Jones, Tony - The Teaching of the 12

[Hans Deventer]

This is a nice little book about the Didache. Subtitle: "Believing & Practicing the Primitive Christianity of the Ancient Didache Community".

And that's what it is. I never read the Didache before, but this book is a good introduction to this very early Christian booklet, that seems to be focussed on practice rather than doctrine. It's like a very early Covenant of Christian Conduct that is blissfully down to earth and practical. It also contains question after each chapter, I think it would work pretty well in a Sunday School, cell group or Bible study group setting. Recommended!

A quote:

11:8 But not everyone who speaks in the Spirit is a prophet; only he is a prophet who has the ways of the Lord about him. By their ways will the false prophet and the prophet be known.

[Jeff Borden]

I agree with Hans' assessment and review. Tony's work in The Teaching of the 12 is very accessible and might be well-served as a group discussion piece. I would caution that Tony's writing is generally opinionated and could be balanced with other perspectives. In my personal study of "primitive" Christianity I have found the following works helpful in fleshing out a more complete understanding of the culture and style of teaching the Didache was intended. It might also be worthy to note there are discrepancies in the acceptance of the timeline for when the Didache was written and circulated.

The Didache by Aaron Milavec
Evangelism in the Early Church by Michael Green
Introducing Early Christianity by Laurie Guy
The Apostolic Fathers in English by Michael W. Holmes