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Christian Love and the Imitation of Christ in the Epistle to Diognetus: A Second-Century Example of Christian Discipleship
Mielke, Charles Theodore
Mielke, Charles Theodore
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Abstract
ABSTRACT
CHRISTIAN LOVE AND THE IMITATION OF CHRIST IN
THE EPISTLE TO DIOGNETUS: A SECOND-CENTURY
EXAMPLE OF CHRISTIAN DISCIPLESHIP
Charles Theodore Mielke IV, Ed.D.
The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2017
Chair: Dr. Timothy Paul Jones
The Epistle to Diognetus is an early church writing that offers an excellent
picture of the Christian life, as well as deficiencies of other religions. In the text, the
author illustrates the nature of God’s love. As he comes to the climactic point in the text,
he also offers a call for action on the recipient of the letter. This call is to imitate God; but
not just a generalized concept of God, specifically God’s love. This invitation to imitate
God, along with the detailed expression of his love offers a clear image of a true
committed disciple in the middle second century. Along with expounding upon the nature
of God’s love and how to imitate this characteristic, strong connections are drawn
between the text of Diognetus and the writings of the New Testament. These connections
provide support for continuity of thought between the unknown author of Diognetus, and
the New Testament writers.
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Date
2017-05-31