The Didache: A Window on the Earliest Christians

by Thomas O'Loughlin

The Didache (or The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles) is one of the earliest Christian writings, compiled between 50 and 70 CE. Thus, it probably predates the four Gospels. It offers a unique glimpse into how some of the earliest Christian communities lived and worshiped.

This accessible volume offers an introductory guide to this important text, including a new translation and a commentary highlighting areas of interest to Christians today. It is an essential resource for readers interested in history, Scripture, and liturgy in Christianity's earliest period.

Genres: Theology, History, Church History, Christian Living, Reference, Nonfiction, Religion

204 pages, Paperback

Published November 1, 2010

Reviews

[Phillip Hadden · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two stars for good background information, but unfortunately, the book is also written as a subtle apologetic towards the author's high Anglicanism attempting to articulate that all early Christians were priests and the Eucharist was presented by all without any sort of priest. I wouldn't mind even if he asserted such as an Anglican, but the problem I have with the text is no mention of letters that could be dated around the period from Ignatius of Antioch which fly in the face of his assertions.

[Kristofer Carlson · Rating 5 out of 5]

My first exposure to the Didache was a revelation to me. I didn't know what it all meant, but I immediately recognized that this early Christianity was nothing like anything I'd experienced. In this book, Thomas O'Loughlin provides the history of the Didache, including it's discovery (or rather, its recovery) in the late 19th century. The work is placed in its historical and scriptural context, making it clear that the early Christians did not consider themselves a denomination, but rather as community---as the people of God. As such, these were the norms of the community; this was how its members acted. The Didache is devoid of what we usually call theology, which in our day means scholasticism and dogmatics. This does not mean the actions of the community have no theological foundation, but rather that the actions come first, and the explanations after (if at all). What is also clear in the Didache is that the early church was an apocalyptic church---they lived in a constant expectation of our Lord's return, and living up to the norms of the community was one of the ways in which they lived in constant readiness. This book is challenging, just as the Didache itself is humbling. May God have mercy.

[Steven Jaeger · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is barely above a 1 star for me. The author sounds much more like a historian observing Christianity from the outside than a believer. You'll see other comments on here pointing out the same thing. He seems to try and build up all of these "conflicting" ideas to create the image that Christianity is just an amalgamation of desires and beliefs of the believers that the authors of the new testament then projected onto Christ rather than those being His genuine words or ideas. He also goes on and on about how people shouldn't being their modern assumptions and desires into the text to attempt to force confirmation of their own biases, yet he projects rather wildly atypical (and heretical by most Christians standards) ideas onto the text and past with zero support himself.

As for the translation of the Didache itself, I can't tell you how accurate it is or not, but it was there and thus gave the book some value. I would recommend that readers pick ANY other version than this one if they want commentary and the text itself. I doubt any of them can be worse than this one.

[John McCann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I am always interested in Bible doctrine and this book was a picture of the early Christian church's priority concerning discipleship and structure. It was interesting how they recognized apostles and prophets which many consider today to be extinct. The Didache only takes up ten pages at the end of the book, however the author O'Loughlin did a fine job with explanations. One area lacking was how the Didache has effected change in the denominational world. The Didache does not conflict with Scripture, but does with current denominations and the Catholic church, especially concerning communion.

[Jon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This second book on the Didache that I read was aimed at a more general audience and yet seemed much less interesting and useful. The work lays out the discovery of the Didache and then focuses on themes within the Didache and what those would have said about the community that used the document. O’Loughlin often seems more concerned, however, about how we read the Didache in our contemporary day and what that says about contemporary Christianity. He notes how various scholars have accepted or rejected it, or dated it late or earlier, based on their preconceptions about what Christianity is like now. If a given doctrine or practice seems odd, then that is good reason to reject part of the document or to argue that this particular sect was heretical in some way or that the ideas represent something before full development and so on. O’Loughlin closes with a section on the Eucharist and how one’s views on that are often used to separate Christians today, whereas, he claims, the Didache, shows that the Eucharist was really about unifying Christians rather than separating—once one was baptized, one was “in.” Baptism, thus, was the distinguishing feature. Point taken, except that even the Didache notes that the Eucharist was for members only, and is that not also then a way of distinguishing one set of people from another, just like baptism? Today, with so many Christian sects, many with differing views on the Eucharist and baptism, it really isn’t much different. One might be baptized and then be “in”—and able to participate in the Eucharist, but only in the group. Go to another Christian sect and a rebaptism might be necessary, but afterward . . . Although I suppose there are sects where only the ministry participates in the Eucharist, but that’s a whole other issue. Anyway, with a focus so much on critiquing contemporary Christian practices, the book proved to be less than I was looking for historically.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are 2 facets to review here. The Didache (or Teaching) which is actually the last 10 pages of the book and what I will call the commentary which is the 160 pages leading up to it. I liked the commentary in that it gave good history and context for the Didache. The problem that I have is that in some cases I feel like it interpreted too much. Since the Didache is new to me, I would have rather had the history first, then read the 10 page Didache then read the author’s opinions after. Either way I found it all interesting food for thought. The Didache itself reads like a summary of the way Christians (or followers of the Way of Life) should act. Kind of puts me in mind of a modern day ‘next steps’ booklet. I would recommend reading it.

