Christians in the World Early Christian Apologetics

St. Peter preaching in the Catacombs

From a letter to Diognetus

The Christian in the world

Christians in India

Christians are indistinguishable from other men either by nationality, language or customs.  They do not inhabit separate cities of their own, or speak a strange dialect, or follow some outlandish way of life.  Their teach is not based upon reveries inspired by the curiosity of men.  Unlike some other people, they champion no purely human doctrine.  With regard to dress, food and manner of life in general, they follow the customs of whatever city they happen to be living in, whether it is Greek or foreign. 

And yet there is something extraordinary about their lives.  They live in their own countries as though they were only passing through.  They play their full role as citizens, but labor under all the disabilities of aliens.  Any country can be their homeland, but for them their homeland, wherever it may be, is a foreign country.  Like others, they marry and have children, but they do not expose them.  They share their meals, but not their wives.  They live in the flesh, but they are not governed by the desires of the flesh.  They pass their days upon earth, but they are citizens of heaven.  Obedient to the laws, they yet live on a level that transcends the law.

Christians Martyred

Christians love all men, but all men persecute them.  Condemned because they are not understood, they are put to death, but raised to life again.  They live in poverty, but enrich many; they are totally destitute, but possess an abundance of everything.  They suffer dishonor, but that is their glory.  They are defamed, but vindicated.  A blessing is their answer to abuse, deference their response to insult.  For the good they do they receive the punishment of malefactors, but ever then they rejoice, as though receiving the gift of life.  They are attacked by the Jews as aliens, they are persecuted by the Greeks, yet no one can explain the reason for this hatred.

Christians in action standing for their beliefs

To speak in general terms, we may say that the Christian is to the world what the soul is to the body.  As the soul is present in every  part of the body, while remaining distinct from it, so Christians are found in all the cities of the world, but cannot be identified with the world.  As the visible body contains the invisible soul, so Christians are seen living in the world, but their religious life remains unseen.  The body hates the soul and wars against it, not because of an injury the soul has done it, but because of the restriction the soul places on its pleasures.  Similarly, the world hates the Christians, not because they have done it any wrong, but because they are opposed to its enjoyments.

Christians in Israel

Christians love those who hate them just as the soul loves the body and all its members despite the body’s hatred.  It is by the soul, enclosed within the body, that the body is held together, and similarly, it is by the Christians, detained in the world as  in a prison, that the world is held together.  The soul, though immortal, has a mortal dwelling place; and Christians also live for a time amidst perishable things, while awaiting the freedom from change and decay that will be theirs in heaven.  As the soul benefits from the deprivation of food and drink, so Christians flourish under persecution.  Such is the Christian’s lofty and divinely appointed function, from which he is not permitted to excuse himself.

To read more of the Epistles of Mathetes to Diognetus go to:

 http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0101.htm

Early Christians at prayer

About the writer: 

The Epistle of Mathetes to Diognetus (Greek: Πρὸς Διόγνητον Ἐπιστολή) is an example of Christian apologetics, writings defending Christianity from its accusers. 

The Greek writer and recipient are not otherwise known; estimates of dating based on the language and other textual evidence have ranged from AD 130[1] (which would make it one of the earliest examples of apologetic literature), to the late 2nd century, with the latter often preferred in modern scholarship.[2]

"Mathetes" is not a proper name; it simply means "a disciple." 

The writer may be a Johannine Christian, although the name "Jesus" and the expression the "Christ" are not present in the text. The author prefers, rather, to refer to the "son" as "the Word."[3]

Taken from Wikipedia --    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epistle_to_Diognetus