BLOG
Jeff Lampl
Jeff Lampl
Thursday, October 22,
2015
What
Were the First Christians Like?
"What
shall we say the Kingdom of God is like?" asked Jesus. Mark 4:30
The
Following anonymous account dates to about 150
“the Christians are distinguished from other men
neither by country, nor language, nor the customs which they observe.
For they neither inhabit cities of their own, nor
employ a peculiar form of speech, nor lead a life which is marked out by any
singularity.
The course of conduct which they follow has not been
devised by any speculation or deliberation of inquisitive men; nor do they,
like some, proclaim themselves the advocates of any merely human doctrine.
But inhabiting Greek as well as barbarian cities, . .
. 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 are
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 of 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 blessed;
they are insulted, and repay the insult with honor;
they do good, yet are punished as evil-doers.
When punished, they rejoice as if quickened into life;
they are assailed
. . . as foreigners, and are persecuted by the Greeks; yet those who
hate them are unable to assign any reason for their hatred."
Justin
Martyr writes;
“We who
used to value the acquisition of wealth and possessions more than anything else
now bring what we have into a common fund and share it with anyone who needs
it. We used to hate and destroy one another and refused to associate with people
of another race or country. Now, because of Christ, we live together with such
people and pray for our enemies.”
Clement writes this
“He
impoverishes himself out of love, so that he is certain he may never overlook a
brother in need, especially if he knows he can bear poverty better than his
brother. He likewise considers the pain of another as his own pain. And if he
suffers any hardship because of having given out of his own poverty, he does
not complain.”
Tertullian wrote
“see how they love one another”Comment
For more: follow on Twitter @jefflampl
No comments:
Post a Comment