what do you know, i have something write!
i was reading a blog today about a new book that tony jones has written, analyzing the didache (an early church document, possibly written prior to the time of many new testament books). you can read the entire text of the didache here. it's not very long at all.
i must admit that my first and only impression of the didache came from a professor at seminary who told our class that he thinks the didache is the reason for legalism in christianity.
i could not have come to a more different conclusion.
it looks more to me like a community looking to emulate and prolong the teachings of Christ, rather than fall into the way the World does things.
this could not have come at a better time for me. it is a time when i am trying to discover what it meant to be a member of The Church shortly after the time of Christ. it looks to me like we don't look a whole lot like that early community of people. check out some of these lines from the didache that echo the teachings of Christ. actually, the interesting thing is that the document begins with a kind of summary of the sermon on the mount. here are some excerpts that struck me.
3:7...be gentle, since the gentle will inherit the earth.
3:8 Be long-suffering and pitiful and guileless and gentle and good, and with trembling, treasure the words you have received.
3:9 Don't exalt yourself or open your heart to overconfidence. Don't be on intimate terms with mighty people, but with just and lowly ones.
be pitiful, guileless and gentle...?!?! seems slightly contrary to the way we are taught as good citizens nowadays...
-dave-
3 opinion(s):
first, i'm glad your silence wasn't too long...no because i don't value the beauty of the discipline, but because i enjoy the 'interaction'...
it seems to me that the reason people take things legalistically, its because of the people (speaking from my own experience), if there isn't a proper understanding of ones place within Christ's kingdom, as adopted children, life turns into a series of donts and dos rather than get tos...make sense?
That's interesting. You know the Pharisees started with good intentions, like this group - desiring to preserve the pure word of God in a time of darkness in Israel. But it's sad to see how quickly even well-intentioned communities can become legalistic as they progress. It's a great warning to us.
I agree with Nick - it stems from our (mis)understanding of our place in Christ and in His kingdom.
I can't say it better than these gents already have. I echo their thoughts. Thanks for sharing a little piece of your brain with us.
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