fire?
- Did not the sculptor fashion one of them, the brazier a second, the silversmith a third, and the potter a fourth?
- Was not every one of them, before they were formed by the arts of these [workmen] into the shape of these [gods], each in its own way subject to change?
- Would not those things which are now vessels, formed of the same materials, become like to such, if they met with the same artificers?
- Might not these, which are now worshipped by you, again be made by men vessels similar to others?
- Are they not all deaf?
- Are they not blind?
- Are they not without life?
- Are they not destitute of feeling?
- Are they not incapable of motion?
- Are they not all prone to decay?
- Are they not all corruptible?
These things you
- call gods;
- serve;
- worship;
- and you become altogether like them.
- much more cast contempt upon them than they [the Christians do]?
- much more mock and insult them, when you worship those that are made of stone and earthenware, without appointing any persons to guard them; but those made of silver and gold you shut up by night, and appoint watchers to look after them by day, lest they be stolen?
- by those gifts which you mean to present to them, if they are possessed of sense, rather punish [than honour] them?
- if, on the other hand, they are destitute of sense, convict them of this fact, while you worship them with blood and the smoke of sacrifices.
- suffer such indignities!
- endure to have such things done to himself!
But not a single human being will, unless compelled to it, endure such treatment, since he is endowed with sense and reason. A stone, however, readily bears it, seeing it is insensible. Certainly you do not show [by your conduct] that he [your God] is possessed of sense. And as to the fact that Christians are not accustomed to serve such gods, I might easily find many other things to say; but if even what has been said does not seem to any one sufficient, I deem it idle to say anything further.
Chapter 3. Superstitions of the Jews
And next, I imagine that you are most desirous of hearing something on this point, that the Christians do not observe the same forms of divine worship as do the Jews.
The Jews, then, if they abstain from the kind of service above described, and deem it proper to worship one God as being Lord of all, [are right]; but if they offer Him worship in the way which we have described, they greatly err.
For while the Gentiles, by offering such things to those that are destitute of sense and hearing, furnish an example of madness; they, on the other hand by thinking to offer these things to God as if He needed them, might justly reckon it rather an act of folly than of divine worship.
For He that made heaven and earth, and all that is therein, and gives to us all the things of which we stand in need, certainly requires none of those things which He Himself bestows on such as think of furnishing them to Him.
But those who imagine that, by means of blood, and the smoke of sacrifices and burnt-offerings, they offer sacrifices [acceptable] to Him, and that by such honours they show Him respect, — these, by supposing that they can give anything to Him who needs nothing, appear to me in no respect to differ from those who studiously confer the same honour on things destitute of sense, and which therefore are unable to enjoy such honours.
Chapter 4. The other observances of the Jews
But as to their
- scrupulosity concerning food
- superstition as respects the Sabbaths
- boasting about circumcision
- fancies about fasting and the new moons
For,
- to accept some of those things which have been formed by God for the use of men as properly formed, and to reject others as useless and redundant — how can this be lawful?
- to speak falsely of God, as if He forbade us to do what is good on the Sabbath-days — how is not this impious?
- to glory in the circumcision of the flesh as a proof of election, and as if, on account of it, they were specially beloved by God — how is it not a subject of ridicule?
- as to their observing months and days, as if waiting upon the stars and the moon, and their distributing, according to their own tendencies, the appointments of God, and the vicissitudes of the seasons, some for festivities, and others for mourning — who would deem this a part of divine worship, and not much rather a manifestation of folly?
Chapter 5. The manners of the Christians
For the Christians are distinguished from other men neither by
- country, nor
- language, nor
- the customs which they observe.
- inhabit cities of their own, nor
- employ a peculiar form of speech, nor
- lead a life which is marked out by any singularity.
But, inhabiting Greek as well as barbarian cities, according as the lot of each of them has determined, and following the customs of the natives in respect to clothing, food, and the rest of their ordinary conduct, they display to us their wonderful and confessedly striking method of life.
- They dwell in their own countries, but simply as sojourners.
- As citizens, they share in all things with others, and yet endure all things as if foreigners.
- 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.
- They obey the prescribed laws, and at the same time surpass the laws by their lives.
- They love all men, and are persecuted by all.
- They are unknown and condemned; they are put to death, and restored to life.
- They are poor, yet make many rich;
- they are in lack of all things, and yet abound in all;
- they are dishonoured, and yet in their very dishonour are glorified.
- They are evil spoken of, and yet are justified;
- they are reviled, and bless;
- they are insulted, and repay the insult with honour;
- they do good, yet are punished as evil-doers.