[Matthew Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s a good book but the author is clearly progressive in some of his views of authorship. He also mentions that the gospel writers “put words in Jesus mouth” which is a huge assumption. In neither case did he support those contentions.

It was informative but I’m not sure I learned much more than I would have learned from just reading the Didache document itself.

So it’s a 3. Good, but flawed

[Zecchaeus Jensen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a bad book but it again was one of those that is not as good or generally beneficial than reading the actual text that is being spoken of and let the text speak for itself. Maybe one or two things were somewhat insightful but not worth a whole book.

[Samuel Bierig · Rating 3 out of 5]

Twas good to finally get into the Didache a bit. This was a fine intro I am assume.

[Aaron Milavec · Rating 5 out of 5]

Primarily a New Testament scholar, O. [abbr. for O'Loughlin] provides an ordered, clear, and easy-to-read commentary on the issues and the “good news” of the Didache against the backdrop of the New Testament texts. He incorporates insights on how social structuring, ritual theory, and eschatological expectations harmoniously functioned to sustain the standards of excellence revealed by God’s servant Jesus.

This commentary does not get bogged down in sorting out how, when, and where the Didache was composed and for what purpose it was used. Rather, O. presumes that Jean-Paul Audet (La Didache: Instructions des apôtres [Paris: J. Gabald, 1958]) was essentially correct in arguing that the Didache captures a Jewish Christianity dating (at least in its oral form) from the 50s. He also accepts the present reviewer’s finding (The Didache: Faith, Hope, and Life of the Earliest Christian Communities, 50-70 C.E. [New York: Newman/Paulist Press, 2003]) that the Didache represents the progressive and ordered schema used by mentors to train gentiles for full and active inclusion within the Didache communities of the mid-first century.

While O. cites over fifty scholarly authors, he avoids unnecessary polemics. Rather, he non-obtrusively presents his own informed judgments (often with in-line references). This has the effect of presenting a satisfying unity in his commentary even though informed readers might well take issue with some of the fine points presented throughout. For example, I found that O.’s reading of Jesus death as an atonement for sins on the basis of a single obscure word (katathematos [Did. 16:5]) in the concluding apocalyptic section did not sit well with his insistence that the eucharistic meal was a “sacrifice of praise” (p. 98) requiring the prior acknowledgment of sins committed against those present and against God “so that your sacrifice might be a pure one” (Did. 14:1 = Mal 1:11)—a motif that is forceful and consistent without any appeal to the crucifixion.

In choosing the subtitle, “a window on the earliest Christians,” O. aptly demonstrates that the Didache offers more concrete details on some of the earliest Christian practices—apprenticing (training), baptizing, daily prayer rhythms, fasting, Eucharist, confession of failings, treatment of prophets, offering first fruits, appointing leaders, and anticipating the end times—than any (or perhaps all) of the collected works in the NT. For example, O. shows how Paul’s passing reference to his paying for his own food while with the Thessalonians (1 Thess 3:10) takes on an added importance when placed against the backdrop of the Didache’s “wandering apostles” who had the bad habit of asking for money and/or overstaying the limits on their hospitality (Did. 11:4-6, p. 17; see also the variant practice in Matt 10:8, 11).

O’Loughlin also uses the Didache as a “mirror” for examining many issues and practices facing Christians today: “Reading the Didache can be a way of refocusing on what is really at issue beneath centuries of encrustation” (p. 16). Regarding the Eucharist, O. notes how contemporary Christians unfortunately use differences in ritual to erect social barriers between believers whereas, within the Didache communities, Eucharistic meals functioned to overcome social barriers and `to gather the many scattered grains into the one loaf’ (Did. 9:4 [pp. 151-53]).

