The Passionate Contributions of Justin Martyr for Todays Christian - Literature review Example

28 June The Passionate Contributions of Justin Martyr for Today’s Christian The greatest treasures are oftentimes discovered as a result of the greatest effort. The life of Justin Martyr is one such example. Born around AD 100 to Greek parents, Justin’s life and the pursuit of philosophical truths would lead him through a life as a student, a philosopher, an apologist, and finally a martyr. This paper will detail the life and teachings of Justin, as an example for today’s Christian leader. Justin lived his life with a passionate and relentless pursuit of truth. Justin became a philosopher teacher that sought to instill practical Christian truths into the lives of his students. Justin was greatly disturbed by Rome’s misguided and false views of Christians. Justin’s passion for truth would lead him to appealing to the greatest authority in the land, The Roman Emperor. The language of Justin’s first and second Apology would show his unwavering devotion to the truth along with his passion for the Emperor to reasonable investigate his claims so he too may live in the truth. When Justin was arrested for his faith in Rome, the prefect asked him to denounce his faith by making a sacrifice to the gods. Justin replied, “No one who is rightly minded turns from true belief to false,” (Galli and Olsen 49). Saint Justin Martyr was born in c. 100, Flavia Neapolis, Palestine and passed on in c. 165 in Rome. He was one of the most significant of the Greek theorist-Apologists in the early Christian church. His scripts represent the foremost positive encounters of Christian revelation with Greek viewpoint and established the foundation of theology. A pagan nurtured in a Jewish environment, Justin studied Stoic, Platonic, in addition to other pagan philosophies and then converted into a Christian in 132, conceivably at Ephesus, near modern Selçuk, Turkey. Soon after 135, he started roaming from place to place declaring his newfound Christian beliefs in the hope of transforming educated pagans to it. He spent a substantial time in Rome. Some years afterward, after deliberating with the cynic Crescens, Justin was censured to the Roman prefect as dissident and sentenced to death. Reliable records of his martyrdom exist. Among the writings bearing Justin’s authorship and which are perceived as genuine are two Apologies along with the Dialogue with Trypho. In the initial section of the First Apology, Justin guards his fellow Christians from the charges of atheism and antagonism to the Roman state (Roberts, Donaldson and Coxe 23-27). He then proceeds to express the nucleus of his Christian philosophy: the premier aspiration of both Christianity and Platonic thought is a magnificent and unchangeable God; as a result, an intellectual expression of the Christian faith would exhibit its harmony with logic. Such a union is rooted in the association between human logic and the celestial mind, both recognized by the same term, logos which facilitates man to comprehend basic truths concerning the world, time, formation, free will, the human soul’s attraction with the divine spirit, along with the acknowledgment of good and evil. Justin affirms that Jesus Christ is the embodiment of the complete divine logos and, therefore, of these essential truths, even though only sketches of truth were discovered in the enormous works of the pagan theorists. The reason of Christ’s coming into the universe was to educate men the truth and protect them from the control of demons. In the third section of the First Apology, Justin vividly illustrates the early Christians’ way of celebrating the Eucharist and of managing Baptism. The Dialogue with Trypho is a debate in which Justin endeavors to demonstrate the truth of Christianity to an educated Jew named Trypho. Justin endeavors to demonstrate that a new covenant has outmoded the old covenant of God with the Jewish populace; that Jesus is both the messiah proclaimed by the Old Testament prophets and the preexisting logos through whom God disclosed himself in the Scriptures; and that the gentiles have been selected to replace Israel as God’s special people. In his work Second Apology Justin contends that Christians are being unfairly persecuted by Rome. Justin’s characteristic contribution to Christian religious studies is his conception of a celestial plan in history, a practice of salvation prearranged by God, wherein the different historical epochs have been incorporated into an organic unison directed toward a supernatural conclusion; the Old Testament and Greek thought met to develop the single flow of Christianity. Justin’s solid description of the sacramental festivities of Baptism and the Eucharist continue being a principal foundation for the history of the prehistoric church. Consequently, Justin serves, as a vital witness to the rank of the 2nd-century New Testament corpus, mentioning the initial three Gospels and extracting and paraphrasing the epistles of Paul and First Peter; he was the foremost known author to quote from the Acts of the Apostles. Justin was initiated to the faith openly by an elderly man who occupied him in discussion regarding philosophical matters and then taught him concerning Jesus. He introduced Justin to the Hebrew prophets who were previously philosophers, he stated, that they talked as dependable witnesses of the truth. They foretold of the coming of Christ, and their predictions were fulfilled in Jesus. Justin noted that after that his spirit was instantaneously set on fire, and affection for the seers, and for those who are acquaintances of Christ, took hold of him; while contemplating on his words, Justin realized that his was the only confident and useful viewpoint. . . . “It is my fancy that everyone would be of the similar sentiments as I, and never reject the Saviors words,” (Roberts, Donaldson and Coxe 66). Justin looked for Christians who educated him on history and Christian principle, and then dedicated himself completely to spread and justification of the Christian religion. Justin persisted in donning the cloak which recognized him as a