CHRISTIANS ARE THE SOUL OF THE WORLD

What the soul is to the body the Christians are to the world. Just as the soul is spread throughout the body, Christians are spread throughout the world. And while the soul is not really part of the body, so the Christian is not of the world. The soul is invisible and so the piety and spirituality of the Christians is invisible.

The body wages a consistent war against the soul simply because it was not given permission to wallow in its pleasures. In the same way, the world loathes Christians even though it has suffered no wrong from Christians but simply because Christians are opposed to the pleasures which the world treasures.

The soul loves the flesh, and Christians love those who hate them.

Though the soul sustains the body with life, it is a prisoner of the body. While the Christians bring light to the world, it feels imprisoned in the world.

When the soul is denied food, drink and other worldly amenities, it progresses and becomes strong. When the Christians are assaulted and persecuted they grow in number.

This is the God-given role of Christians in the world and they should not decline this role.

LETTER TO DIOGNETUS

(11-29-02)