- When punished, they rejoice as if quickened into life;
- they are assailed by the Jews as foreigners, and
- are persecuted by the Greeks;
Chapter 6. The relation of Christians to the world
To sum up all in one word — what the soul is in the body, Christians are in the world.
- The soul is dispersed through all the members of the body, and Christians are scattered through all the cities of the world.
- The soul dwells in the body, yet is not of the body; and Christians dwell in the world, yet are not of the world.
- The invisible soul is guarded by the visible body, and Christians are known indeed to be in the world, but their godliness remains invisible.
- The flesh hates the soul, and wars against it, though itself suffering no injury, because it is prevented from enjoying pleasures; the world also hates the Christians, though in nowise injured, because they abjure pleasures.
- The soul loves the flesh that hates it, and [loves also] the members; Christians likewise love those that hate them.
- The soul is imprisoned in the body, yet keeps together that very body; and Christians are confined in the world as in a prison, and yet they keep together the world.
- The immortal soul dwells in a mortal tabernacle; and Christians dwell as sojourners in corruptible [bodies], looking for an incorruptible dwelling in the heavens.
- The soul, when but ill-provided with food and drink, becomes better; in like manner, the Christians, though subjected day by day to punishment, increase the more in number.
Chapter 7. The manifestation of Christ
For, as I said,
- this was no mere earthly invention which was delivered to them,
- nor is it a mere human system of opinion, which they judge it right to preserve so carefully,
- nor has a dispensation of mere human mysteries been committed to them,
- almighty
- the Creator of all things
- invisible
He did not, as one might have imagined, send to men any
- servant
- angel
- ruler
- one of those who bear sway over earthly things
- one of those to whom the government of things in the heavens has been entrusted
- by whom He made the heavens
- by whom he enclosed the sea within its proper bounds
- whose ordinances all the stars faithfully observe
- from whom the sun has received the measure of his daily course to be observed
- whom the moon obeys, being commanded to shine in the night, and whom the stars also obey, following the moon in her course;
- by whom all things have been arranged, and placed within their proper limits, and
- to whom all are subject
- the heavens and the things that are therein
- the earth and the things that are therein
- the sea and the things that are therein
- fire, air, and the abyss
- the things which are in the heights
- the things which are in the depths
- and the things which lie between.
- As a king sends his son, who is also a king, so sent He Him;
- as God He sent Him;
- as to men He sent Him;
- as a Saviour He sent Him,
- and as seeking to persuade, not to compel us; for violence has no place in the character of God.
- As calling us He sent Him, not as vengefully pursuing us;
- as loving us He sent Him, not as judging us.
A considerable gap here occurs in the manuscripts.
- Do you not see them exposed to wild beasts, that they may be persuaded to deny the Lord, and yet not overcome?
- Do you not see that the more of them are punished, the greater becomes the number of the rest?
Chapter 8. The miserable state of men before the coming of the Word
For, who of men at all understood before His coming what God is? Do you accept of the vain and silly doctrines of those who are deemed trustworthy philosophers? Of whom
- some said that fire was God, calling that God to which they themselves were by and by to come; and
- some water; and
- others some other of the elements formed by God.
But such declarations are simply the startling and erroneous utterances of deceivers; and no man has either seen Him, or made Him known, but He has revealed Himself. And He has manifested Himself through faith, to which alone it is given to behold God.
For God, the Lord and Fashioner of all things, who made all things, and assigned them their several positions, proved Himself not merely a friend of mankind, but also long-suffering [in His dealings with them].
Yea, He was always of such a character, and still is, and will ever be, kind and good, and free from wrath, and true, and the only one who is [absolutely] good; and He formed in His mind a great and unspeakable conception, which He communicated to His Son alone.
As long, then, as He held and preserved His own wise counsel in concealment, He appeared to neglect us, and to have no care over us. But after He revealed and laid open, through His beloved Son, the things which had been prepared from the beginning, He conferred every blessing all at once upon us, so that we should both share in His benefits, and see and be active [in His service].
Who of us would ever have expected these things? He was aware, then, of all things in His own mind, along with His Son, according to the relation subsisting between them.
Chapter 9. Why the Son was sent so late
As long then as the former time endured, He permitted us to be borne along by unruly impulses, being drawn away by the desire of pleasure and various lusts.
This was
- not that He at all delighted in our sins, but that He simply endured them;
- nor that He approved the time of working iniquity which then was, but that He sought to form a mind conscious of righteousness, so that being convinced in that time of our unworthiness of attaining life through our own works, it should now, through the kindness of God, be vouchsafed to us; and
- having made it manifest that in ourselves we were unable to enter into the kingdom of God, we might through the power of God be made able.
