Justin Martyr
Throughout the history of Christianity, there
have been more killed for bearing the name of Christ than have been captured in
the annals of history. Few, however, keep the name “Martyr” as part of their commemoration;
so in this aspect, Justin of Flavia Neapolis[1]
(modern day Nablus in the Samaritan region)[2]
stands as an honoree in our Christian family history. Like many of the martyrs
of Christianity, Justin went willingly to torture and death, but unlike many
others, he blazed a trail for Christian apologetics and philosophy in life. For
his writings and his character, he is remembered as Justin Martyr.
The life
of Martyr
Born
between A.D. 100 and 103[3],
Justin was neither Jew nor Samaritan, despite his hometown’s location. Instead,
it is more likely that his Greek parents moved to the Roman colony shortly
after its foundation[4].
His growing up in a culture and religious context that was not his own by birth
seemed to have placed in him a natural itch to find religious truth. It was
this urging that led him to make himself into a student of a diversity of Greek
philosophies.
He
began under the tutelage of a Stoic teacher which is unsurprising as Stoicism
was largely the most popular philosophy of the time[5].
Finding no comfort in the cold and atheistic undertones of Stoicism, he found
his way to an Aristotelian teacher but parted company when he realized that
money was this man’s main motivator. Next he sat under a self-absorbed
Pythagorean professor but was discouraged and unconvinced of the validity of
such a philosophy when he was chided for not having preliminarily studied
himself in music, astronomy and geometry. Finally, he found a teacher of Plato
who won his intellectual heart by instructing him in the high ideals of
Platonic thought. At last his thirst for spiritual exposure seemed temporarily
quenched and he expected his wisdom to be supported by divine revelation soon
after this education.
It
was at this point in his life when the approximately thirty-year-old Justin met
an old man who would change his life forever and send him on a road toward his
eventual death. While at a lonely place near the sea, Justin encountered this
man who, in Socratic form[6],
engaged him in a dialogue. This meeting would eventually yield Justin’s
Christian conversion and his conclusion that Christianity is the only “safe and
profitable philosophy”[7]
as it was only Christianity that could answer the questions asked of him.
Justin never met this man again, so we know essentially nothing of him, only
that this unnamed man would affect change in Christianity through Justin for
centuries to come.
What
we have now are three major writings from Justin and some lesser ones that
cannot be verified as authentic. His writings include Dialogue with Trypho the Jew, First Apology and Second Apology as well as an account of his trial and execution, Acts of Justin, which can be
authenticated. His writings eventually led to his arrest and martyrdom around
A.D. 165 under Roman Prefect, Rusticus[8].
It is to this legacy that we now turn.
Legacy of
Justin the Philosopher
While
there are many far reaching effects of the writings of Justin, it will be most
succinct to draw them out in his major areas of influence; that is, Justin as
apologist, philosopher and martyr. As an apologist, he was absolutely a
forerunner. While earlier writings such as Ignatius of Antioch were pastoral in
content and voice, Justin’s novelty was his attempt at defending his faith and
his Christian siblings in the face of the pagan, Roman Empire’s unregulated
persecution. His First Apology was
addressed to Emperor Antoninus Pius, though it is doubtful if it was ever
actually read by the Emperor. Regardless of the eventual readership, Justin
traversed a path through Greek philosophy in the name of Christianity in which
many apologists would follow in centuries to come. Among the topics covered in
his initial letter and his addendum, Second
Apology, were issues of resurrection, basic philosophical credentials and a
defense of the core tenets of the Christian faith. His letter seemed to have
some positive effect as there was an edict in favor of Christians published
shortly thereafter[9].
One
of the biggest issues he tackled with the purpose of sparing Christian life was
the common practice of persecuting and distributing judgment against believers
simply for bearing the name “Christian”. Also, he was able to clearly
articulate orthodox Christian beliefs about Jesus and his divinity using the
Platonic concept of the Logos which mediates between creation and Creator; like
St. Paul, he made Christianity somewhat acceptable to his Greco-Roman audience
by skillfully utilizing their own language[10].
