RELIGIOUS ENCYCLOPEDIA
Justin Martyr
occurrence at Ephesus, the personality of the Rabbi Tarphon being employed, though in a Hellenized form. The treatise " On the Resurrection," of which extensive fragments are preserved in the Sacra parallela, is not so generally accepted. Even earlier than this collection, it is referred to by Procopius of Gaza (c. 465-528), and Methodius appeals to Justin in support of his interpretation of I Cor. xv. 50 in a way which makes it natural to assume the existence of a treatise on the subject, to say nothing of other traces of a connection in thought both here, in Irenaeus (V., ii.-xiii. 5), and also in Tertullian, where it is too close to be anything but a conscious following of the Greek. The " Against Marcion " is lost, as is the " Refutation of all Heresies " to which Justin himself refers in " Apology," i. 26; Hegesippus, besides perhaps Irenaeus and Tertullian, seems to have used it.
Of the date of the " Dialogue " it can only be said that it was later than the " Apology "; the time of composition of the latter, however, can be determined with comparative closeness. From the fact that it was addressed to Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius, and Verus, its composition must fall between 147 and 161. The refer- 2. The ence to Felix as governor of Egypt, " Apology." since this can only be the Lucius Munatius Felix whom the Oxyrhynchus papyri give as prefect Sept. 13, 151, fixes the date still more exactly. Its occasion is evidently a recent occurrence, and the Chronicon of Eusebius gives 152-153 as the date of the attacks of Crescens. What is designated as the " Second Apology " was written as a supplement to the first, on account of certain proceedings which had in the mean time taken place in Rome before Lollius Urbicus as prefect of the city, which must have been between 150 and 157
The purpose of the " Apology " is to prove to the emperors, renowned as upright and philosophical men, the injustice of the persecution of the Christians, who are really the representatives of true philosophy. Chaps, i.-xii. give the preliminary negative proof; chap. xiii. begins a positive exposition of what Christianity really is. Christians are the true worshipers of God, the Creator of all things; they offer him the only sacrifices worthy of him, those of prayer and thanksgiving, and are taught by his Son, to whom they assign a place next in honor to him. This teaching leads them to perfect morality, as shown in their teacher's words and their own lives, and founded on their belief in the resurrection. The doctrine of the Logos made flesh is specially emphasized in xxi., ^xnr^JSbiat interferes with belief in this fact is the ■•deceitful work of demons (xxiii.-xxvi.), in contrast with which Christian righteousness is still further described (xxvii.-xxix.). Then follows the proof that Christ is the Son of God from Old-Testament prophecy, fulfilled in every detail (xxx.-l.), no matter what evil spirits may pretend (liv.-lvii.); even Plato learned from Moses (lviii.-lx.). The remaining chapters (lxi.-lxvii.) give a glimpse of the daily life of Christians at the time — baptism, communion, and Sunday worship. The supplementary or " Second Apology " depicts the behavior
of the Christians under persecution, of which the demons are again set forth as the instigators.
In the " Dialogue," after an introductory section (i.-ix.), Justin undertakes to show that Christianity is the new law for all men (x.-xxx.), and to prove from Scripture that Jesus is the Christ (xxxicviii.). The concluding section (cix.-cxlii.) demonstrates that the Christians are the
3. The true people of God. The fragments of
" Dialogue" the work " On the Resurrection " be-
and gin with the assertion that the truth,
" Resur- and God the author of truth, need no
rection." witness, but that as a concession to the weakness of men it is necessary to give arguments to convince those who gainsay it. It is then shown, after a denial of unfounded deductions, that the resurrection of the body is neither impossible nor unworthy of God, and that the evidence of prophecy is not lacking for it. Another fragment takes up the positive proof of the resurrection, adducing that of Christ and of those whom he recalled to life. In another the resurrection is shown to be that of what has gone down, i.e., the body; the knowledge concerning it is the new doctrine in contrast with that of the old philosophers; the doctrine follows from the command to keep the body in moral purity.
Flacius discovered " blemishes " in Justin's theology, which he attributed to the influence of pagan philosophers; and in modern times Semler and S. G. Lange have made him out a thorough Hellene, while Semisch and Otto defend him from this charge. In opposition to the school of Baur, who considered him a Jewish Christian, A. Ritschl has pointed out that it was precisely because he was a Gentile Christian that he did not fully 4. Justin's understand the Old-Testament f ounda-
Theology. tion of Paul's teaching, and explained in this way the modified character of his Paulinism and his legal mode of thought. M. von Engelhardt has attempted to extend this line of treatment to Justin's entire theology, and to show that his conceptions of God, of free will and righteousness, of redemption, grace, and merit prove the influence of the cultivated Greek pagan world of the second century, dominated by the Platonic and Stoic philosophy. But he admits that Justin is a Christian in his unquestioning adherence to the Church and its faith, his unqualified recognition of the Old Testament, and his faith in Christ as the Son of God the Creator, made manifest in the flesh, crucified, and risen, through which belief he succeeds in getting away from the dualism of pagan and also of Gnostic philosophy.
In the opening of the " Dialogue," Justin relates his vain search among the Stoics, Peripatetics, and Pythagoreans for a satisfying knowledge of God; his finding in the ideas of Plato wings for his soul, by the aid of which he hoped to at- 5. His tain the contemplation of the God- Conversion head; and his meeting on the seaand shore with an aged man who told him Teachings, that by no human endeavor but only by divine revelation could this blessedness be attained, that the prophets had conveyed this revelation to man, and that their words had
Justin Martyr JuBtinian I