Everything You Need to Know About the Epistle to Diognetus
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- čas přidán 28. 08. 2024
- In this video, we'll take a look at the Epistle of Mathetes to Diognetus. The Christian apologetic is unique in that the writer of it is not known, and has remained a mystery to this day.
Excerpt:
The anonymous Epistle to Diognetus [die-og-NEE-tus] is ""one of the most beautiful and noble defenses of the [Christian] faith"" in the early second century AD. It is, by nature, an early apologetic work.
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You answer our call to salvation and grace
Amen
Great video. Gods blessings thank you. Amen
Great video! Small typo at 2:45 with "internrtional"
Thank you
Theology Academy Team
Very interesting keep going 🙏🏽
Acording to Tradition was Quadratus who wrote this epistle.
According to the definitive book 'The Early church Fathers' by Henry Bettenson ( 1956) pages 7-9 The 'Letter to Diognetus' is not authenticated with any certainty. It is probably a later work written in the 15th century. For those concerned in knowing the 'true gospel' is it not better to base ones faith on the Holy bible rather that to be preoccupied with these so called 'church fathers who in the main were educated greek philosophers who attempted to combine greek philosophy with scripture all leading to an 'orthodox church riddled with unbiblical teachings regarding the nature of God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the after life & condition of the dead ?
The style of dress would be different today. I doubt people dressed as immodest then as they do now.
They still dressed like the people around them. Just modestly. Just like we do today.
Christianity wasnt suppose to be a "new" religion. Its the fulfillment of the OT. The 2nd Covenant God promised in the OT offering Salvation to us all. You dont hear Messiah in some of these epistles amd they should have
Jesus said, i come not to destroy the law but to fullfill.. first commandment god is 1. No bullshit trinity no begotten son. Son means follower. So jesus is not begotten son
Usually ignorant polemicists who do not understand the Christian faith and the Bible as the primary source of Christian teachings, easily say that neither Jesus nor his disciples (al-Hawariyun) ever taught about the divinity of Jesus. "...Jesus was just a prophet and an apostle like the prophets before him", they say.
Yet if they were to read the Bible more carefully and without prejudice, they would find many statements by Jesus or his own disciples who had received revelations about who Christ really was, which point to his divinity. Of course, it must be understood that speaking of divinity in Scripture is a sensitive matter. There can be no other god but Him (Ex 20:3). Therefore, the titles of divinity directed at certain individuals in the Bible must be understood as a form of self-revelation of God Himself.
In this case, it is the Messiah. In the OT, He is characterized by many divine attributes. As such, He must be understood as God's own self-revelation, specifically in relation to the plan of salvation (al-khalash).
This time we will look at the statement of Peter, one of the disciples of the Messiah. Through him, we will prove that the polemicists' assertion of Jesus' divinity, which they say was only established by the emperor in the fourth century, is completely false. From the very beginning after the resurrection of Jesus and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, Jesus' disciples had divine revelations about the nature of Jesus.
For example, the Book of Acts, a book that chronicles the birth of the church and its activities in the first century, has recorded the apostles' narratives of the person of Christ in their preaching.
Acts 3 : 14
"But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you".
The above is Peter's statement after bi idzinillah, healed a paralyzed man in Jesus' name (Acts 3:1-10). When all the people who saw the miracle of healing were amazed and followed Peter and John, Peter testified to them that the healing was not because of their piety or strength, but because of the power of Jesus Christ (verses 12-13).
At the same time, Peter revealed who Jesus Christ was to the Jews. This is the interesting part that we should notice. As a Jew who had been taught about the "Shema", which is the word of monotheism for Jews derived from the Torah, Peter unhesitatingly declared the nature of Jesus. He called Him the Holy One (القدوس) and the Righteous One (البار).
As Jews, both Peter, John and the Jews who heard him preach knew that the designations al-Quddus and Al-Barr were the designations or names of God Himself revealed in the Tanakh.
In Isaiah 5:16 God's name is revealed as al-Quddus/Holy One. In Hebrew it is written: Ha El Ha Qadosh. Likewise, the name of God the Righteous can be found in Isaiah 45:21. It states His name as El-Tzaddiq, in Arabic: Ilahun barrun (اله بار).
Now, these names of God were applied to Jesus by Peter. Thus they must have realized and fully recognized who Jesus Christ was, their murdered and resurrected teacher. Interestingly, in the Islamic tradition, both names of God are also known. In the list of 99 names of Allah, His beautiful names Al-Quddus and al-Barr are also listed, although there are different accounts of al-Barr but it is still from the same root word in Arabic.