- our wickedness had reached its height, and
- it had been clearly shown that its reward, punishment and death, was impending over us; and
- when the time had come which God had before appointed for manifesting His own kindness and power,
- how the one love of God, through exceeding regard for men, did not
- regard us with hatred, nor
- thrust us away, nor
- remember our iniquity against us,
- but
- showed great long-suffering, and
- bore with us,
- His own Son as a ransom for us,
- the holy One for transgressors,
- the blameless One for the wicked,
- the righteous One for the unrighteous,
- the incorruptible One for the corruptible,
- the immortal One for those who are mortal.
- what other thing was capable of covering our sins than His righteousness?
- By what other one was it possible that we, the wicked and ungodly, could be justified, than by the only Son of God?
- O sweet exchange!
- O unsearchable operation!
- O benefits surpassing all expectation!
Having therefore
- convinced us in the former time that our nature was unable to attain to life, and having
- now revealed the Saviour who is able to save even those things which it was [formerly] impossible to save,
- Nourisher,
- Father,
- Teacher,
- Counsellor,
- Healer, our
- Wisdom,
- Light,
- Honour,
- Glory,
- Power, and
- Life,
Chapter 10. The blessings that will flow from faith
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 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,
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,
- see, while still on earth,that God in the heavens rules over [the universe];
- begin to speak the mysteries of God;
- both love and admire those that suffer punishment because they will not deny God
- condemn the deceit and error of the world when you shall know what it is to live truly in heaven,
- despise that which is here esteemed to be death,
- 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.
Chapter 11. These things are worthy to be known and believed
I do not speak of things strange to me, nor do I aim at anything inconsistent with right reason; but having been a disciple of the Apostles, I have become a teacher of the Gentiles. I minister the things delivered to me to those that are disciples worthy of the truth.
For who that is rightly taught and begotten by the loving Word, would not seek to learn accurately the things which have been clearly shown by the Word to His disciples, to whom the Word being manifested has revealed them, speaking plainly [to them], not understood indeed by the unbelieving, but conversing with the disciples, who, being esteemed faithful by Him, acquired a knowledge of the mysteries of the Father? For which reason He sent the Word, that He might be manifested to the world; and He, being despised by the people [of the Jews], was, when preached by the Apostles, believed on by the Gentiles.
This is He who
- was from the beginning
- appeared as if new, and was found old, and yet
- is ever born afresh in the hearts of the saints. This is He who,
- being from everlasting, is today called the Son;
- through whom the Church is enriched, and grace, widely spread, increases in the saints,
- furnishing understanding,
- revealing mysteries,
- announcing times,
- rejoicing over the faithful,
- giving to those that seek,
- by whom the limits of faith are not broken through, nor the boundaries set by the fathers passed over.
- 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 12. The importance of knowledge to true spiritual life
When you have read and carefully listened to these things, you shall know what God bestows on such as rightly love Him, being made [as you are] a paradise of delight, presenting in yourselves a tree bearing all kinds of produce and flourishing well, being adorned with various fruits.
For in this place the tree of knowledge and the tree of life have been planted; but it is not the tree of knowledge that destroys — it is disobedience that proves destructive. Nor truly are those words without significance which are written, how God from the beginning planted the tree of life in the midst of paradise, revealing through knowledge the way to life, and when those who were first formed did not use this [knowledge] properly, they were, through the fraud of the Serpent, stripped naked. For neither can life exist without knowledge, nor is knowledge secure without life. Wherefore both were planted close together.
The Apostle, perceiving the force [of this conjunction], and blaming that knowledge which, without true doctrine, is admitted to influence life, declares, Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies. For he who thinks he knows anything without true knowledge, and such as is witnessed to by life, knows nothing, but is deceived by the Serpent, as not loving life. But he who combines knowledge with fear, and seeks after life, plants in hope, looking for fruit.
Let your heart be your wisdom; and let your life be true knowledge inwardly received. Bearing this tree and displaying its fruit, you shall always gather in those things
- which are desired by God,
- which the Serpent cannot reach, and
- to which deception does not approach;
- nor is Eve then corrupted, but is trusted as a virgin; and
- salvation is manifested, and
- the Apostles are filled with understanding, and
- the Passover of the Lord advances, and
- the choirs are gathered together, and
- are arranged in proper order, and
- the Word rejoices in teaching the saints
- by whom the Father is glorified:
- to whom be glory forever. Amen.
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