A wise pastor as well as informed scholar, O. never assumes that the Didache communities always got it right or that their practices should be mechanically emulated. He allows, “some [practices and beliefs] are long gone and now meaningless” (p. 16). The offering of first fruits (Did. 13:3-7) is a case in point. Then again, “others, though long forgotten, are aspects of Christianity that are worth looking at afresh” (p. 16). Here O. asks us to reflect whether a Eucharist that binds worshipers to the Father can really suffice if contemporary rites fail to mend the human bonds that bind us to each other. For pastors and lay readers, O. Provides a dynamic translation of the Greek original and demonstrates how the Didache can provide historical insights on key issues facing contemporary churches without slipping into some self-defeating Fundamentalism.

Both as a window and as a mirror, O.’s commentary can be expected to gain high praise.

Click here to explore free Didache texts & lectures.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had superficial familiarity with the Didache but was compelled to learn more after taking a course on the first five decades of the Church. This book was a good place to start.

The author does a good job of introducing the Didache, its discovery, its dating, and its importance in Christian history. After the introduction, he breaks down the Didache into six major sections:

1. Choosing a way (life or death)
2. Joining the group (baptism)
3. Prayer and fasting
4. Meeting and eating (communion)
5. A network of service (structure)
6. Fears and hope (end times, last things)

Here are the things of note:
pg. 11 - believer as joining a community vs. intellectual assent
pg. 23 - Good News in practice
pg. 100 - the incongruence of "doctrinal musts" and historical facts - leading to "all or nothing" positions
pg. 104 - the meal that was meant to unite has become one of the main points of argument and division
pg. 105 - human communities need structure
pg. 139 - the trumpet call
pg. 145 - The Challenge of the Didache - great chapter, alone worth the cost of the book!

This book and the Didache (pgg. 161-171) itself would make an excellent small group study, or a guideline for discipling new believers.

[Glenn Crouch · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed learning more about the early Christian document / teaching known as the Didache.

I thought the Author worked hard to help the Reader to better understand the world of the mid to late 1st Century and he argued well for the time and setting of the Didache.

I must say that I was disappointed that the Author "bundled" everyone who doesn't agree with his views on the New Testament (for example the Authors of the Gospels "put words in Jesus mouth", etc) as being "Fundamentalists". There are many noted scholars who would disagree with the Authors views who are far from being Fundamentalists. This is as bad as me referring to the Author as "Liberal" because I disagree with some of his arguments and thus dismiss him. In fact, I think if he "eased his tone" in some of these areas - and say things like "since many Scholars don't accept Paul's authorship of the Pastoral epistles" rather than stating it as a known fact that is beyond discussion, he would have a wider audience.

So despite the Author calling me a Fundamentalist, I found much value in his book and would enjoy reading further of his works.

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book on the historical context of the earliest Christians. However O'Laughlin lets his theologically liberal colors show at times in the book when he makes reference to the Scriptures just being written down by men and subject to their context and mistakes. However, really good for getting a perspective on the early church, their life, how they viewed and participated in a communion meal (not passing a plate of bread crumbs). Very interesting.

Dispute the author's leanings this is exactly what I was looking for, a well written and informed overview of the writing of the Didache and its significance today.

If you want insight on how early Christians lived, and more nuance to some of the topics in the Didache itself this is the book for you.

[Amy Hughes · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good introduction to the very short and ancient work of the Didache. It was a more informally written than I would have liked but O'Loughlin offers keen insights at times that help the Didache to remain both "other" in its ancientness and familiar as a community document that shares so much in common with the Gospels and the basic concerns of gathering together as Christians.

[Andrew Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating insight into the Didache from a scholar who wants a very early date for the work, even predating the Gospels, which I didn't quite understand the rationale for.

It certainly challenges any claim to "authentic" or "ancient" Christianity from either medieval or modern (Church of Christ) quarters.

[Donna]

Great insight into the mind and operation of the early church.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

wow.

i'd never read the didache. amazing book/text. have read about the first thirty pages o'laughlin's notes on it and am learning a lot.

[Gayle (OutsmartYourShelf) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting read and gives a good introduction to the world of the Didache and also some of the dating arguments and controversies.

[Ed Oakes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed the way the author tied the timeframe and changes into the study.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great content... a little dry. Hard to get through.

[Curtis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read that offers a detailed glimpse into the teachings of early Christians.