I have made a significant point of the distinction between the “Do unto others…” language of the common translation of Matthew 7:12 and the “Do not do…” language we find in the majority of world religions and cultures.
The Golden Rule label, as we’ve seen, was attached to the “Do unto others…” statement by Anglican churchmen in the 17th century. And both the language and the label have been accepted almost without question in the Christian community. In fact, it has become such a commonplace that it is also readily accepted by those whose own traditions might have varying views of the matter.
But the issue is critical for us and we need to consider additional information that is available but not necessarily widely taught or understood.
I’d like to first look to the work of The Jesus Seminar which is collected in “The Five Gospels. What did Jesus really say? The Search for the Authentic Words of Jesus” by Funk, Hoover and The Jesus Seminar. Harper One.1993.
The Fellows of The Jesus Seminar worked for six years on the project to produce a new translation of the four canonical Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John as well as of the Thomas Gospel. The agreed-upon need to include the Thomas Gospel was “foremost among the reasons for a fresh translation” of the entire text”.
The Seminar Fellows then “studied, debated and voted on each of the more than 1,500 sayings of Jesus” in the five-gospel text. They used a color-coding system to assign degrees of probability that the text actually represented words spoken by Jesus.
Red-coded text represents “words that were most probably spoken by Jesus in a form close to the one preserved in the text.
Pink-coded text represents cases in which “the Fellows were less certain that the words can be traced back to Jesus or were more certain that the words have suffered modification in transmission”.
Black-coded text are “words that were given to Jesus to speak by his admirers…and are, therefore, inauthentic.
Gray-coded text represents “words that did not originate with Jesus though may reflect his ideas”.
The Fellows of the Jesus Seminar have translated Matthew 7:12 as:
“Consider this: Treat people in ways you want them to treat you”.
In this translation the Seminar makes the same decision as some contemporary Golden Rule scholars do; they combine the “Do unto others…” language with the “Do not do…” language and settle on a single “Treat others…” statement.
The Fellows of the Seminar and the Golden Rule scholars are all well aware of the existence and importance of both statements and the choice of the “Treat others…” language allows discussion of the distinction to be avoided. But the Seminar Fellows in a sense acknowledge the difficulty by their assignment of a gray color code to this language.
So, the critical text of Matthew 7:12, which has become the almost universally accepted statement of The Golden Rule, in their opinion, “did not originate with Jesus, though may reflect his ideas”.
In that context, the decision to move from “Do unto…” to “Treat…” is a less significant one since the precise language is not attributed (by them) to Jesus in any case.
I’d now like to shift to another associated topic: the text of a manual of teachings called the Didache (pronounced dih-dah-KAY), which is also called “The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles”. The Didache is dated by one source between 65 and 80 AD. By another 60 to 90 AD and others believe that additions and modifications to it were made as late as the 3rd century.
Scholars believe that this manual represented the basic teachings of the early church and was used as an instruction manual for lay Christians and early converts. It’s first section contains moral and ethical teachings and its second sets forth rules and practices for ritual observances and community life.
In the first section the fundamental moral teachings are grouped in two categories called The Way of Life and The Way of Death.
The initial teaching in The Way of Life is of special interest to us. I have reviewed six translations of the Didache and compared their treatment of this section to be sure that there is broad agreement on the language and there is.
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From the book by R. Joseph Owles. “The Didache: The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles”. Kindle Edition:
There are two ways: one of life and one of death – and there is a big difference between the two. The Way of Life: This is the way of life:
1. Love God, who made you.
2. Love your neighbor as you love yourself.
3. Do not do anything to another person that you do not want to happen to you.
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From “The Twelve Apostles. Didache – The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles with Text, Footnotes, Detailed Historical Manuscripts & A Study Guide.: Early Christian Writings (Christian Classics) (pp. 11-12). RR Publishing LLC. Kindle Edition.
The Lord’s Teaching to the Heathen by the Twelve Apostles:
1.1 There are two ways, one of life and one of death; and between the two ways there is a great difference.
1.2 Now, this is the way of life:
“First, you must love God who made you, and
second, your neighbor as yourself.”[1]
1.3 And whatever you want people to refrain from doing to you, you must not do to them.
NOTE: There is a footnote to 1.3 which references the reader to Matthew 7:12! This implicitly questions the language of Matthew and reflects an ambiguity like that found by the Fellows of The Jesus Seminar.
Four translations of the Didache are collected in a single book attributed to an anonymous editor: “Anonymous. The Didache: The Original Greek Text with Four English Translations. Kindle Edition. The four translations are:
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Charles H. Hoole Translation, 1894
“There are two paths, one of life and one of death, and the difference is great between the two paths. Now the path of life is this –
first, thou shalt love the God who made thee,
thy neighbour as thyself, and
all things that thou wouldest not should be done unto thee, do not thou unto another.”
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Roberts-Donaldson Translation
“There are two ways, one of life and one of death, but a great difference between the two ways. The way of life, then, is this:
First, you shall love God who made you;
second, love your neighbor as yourself, and
do not do to another what you would not want done to you.”
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Kirsopp Lake Translation, 1912
“1 There are two Ways, one of Life and one of Death, and there is a great difference between the two Ways. 2 The Way of Life is this:
“First, thou shalt love the God who made thee,
secondly, thy neighbour as thyself; and
whatsoever thou wouldst not have done to thyself, do not thou to another.”
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Philip Schaff Translation
“1. There are two Ways, one of Life and one of Death; but there is a great difference between the two Ways. 2. Now the Way of Life is this:
First, Thou shalt love God who made thee;
secondly, thy neighbor as thyself; and
all things whatsoever thou wouldst not have done to thee, neither do thou to another.””
There is no conflict in the substance of the six translations consulted. The teaching given in the Didache is that of the “Do not do…” admonition.
The editor of the RR Publishing volume writes:
“The treatise is packed with instructions derived directly from the teachings of Jesus that were practiced in the early church. The Didache is a first century denominational Manual or Discipline.”
This is an important primary source.
So, from the Jesus Seminar we find a hesitancy to attribute the “Do unto others…” language to Jesus. And from six versions of an actual manual of instruction used in educating members of the early church we find a unanimous view that the teaching is stated in the “Do not do…” formula that is, in fact, the sentiment we find almost universally espoused across time, culture, religion and philosophy.
©Charles R. Lightner