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- A group of philosophers plotting against him had him arrested and sentenced to death. Choosing to die rather than to renounce Christ, Justin was executed in about 165 A.D. After his death, he became known as Justin the Martyr, or simply Justin Martyr.
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Justin, known posthumously as Justin Martyr (Greek: Ἰουστῖνος ὁ Μάρτυς, romanized: Ioustînos ho Mártys; c. AD 100 – c. AD 165), also known as Justin the Philosopher, was an early Christian apologist and philosopher. Most of his works are lost, but two apologies and a dialogue did survive.
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St. Justin Martyr (born c. 100, Flavia Neapolis, Palestine [now Nāblus]—died c. 165, Rome [Italy]; feast day June 1) one of the most important of the Greek philosopher-Apologists in the early Christian church. His writings represent one of the first positive encounters of Christian revelation with Greek philosophy and laid the basis for a theology ...
A pagan reared in a Jewish environment, Justin studied Stoic, Platonic, and other pagan philosophies and then became a Christian in 132, possibly at Ephesus, near modern Selçuk, Turkey. Soon after 135 he began wandering from place to place, proclaiming his newfound Christian philosophy in the hope of converting educated pagans to it. He spent a considerable time in Rome. Some years later, after debating with the cynic Crescens, Justin was denounced to the Roman prefect as subversive and condemned to death with six companions. Authentic records of his martyrdom, by beheading, survive.
Britannica Quiz
Of the works bearing Justin’s authorship and still deemed genuine are two Apologies and the Dialogue with Trypho. The first, or “Major Apology,” was addressed about 150 to the Roman emperors Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius. In the first part of the First Apology, Justin defends his fellow Christians against the charges of atheism and hostility to the Roman state. He then goes on to express the core of his Christian philosophy: the highest aspiration of both Christianity and Platonic philosophy is a transcendent and unchangeable God; consequently, an intellectual articulation of the Christian faith would demonstrate its harmony with reason. Such a convergence is rooted in the relationship between human reason and the divine mind, both identified by the same term, logos (Greek: “intellect,” “word”), which enables humankind to understand basic truths regarding the world, time, creation, freedom, the human soul’s affinity with the divine spirit, and the recognition of good and evil.
Justin asserts that Jesus Christ is the incarnation of the entire divine logos and thus of these basic truths, whereas only traces of truth were found in the great works of the pagan philosophers. The purpose of Christ’s coming into the world was to teach people the truth and save them from the power of demons. In the third part of the First Apology, Justin vividly describes the early Christians’ method of celebrating the Eucharist and of administering baptism.
Justin’s distinctive contribution to Christian theology is his conception of a divine plan in history, a process of salvation structured by God, wherein the various historical epochs have been integrated into an organic unity directed toward a supernatural end; the Old Testament and Greek philosophy met to form the single stream of Christianity.
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Justin’s concrete description of the sacramental celebrations of baptism and the Eucharist remain a principal source for the history of the primitive church. Justin serves, moreover, as a crucial witness to the status of the 2nd-century New Testament corpus, mentioning the first three Gospels and quoting and paraphrasing the letters of Paul and 1 Peter; he was the first known writer to quote from the Acts of the Apostles.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
After his death, he became known as Justin the Martyr, or simply Justin Martyr. Apart from the inspired New Testament writings, Justin’s 1st Apology is perhaps the single most valuable work of early Christianity.
2 days ago · Justin’s legacy as a philosopher turned Christian apologist offers us a glimpse into a time when Christianity was still struggling to find its place in the Greco-Roman world. His works, especially Apologies and Dialogue with Trypho, reveal the intellectual rigor and spiritual depth that defined his life’s mission.
Saint Justin, also known as Justin Martyr, was one of the first Christians to meet Greco-Roman thinkers on their own ground by using philosophy as a tool or handmaid (servant) to defend the gospel message. But what else did he contribute to historic Christianity?
Aug 8, 2008 · He taught that the Logos (Word) became incarnate to teach humanity truth and to redeem people from the power of the demons. Four years later, Justin and his disciples were arrested for their...
Jun 1, 2016 · He did crucial work in defending the faith against its attackers and developed some fascinating ideas about how ancient philosophers like Plato and Aristotle anticipated Christianity. Here are 10 things about him you might not know. 1. He was born in Nablus in modern-day Palestine, but he was a Roman.
