Is the Didache a reliable document reflecting early Church beliefs?
A viewer asks whether Robert is familiar with the Didache, sometimes called the Teaching of the Twelve Apostles to the Nations, and whether it is a reliable document reflecting early church beliefs.
Answer
Yes, as far as we know. I often quote the Didache myself, depending on the topic, because what it does is tell you how the early church was thinking. Some of those things may be right, some may be wrong, some in between, so we do not consider the Didache a pristine, unassailable document; it is like any other document from that time period. We do not even know exactly what its date is; some place it late, some early, we just do not know. There is a lot we do not know in Catholicism, even though we have access to and abide by the early documents as much as we can, but that does not harm my faith. It actually makes me depend on my faith in God that much more, because when you boil it all out, what is left is our relationship through the Church to Jesus Christ, so whether the Didache is good, bad, or indifferent does not change that.