Triggered to Thinking

Brent Walters (RIP) was a professor of comparative religion at my alma mater, San José State University. He was known for amassing a vast collection of texts on the Greco-Roman world, early Christianity, and the New Testament. One of my biggest regrets is that I did not take a course with him. His scholarship examined the early Christian text of the Didache, also known as The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles to the Gentiles. This essay provides a brief review of his commentary, along with some reflections on this short but fascinating text.

Walters notes, “The Teaching predates the Gospels and served as a transitional document during a time prior to the apostolic council. It was composed during an age when believers were called members of the way” (Walters, 2018, p. 3). This document reflects the beliefs of the early Christian movement before the formal admission of Gentiles into the church and appears to have circulated prior to the Jerusalem Council described in the book of Acts.Walters offers six reasons for dating the text before the Jerusalem Council, including its simplicity of style and language, the identification of believers as “the way,” the use of Hebraisms, early baptismal forms, implicit Christology, the transitional nature of ministry, and the arrangement of church funds (Walters, 2018).

The Didache functioned as a catechism, serving as a body of instruction for new members of the Christian community preparing for baptism (Walters, 2018). Walters also discusses the discovery of the text, explaining how Philotheos Bryennios uncovered a manuscript in Constantinople containing several early Christian writings. Bryennios later published the text in scholastic Greek in 1883, an event that significantly influenced the academic study of early Christian history (Walters, 2018).Walters observes that the text “shares a great deal in common with the Epistle of James and the Gospel of Matthew, hence a Jewish editor is to be expected” (Walters, 2018, p. 9). The Didache reflects strong Jewish influences, shows little Pauline influence, and likely belongs to the earliest stage of Gentile conversion. As a result, it may predate much, if not all, of the New Testament.

The text also shares similarities with the Epistle of Diognetus, particularly in its emphasis on love of neighbor and the concept of a “way of life.” Walters explains that the text includes the expression “Amen,” meaning “so be it” in Hebrew (Walters, 2018). He further notes that “No minister earned a salary in the early church, not even apostles or prophets, and if any leader asked for money he was removed from office and labeled a false teacher” (Walters, 2018, p. 32).Walters concludes his introduction by comparing Matthew 24 with Teaching 16, which contains similar apocalyptic themes. The Didache begins with the declaration, “There are two ways, one of life and one of death, and there is a great difference between the two ways” (Walters, 2018, p. 44). The “way of death” is characterized by sinful and destructive behavior. The text addresses food laws, prayer practices, the Eucharist, traveling teachers, and signs of the end of the age. Overall, the Didache provides a brief yet valuable window into the beliefs and practices of early Christianity.