--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The Didache is the earliest known…" description: "\"“The Didache is the earliest known document outside the NT to identify the problem of settled faith communities in conflict with traveling, itinerant p..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93b/clayton-n-jefford-228700_biblical-criticism_the-didache-is-the-earliest-known-docume_2182938.jpg" --- # The Didache is the earliest known document outside the NT… ![“The Didache is the earliest known document outside the NT to identify the problem of settled faith communities in conflict with traveling, itinerant preachers and prophets. The Didachist does not doubt the validity of such persons, but recognizes that not all of them are worthy witnesses to the…” quote by Clayton N Jefford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93b/clayton-n-jefford-228700_biblical-criticism_the-didache-is-the-earliest-known-docume_2182938.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93b/clayton-n-jefford-228700_biblical-criticism_the-didache-is-the-earliest-known-docume_2182938.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93b/clayton-n-jefford-228700_biblical-criticism_the-didache-is-the-earliest-known-docume_2182938.jpg) > ““The Didache is the earliest known document outside the NT to identify the problem of settled faith communities in conflict with traveling, itinerant preachers and prophets. The Didachist does not doubt the validity of such persons, but recognizes that not all of them are worthy witnesses to the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. Those who teach falsely for their own gain are identified as "Christ peddlars," a term known first from the Didache”” [Clayton N Jefford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clayton-n-jefford/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The Didache warns against itinerant preachers who exploit believers, labeling them “Christ peddlars.” **In simple terms:** Beware false itinerant preachers. Key Takeaway Discern authentic teachers from exploiters. Themes religion authenticity exploitation Mood statement historical Type Biblical-criticism:1 Christianity:1 Didache:1 Religion:1 War:0 Identified Christ:0 Didache Earliest:1 Known Didache:1 Prophets Didachist:0 Didachist Does:0 When to use this quote - Historical context may be specialized. Key Concepts early Christian writings theological study faith community leadership Questions to Reflect On - scholarly - critical A Different Perspective How does the Didache define true teaching?;What modern parallels exist? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Biblical-criticism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biblical-criticism-19614/) [Christianity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christianity/) [Didache](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/didache-46626/) [Didache Earliest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/didache-earliest-4723912/) [Didachist Does](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/didachist-does-4723915/) [Identified Christ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identified-christ-3720941/) [Known Didache](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/known-didache-4723913/) [Prophets Didachist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prophets-didachist-4723914/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [“Sometimes silences are pregnant and sometimes not. It is hard to know what to make of the silence of much of the New Testament…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-witherington-iii/sometimes-silences-are-pregnant-and-sometimes-not-it-is-hard-to-know/) [Ben Witherington III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-witherington-iii/) > [“For example, being a soldier means one has a certain identity. Clothing, haircut, lifestyle, all relates to the military. While in the army a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-r-cross/for-example-being-a-soldier-means-one-has-a-certain-identity-clothing/) [John R. Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-r-cross/) > [“Our Lord...made it very clear that it is not your identification that is essential. We are to be identified with Christ! We are in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-vernon-mcgee/our-lord-made-it-very-clear-that-it-is-not-your-identification-that/) [J. Vernon McGee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-vernon-mcgee/) ## More Biblical-criticism quotes > [“ Bauer 's 'Criticism of the Gospel History' is worth a good dozen Lives of Jesus, because his work, as we are only now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-schweitzer/bauer-s-criticism-of-the-gospel-history-is-worth-a-good-dozen-lives/) [Albert Schweitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-schweitzer/) > [“In his numerous historical and Scriptural works Bauer rejects all supernatural religion, and represents Christianity as a natural product of the mingling of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-mccabe/in-his-numerous-historical-and-scriptural-works-bauer-rejects-all/) [Joseph McCabe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-mccabe/) > [“This doctrine of forgiveness of sin is a premium on crime. 'Forgive us our sins' means "Let us continue in our iniquity." It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-doctrine-of-forgiveness-of-sin-is-a-premium-on-crime-forgive-us/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ “ Robert Ingersoll came to \[a small Midwest town\] to speak . . . , and after he had gone the question of the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwood-anderson/robert-ingersoll-came-to-a-small-midwest-town-to-speak-and-after-he/) [Sherwood Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherwood-anderson/) > [“Moreover, it is not just that the early documents are silent about so much of Jesus that came to be recorded in the gospels,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-albert-wells/moreover-it-is-not-just-that-the-early-documents-are-silent-about-so/) [George Albert Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-albert-wells/) > [ “According to Mark 11:12-13, God's messengers were not the only ones who were incompetent: 'He \[Jesus\] was hungry. And on seeing in the distance… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-m-jackson/according-to-mark-11-12-13-god-s-messengers-were-not-the-only-ones/) [G.M. Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-m-jackson/) [Browse all 7 Biblical-criticism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biblical-criticism-19614/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The Didache is the earliest known document outside the NT to identify the problem of settled faith communities in conflict with traveling, itinerant preachers and prophets. The Didachist does not doubt the validity of such persons, but recognizes that not all of them are worthy witnesses to the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. Those who teach falsely for their own gain are identified as \"Christ peddlars,\" a term known first from the Didache”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Clayton N Jefford" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clayton-n-jefford/the-didache-is-the-earliest-known-document-outside-the-nt-to-identify/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Biblical-criticism" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clayton-n-jefford/the-didache-is-the-earliest-known-document-outside-the-nt-to-identify/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93b/clayton-n-jefford-228700_biblical-criticism_the-didache-is-the-earliest-known-docume_2182938.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93b/clayton-n-jefford-228700_biblical-criticism_the-didache-is-the-earliest-known-docume_2182938.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93b/clayton-n-jefford-228700_biblical-criticism_the-didache-is-the-earliest-known-docume_2182938.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The Didache is the earliest known document outside the NT to identify the problem of settled faith…” — Clayton N Jefford", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Clayton N Jefford", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clayton-n-jefford/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The Didache is the earliest known...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clayton-n-jefford/the-didache-is-the-earliest-known-document-outside-the-nt-to-identify/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clayton-n-jefford/the-didache-is-the-earliest-known-document-outside-the-nt-to-identify/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```