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. Similarly, the world hates the Christians, not because they have done it any wrong, but because they are opposed to its enjoyments.Ĭhristians love those who hate them just as the soul loves the body and all its members despite the body's hatred.
The body hates the soul and wars against it, not because of any injury the soul has done it, but because of the restriction the soul places on its pleasures. As the visible body contains the invisible soul, so Christians are seen living in the world, but their religious life remains unseen. 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. To speak in general terms, we may say that the Christian is to the world what the soul is to the body. They are attacked by the Jews as aliens, they are persecuted by the Greeks, yet no one can explain the reason for this hatred. For the good they do they receive the punishment of malefactors, but even then they, rejoice, as though receiving the gift of life. A blessing is their answer to abuse, deference their response to insult. They suffer dishonor, but that is their glory. They live in poverty, but enrich many they are totally destitute, but possess an abundance of everything. Condemned because they are not understood, they are put to death, but raised to life again. Christians love all men, but all men persecute them.
Obedient to the laws, they yet live on a level that transcends the law. They pass their days upon earth, but they are citizens of heaven. They live in the flesh, but they are not governed by the desires of the flesh. They share their meals, but not their wives. Like others, they marry and have children, but they do not expose them. Any country can be their homeland, but for them their homeland, wherever it may be, is a foreign country. They play their full role as citizens, but labor under all the disabilities of aliens. They live in their own countries as though they were only passing through. 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.Īnd yet there is something extraordinary about their lives. Unlike some other people, they champion no purely human doctrine. Their teaching is not based upon reveries inspired by the curiosity of men. They do not inhabit separate cities of their own, or speak a strange dialect, or follow some outlandish way of life. "Christians are indistinguishable from other men either by nationality, language or customs. From a letter to Diognetus: The Christian in the world
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