Read the Church Fathers - Days 2-3 Mathetes to Diognetus

Days 2 and 3 of the Church Fathers reading plan were from 

Epistle of Mathetes to Diognetus.
Estimates are that it was authored between 130 AD and the end of that century. Mathetes simply means "disciple" and was not a name.

The letter appears to be someone coming from a greco-roman pagan background who is considering Christianity. In the second chapter, the author calls the reader away from the worshop of idols and then later contrasts Christianity with Judaism.

 Chapter 5 struck my fancy because he goes from saying what Christians are not (worshippers of many gods, or Jews) to what should characterize us.

"For the Christians are distinguished from other men neither by country, nor language, nor the customs which they observe. For they neither inhabit cities of their own, nor employ a peculiar form of speech, nor lead a life which is marked out by any singularity. ...But, inhabiting Greek as well as barbarian cities, according as the lot of each of them has determined, and following the customs of the natives in respect to clothing, food, and the rest of their ordinary conduct, they display to us their wonderful and confessedly striking method of life."

 At this time, it seems, the church was not wide spread enough to have developed its own subculture, passed on for better or for worse from culture to culture. So there were no difference in language or dress or culture. They were, however,  marked out by their peculiar behavior.

 They dwell in their own countries, but simply as sojourners. As citizens, they share in all things with others, and yet endure all things as if foreigners. Every foreign land is to them as their native country, and every land of their birth as a land of strangers.

...They are in the flesh, but they do not live after the flesh. They pass their days on earth, but they are citizens of heaven. They obey the prescribed laws, and at the same time surpass the laws by their lives. They love all men, and are persecuted by all. They are unknown and condemned; they are put to death, and restored to life. They are poor, yet make many rich; they are in lack of all things, and yet abound in all; they are dishonoured, and yet in their very dishonour are glorified. They are evil spoken of, and yet are justified; they are reviled, and bless; they are insulted, and repay the insult with honour; they do good, yet are punished as evil-doers. When punished, they rejoice as if quickened into life; they are assailed by the Jews as foreigners, and are persecuted by the Greeks; yet those who hate them are unable to assign any reason for their hatred.

That's a pretty tall order of conduct. Would that we stood out like that today.

Chapter 9 has this wonderful description of the gospel message:

By what other one was it possible that we, the wicked and ungodly, could be justified, than by the only Son of God? O sweet exchange! O unsearchable operation! O benefits surpassing all expectation! that the wickedness of many should be hid in a single righteous One, and that the righteousness of One should justify many transgressors! Having therefore convinced us in the former time that our nature was unable to attain to life, and having now revealed the Saviour who is able to save even those things which it was [formerly] impossible to save, by both these facts He desired to lead us to trust in His kindness, to esteem Him our Nourisher, Father, Teacher, Counsellor, Healer, our Wisdom, Light, Honour, Glory, Power, and Life, so that we should not be anxious.

Well, that is all from this letter to Diognetus. 

(On a strange note, I think that would make a GREAT name for a dog, though you would invariably just call him "Diog" for short).