philosopher, and he enlightened students in Ephesus and afterward in Rome. James Kiefer states that he participated in debates and contentions with non-Christians of all assortments, pagans, Jews, and heretics. Justins passion of the truth of Christ was so absolute, that he passed away like a martyr in 165 A.D. Eusebius, the primary church historian, stated that he was condemned by the Cynic Crescens with whom he participated in debate soon before his death. Justin was chopped off the head together with six of his students. A number of books have been accredited to Justin, though only three are collectively accepted as being authentic. They constitute what is currently called the First Apology along with the Second Apology, in addition to Dialogue with Trypho the Jew. His First Apology was written to Emperor Antoninus Pius, who ruled between 138 and 161 A.D., his lads, Lucius and Marcus Aurelius, as well as to the Roman Senate in addition to the whole Roman citizens. The Second Apology was in fact addressed to the Roman Senate, even though it initially might have been joined to the First. Both were written in rejoinder to persecution. Justins comprehension of Christianity was sorted through the philosophy he had studied. The Platonism of Justins era had a tough theistic bent, and its advanced moral tone seemed to agree with Christianity. Justin linked the Logos of viewpoint with the Logos of John chapter 1. The Logos is the pre-existing, complete, personal logic, and Christ is the personification of it, the Logos embodied. Whatever is coherent is Christian, and whatsoever is Christian is coherent. The Logos bestowed all men with logic and freedom, which are not misplaced by the fall. He sprinkled seeds of truth prior to his incarnation, not only in the midst of the Jews, but also amid the Greeks as well as barbarians, particularly among thinkers and poets, who are the seers of the heathen. Over and above this source of truth, Justin (along with others) supposed that the instructions of Moses were entrusted through the Egyptians to the Greeks. God was not merely known through conceptual reasoning; He manifested Himself individually and as He spoke to the seers who in turn made us to know Him. If Justins proposal regarding Christ in addition to the Logos seems unusual, we ought to keep in mind that we, as well, typically comprehend Christianity via the categories of the ideas of our day. We arent absolutely impartial readers of Scripture. For instance, in contemporary science has been regarded as to be the supreme foundation of truth. This inspired the development of evidential apologetics. This is a technique which highlights historical and scenic facts as proofs for the faith. However, scholars have come to realize that facts arent the totally value-free truths modernism prescribed. Other Christians who disagree to what they deem such an excessively rationalistic method have drawn from existentialist thinkers who are more interested with the human form. In other arenas, too, we divulge the principles of modernism in our Christian lives. In his two Apologies, Justins main goal was to support Christians more willingly than Christianity per se. Christians were being handled unfairly; Justins objective was to get reasonable treatment for them. Persecution had increased to the point where Christians were commendable of judgment just for bearing the name Christian. Their unusual worship habits, their rebuttal to participate in the public cults and in monarch worship, and their bizarre beliefs were adequate to create a general prejudice against them. Therefore, it was that under some rulers and local governors Christians could be tried just for bearing the Christian name. Part of the predicament was a distortion of Christian beliefs. Since Christians wouldnt worship the Roman and Greek gods, they were referred to as atheists. Justin inquired how they could be nonbelievers since they worshipped the Most True God. Christians worship the Father, Son, in addition to Prophetic Spirit, he stated, and honor them in motive and truth. Justin further pointed out the discrepancy of Roman rulers. Some of their own theorists taught that there were no deities, but they werent mistreated just for bearing the name thinker. Even in extreme cases, some poets censured Jupiter but were flattered by governmental leaders. Another charge against Christians was that they were adversaries of the state. Their refusal to participate in pagan sacred rituals, which were a component of everyday public life those days, and their talk regarding belonging to a different kingdom led to accusations that they were not good citizens. Justin replied they were not looking for a worldly kingdom, one that would intimidate Rome. If they were, they would not face their deaths so peacefully, but would escape and hide until the kingdom came on earth. Additionally, he insisted that “Christians, above all other men, are truly your co-workers and allies in nurturing peace”, because Christians understood they would face God one day and testify of their lives (Galli and Olsen 50). "Only God do Christians venerate," he said, "but in other things Christians ecstatically obey you, recognizing you as the kings and leaders of men," (Fahlbusch and Bromiley 89-94). As an explicit example of being good citizens, Justin mentioned that Christians are truthful in paying taxes for the reason that Jesus said they should. Justins general contentment was that by living righteous lives, something extremely regarded in Greek viewpoint, Christians were by passion good citizens. Does this type of situation sound recognizable in today’s world? Today, carrying the name fundamentalist or being linked with a renowned Christian like Jerry Falwell or Pat Robertson is sufficient to be convicted of being dishonest, bigoted, insular, and certainly injurious to society. If we Christians would simply keep our religion confidential while in public, approving with the sentiments of worldly society, we would be suitable. To this effect, we ought to respond as Justin did, not by becoming red in the face and plummeting to the height of name-calling in rejoinder, but by setting