We have to be careful not to read some of these older texts in a modern voice… Commonly patristic voices are pretty, well, gruff. Today to write some of what they do would be considered downright rude!

I can state that I have reservation about handing such text to RCIA candidates without noting something about the stylistic types of yester-century!

Start looking at other patristics - especially Eastern fathers writing against various and sundry heresies. (hehehe) Their exhortations against the “impious heretics which cleve from the bossom of the Church faithful which they would lead to Hell for all eternity”… Well let’s just say you wouldn’t exactly see such talk at the next RC-Lutheran joint meeting!

He doesn’t actually critique Jewish practices, he just holds them up and calls them ridiculous.

I had no idea that this was a rhetorical style. That certainly helps me put it in context.

At least to the point I am leary of it possibly including exhorting thinking people to NOT read something. Mein Kampf, as an extreme example, should be published until the end of ages so people can examine the ERROR contained therein and analyze it. But there is wisdome in creating critical annotation of these texts. I wouldn’t hand Mein Kampf unannotated and without history to an 11 year old and say “here ya go!” Come to think of it, there are some 50 year olds I wouldn’t do that with either…

During a brief stint as an intern at Catholic Answers I was sometimes amused by the fact that the vast library of CA may well have included more non-Catholic and anti-Catholic literature than Catholic! It was needed for the research of error.

That being said, I am also a little concerned about any crticism or critique or refutation of post-Christic, post-temple. rabbinic Judaism as being “anti-semetic”. (especially when applying apologetic for the fullfillment of the law and the Divinity of Christ.) That is a well-loaded term that conjurs up Nazism, slurs, KKK, and the like.

Context is also important. Ancient apologias being what they were, no small amount of hyperbole and a different sense of politness is found therein. I am pretty sure that if I wholesale adopted the writing style of various and sundry eastern fathers in “comdemning the loathsome heretics who with error rip from the Bosom of Christ’s Church those who are ignorant leading them ingloriously to burn in hell for all eternity”…

Then again, maybe that would boost our visitorship!

In its proper context, Diognetus is not anti-Semetic at all. There is no condemnation of the Jews as a race or even as a people. Rather, ideas are presented as either foolish or reasonable in classical rhetorical style.