Justin
is also remembered as the first true Christian Philosopher. Contrary to many
modern Christian’s approach to various worldviews, Justin embraced his diverse
background in philosophy in order to bring about a clearer knowledge of what he
found in Christianity to be the truest philosophy. He believed that a seed of
divine revelation was given to each philosopher and thus each contained a grain
of truth. It was not until Jesus’ arrival that humanity was given the fullest
revelation[11].
It was with this premise that he was able to engage Gnosticism, paganism and
Judaizers on all sides of his context.
Finally,
we see Justin as his name sake acknowledges: a martyr. It is thought by most
historians that it was an encounter with a Cynic philosopher named Crescens
that eventually yielded his death[12].
After writing his Second Apology, the
Cynic apparently found whatever ammunition was necessary to accuse Justin of
Christianity. When brought before the Prefect and asked about his faith, Justin
along with five male companions and one female companion, declared it
unwaveringly. Rusticus mockingly asked Justin if he suspected that he would
reap a reward for his death and Justin declared that he didn’t suspect it, he
was convinced of it. It was after this that sentence was given and all six were
flogged brutally before being decapitated[13].
While we cannot say that Justin and his companions were special cases in their
context, we can see them as one record among many of Christians who not only
professed Christ in life, but also through their death. So they contributed to
the tradition of martyrdom in the early church.
Concluding
Thoughts
Justin
is an incredible figure in Christian history; one for whom not enough space is
available here to flesh out his contributions to the faith. What can be said is
that he made it intellectually acceptable to some in the ancient world to be a
Christian. Furthermore, he made a way for philosophy to not be entirely left to
the way side and still remain orthodox to the faith. Justin squarely rested his
philosophy and worldview on the person of Christ; this novel way to approach
intellectual endeavor served him well.
For
Christians today, Justin’s passion for intellectual honesty as well as his
loyalty to Christ are points to be emulated. Apologists and lay-Christians
alike can thank him for going against the stream of pagan persecution and
Jewish conformism in order to more clearly and securely establish Christianity
as its own religion. It is safe to say that without his contributions, it may
have been much later if ever that Christianity would defend itself so well
against those who would call it foolish, evil or logically irrelevant. This is
the legacy of the one known as Martyr and it is a legacy worthy of our modern
attention.
References
Chadwick, H. (1967). Justin and Irenaeus. In The early
Church (pp. 74-79). Harmondsworth: Penguin.
Ferguson, E. (2005). The Church and the Empire: B. Justin
Martyr as a Representative Apologist. In Church history (pp. 73-75).
Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
Foxe, J., & King, M. G. (1968). Account of the Fourth
Primitive Persecution: Under the Roman Emperors, which commenced A.D. 162. In Foxe's
Book of martyrs (pp. 17-19). Old Tappan, NJ: F.H. Revell.
Hall, C. A. (2002). The Resurrection of the Body and the
Life Everlasting: The Contribution of the Apologists. In Learning theology
with the church fathers (pp. 253-256). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity
Press.
Litfin, B. M. (2007). Justin Martyr. In Getting to know
the church fathers: An evangelical introduction (pp. 53-74). Grand Rapids,
MI: Brazos Press.
[1]
(Litfin, 2007,
pp. 53-74)
[2]
(Ferguson, 2005,
pp. 73-75)
[3]
(Foxe & King,
1968, pp. 17-19)
[4]
(Litfin, 2007,
pp. 53-74)
[5]
(Chadwick, 1967,
pp. 74-79)
[6]
(Ferguson, 2005,
pp. 73-75)
[7]
(Litfin, 2007,
pp. 53-74)
[8]
(Litfin, 2007,
pp. 53-74)
[9]
(Foxe & King,
1968, pp. 17-19)
[10]
(Ferguson, 2005,
pp. 73-75)
[11]
(Chadwick, 1967,
pp. 74-79)
[12]
(Foxe & King,
1968, pp. 17-19)
[13]
(Litfin, 2007,
pp. 53-74)