forth what we actually believe and by demonstrating that we-along with Christianity itself--actually arent damaging to a well-ordered society, but in reality are good for it. We may want to go an extra mile and show how the ethics of our day is detrimental to society (Barnard 119-123). This might be influential to some, but positively not on everyone, perhaps not on most. But in expounding what we suppose and why we believe it, we will reinforce the church, and this is vital if, as I think, advocates are weakened more via name-calling and exclusion than through assaults on doctrine. Besides being called adversaries of the government and atheists, Christians in the early church were accused of engaging in immorality. For instance, they were said to participate in orgies and in cannibalism in their devotional services. In his apologies, Justin supported Christians as people of elevated moral character. Justin stated that Christians confirmed their truthfulness by not being insincere when subjected to trial. Because they were people who believed in truth, they would admit their faith even unto death. They cherished truth more than life itself. Christians were long-suffering in times of maltreatment, and expressed love even to their adversaries. This approach of living in accordance to truth was one illustration of the change achieved in peoples lives as a result of their conversion. Justin further emphasized the virtuous behavior of Christians, in reply to accusations of wicked conduct during worship. To indicate how far that was from the truth, he narrated the story of a youngster who asked that a doctor make him a eunuch to show that Christians do not participate in promiscuity. The demand was denied, so the young man decided to remain single and answerable to fellow believers. One of Justins apologetical approaches was to distinguish what the Christians were incorrectly charged with, and penalized for it, with what the Romans practiced with impunity. For example, Christians were accused with slaughtering babies in worship services and then eating them. Justin contradicted that it was the worshipers of Saturn who practiced in homicide and in consumption of blood, and other pagans who scattered the blood of men as well as animals on their idols. Christians were indicted of sexual wickedness, but it was their opponents, Justin said, who copied "Jupiter and the other gods in sodomy and aberrant relations with women,"(Eckman 33-45). In the present day, Christians who resist abortion are said to dislike women. Those who consider that homosexuality is immoral are called hate-mongers. When we attempt to present our case as Justin did, it can be difficult to get a hearing. This is not to state we shouldnt endeavor to elucidate our beliefs or even to demonstrate how critics can be as wicked as they accuse Christians of being. What we require to remember is that an explanation of Christian ideas is not enough. It wasnt in Justins time. Reflect on the means he provided by which people were brought to Christ. He said that several people were; Transformed from a life of aggression and tyranny, for the reason that they were surmounted either by the faithfulness of their neighbors lives, or by the bizarre patience they detected in their wounded associates, or by experiencing their sincerity in commercial matters (Bernard 45). Christians high ethical character, even though frequently maligned, is an influential witness and diffident for the faith. In summary, it is important to note that “The greatest treasures are oftentimes discovered as a result of the greatest effort.” The life of Justin Martyr is a typical illustration of what it takes to attain great things in life; Justin had a lengthy career of a lifetime ranging from philosophy, apology and finally a martyr. Through all these experiences, it became evident that Justin lived for a cause and died for it. Even in death his contribution to spread and support of Christianity is still felt here on earth. Essentially, Justin was a philosopher and like many other before him practiced the Greek thought and professed it in his practices. However, the turning point of his life and career altogether came from his encounter with Christian doctrine through an introduction by an elderly man who developed his interest in Christian thought. Justin was an expert in Platonism whose familiarity with Christianity gave him a formidable theoretical background to his career as a Christian apologetic, a role he effectively practiced to the point of death. Perhaps the most notable attribute of Justin’s career was his passion at defending Christians more than Christianity. This was during times when Christians were being persecuted and accused of gross immorality among several other wrongs. His strong defense of both Christians and the Christian doctrine led to his eventual martyrdom; he was killed through beheading for defending Christian in a debate against the roman and pagan religious practices. Several of his works still exist and indicate his great passion about Christianity in early Roman Empire. Works Cited Barnard, L. W. Justin Martyr. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008. Print Bernard, Leslie William. Justin Martyr, His Life and Thought. Cambridge: University Press, 1967. Print Eckman, James. Exploring Church History. Wheaton: Crossway, 2002. Print Fahlbusch, Erwin and Bromiley, Geoffrey William, vol. 4, The Encyclopedia of Christianity Grand Rapids; Leiden, Netherlands: Wm. B. Eerdmans; Brill, 2005. Print Galli, Mark and Olsen, Ted. 131 Christians Everyone Should Know. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2000. Print Roberts, Alexander, Donaldson, James and Coxe, Cleveland. The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume I: The Apostolic Fathers With Justin Martyr and Irenaeus, ed. Buffalo: Christian Literature Company, 1885. Print Roberts, Alexander, Donaldson, James and Coxe, Cleveland. The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume II: Fathers of the Second Century: Hermas, Tatian, Athenagoras, Theophilus, and Clement of Alexandria (Entire). Buffalo: Christian Literature Company, 1885. Print Read More