So clearly the early church from the beginning of its earliest history already had a firm belief in the Person of Christ. If people outside the Christian faith do not understand, it is understandable. However, if they claim to be Christian but reduce the divine status of Jesus, then it is necessary to question their Christian identity, even though they insist on their Christian identity, but it is clear from the spotlight of Scripture, their Christianity is doubtful because the Jesus they believe in and proclaim is not the Jesus proclaimed by Peter, John and the other apostles. The apostles preached Jesus Christ as God. He is the Holy One and the True One.
Love in Christ our Lord
*Christian Theology of Divine Revelation*
One of the reasons for the misunderstandings among the followers of other religions towards the Biblical Christian teachings of God is their lack of understanding of the Christian theology of divine revelation. To study Comparative Religion, one must be objective and let other religions speak about themselves without judging or interpreting them according to our beliefs. It is also essential to have a comprehensive study by using authoritative primary and secondary sources from the religious environment under investigation.
By doing so, misconceptions and misunderstandings that can lead to defamation, as often found in polemical religious works with minimal literature, can be minimized. For instance, studying the Christian theology of divine revelation requires an understanding of the history, culture, and theological context of its emergence. Christianity is rooted in the faith of the Old Testament, and thus all of its teachings can be traced back to the Tanakh texts.
The concept of the Holy Trinity (Ats-Tsaluts al-Quddus), for example, can be traced back to the Old Testament, where the nature and works of God are trinitarian. In the Creation narrative, God created through His Word and His Holy Spirit (Gen 1:1-3; Ps 33:6).
The books of the prophets also mention the Spirit of God and His Wisdom/Word as a concrete reality of His self-revelation (Exod 31:3, 35:31; Judges 6:34; Isaiah 63:10; Ps 107:20; Isa 55:11, etc.).
All of these self-revelations became clearer when the Messiah/Christ came. God, who is One, revealed Himself through His Word and His Spirit, which are likened to the terms Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19). However, because of a lack of understanding of the Christian theology of divine revelation, the terms Father and Son were misconstrued as biological. In reality, no sane Christian understands the Father and Son relationship as biological.
To avoid misunderstandings about the Christian faith, it is essential to learn from its original sources and study the Christian theology of divine revelation.
Here I quote the writings of Pope Shenouda in his book Qanun Al-Iman:
الآب هو الذات الإلهية، و الابن هو العقل الله الناطق، أو نطق الله العاقل، هو حكمة الله (١ كو ٢٤،٢٣:١). و الروح القدس هو روح الله. و واضح أن الله و روحه كيان واحد. والله و عقله كيان واحد.
"Al-Ab huwa adz-Dzat al-Ilahiyyah, wa al-Ibn huwa al-'Aql Allah an-nathiq, aw nutqu Allah al-'Aqil, huwa Hikmatullah (1 Cor 1:23-24). Wa ar-Ruh al-Qudus huwa Ruhullah. Wa wadhihun annallah wa ruhahu kiyan wahid. Wa Allah wa aqluhu kiyan wahid".
The translation is:
"The term Father refers to the Self/Existence of God, and the Son refers to the mind/reason of God, or the rational word of God. He is the Wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:23-24). And the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God. It is clear that God and His Spirit are one entity. Likewise, between God and His Mind, it is one existence.
It is evident that the terms Father and Son in the Christian concept of divinity have no biological meaning.
Therefore, to avoid misunderstandings about the Christian faith, one should learn directly from its sources. Study the language of divine revelation in Christianity carefully.
Of course, the same attitude also applies to Christians who study other religions. Learn directly from the sources what constitutes the beliefs of that religion."
Here’s a simple analogy that you should be able to understand. I’m going to assume you’re Muslim because you think the trinity is BS. So here it goes:
1. Muslims acknowledge that they come from God, in the flesh, and have a soul.
2. It’s not inconceivable that the Holy Spirit (coming from God) could bring his word to the flesh. (Muslims have acknowledged this because they believe God can do anything)
3. You are a Trinitarian creation wether you like it or not. Simply because you are created BY GOD, you have a SOUL, and you are a FLESHLY creature.
4. Read Genesis. How do you think Adam was created? If God breathed into Adam and gave him a soul then why would it be out of God’s character to bring his word into the flesh?