Friday, June 13, 2008

A wandering moneyless tribe

"Regarding the rest of mankind, you should pray for them unceasingly, for we can always hope that repentance may enable them to find their way to God. Give them a chance to learn from you, or at all events from the way you act. Meet their animosity with mildness, their high words with humility, and their abuse with your prayers. But stand firm against their errors, and if they grow violent, be gentle instead of wanting to pay them back in their own coin. Let us show by our forbearance that we are their brothers, and try to imitate the Lord by seeing which of us can put up with the most ill-usage or privation or contempt—so that in this way none of the devil's noxious weeds may take root among you, but you may rest in Jesus Christ in all sanctity and discipline of body and soul."
—Ignatius of Antioch, Epistle to the Ephesians, ch. 10

The above quote from Ignatios of Antioch's Epistle to the Ephesians was left as the twenty-second comment on a blog post chronicling the adventures of a wandering, moneyless tribe consisting of a "moneyless" philosopher and three young companions, members of the "Jesus Christian" cult. The comments began as a friendly questioning of the assertions and actions of this group by three followers of Jesus who are well-acquainted with the "philosopher." His responses gradually led the discussion to an impasse, and the addition of a couple of verbal ruffians made matters worse. The string of comments can be seen as a contemporary example of the kind of confrontation that we read about in early Christian history. We are still, as C. S. Lewis observed, "the early Christians," so we can expect to be handled in the same way that they were.
The hyperlink above takes you to that post.

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