Journal: Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society
Volume: JETS 66:4 (Dec 2023)
Article: “In The World But Not Of The World”: The Concept Of Πολιτεια In The "Epistle To Diognetus"
Author: Robert J. Strachan

JETS 65:4 (December 2023) p. 697

“In The World But Not Of The World”: The Concept Of Πολιτεια In The Epistle To Diognetus

Robert J. Strachan*

^* Robert J. Strachan is Associate Vicar at The Round Church, St Andrew the Great, Cambridge, UK. He may be contacted at [email protected].

Abstract: The Epistle to Diognetus, and in particular, Diognetus 5–6, is increasingly referenced in current discussions about Christian interactions with the non-Christian world. It is easy to see the appeal. There are a number of concepts that Christians in the secular West might relate to, including the language of heavenly citizenship (πολιτεία), and the phrase “Christians live in the world but do not belong to the world” (Diogn. 6.3). And yet the text is often quoted at length as if it “speaks for itself,” and there is no consensus as to how it might actually apply. Indeed, writers of varying persuasions, including critical scholars of early Christianity use Diognetus to justify opposing political-theological viewpoints. This article analyzes Diognetus 5–6 in the flow of the text as a whole, focusing particularly on the theological use of πολιτεία and its cognates as a lens through which to understand how the author navigates the paradoxical relationship of Christians in the world.

Key words: Diognetus, political theology, cultural engagement, citizenship, theology of retrieval, early Christianity.

The Epistle to Diognetus, an anonymous mid-second-century text traditionally included amongst the Apostolic Fathers, is regarded by many scholars as “one of the true literary gems of early Christianity.”1 In particular, Diognetus 5–6 have captured the Christian imagination, and their stylistic prose is increasingly referenced in current discussions about Christian interactions with the non-Christian world. It is easy to see the appeal. There is an elusive poetry and tension in the text and a number of concepts to which Christians in the secular West might relate, notably the language of heavenly citizenship (πολιτεία), and perhaps most famously (or ambiguously), the phrase “Christians live in the world but do not belong to the world” (6.3).

JETS 65:4 (December 2023) p. 698

To take a recent example, Gerald Sittser’s Resilient Faith: How the Early Christian “Third Way” Challenged the World takes its subtitle from his reading of Diognetus.2 His project is to be commen...