Justin Martyr and Classical Culture
Justin Martyr was a Christian apologetic author who eventually sacrificed his life for his faith. He experimented with several schools of philosophy before converting to Christianity. Justin’s philosophy offered a sort of marriage of Greco-Roman philosophy with Christian theology. He was considered an apologist because he defended Christianity by using philosophers commonly accepted by pagans, especially Plato, to support the ideals of Christianity.In Justin’s Dialogue with Trypho, he discusses how, under a Platonist, he refined his skills in the realm of philosophy with each day. “…in the company of a wise man who was highly esteemed by the Platonists…I forged ahead in philosophy and day by day I improved” (Bart D. Ehrman, After the New Testament: A Reader in Early Christianity, p. 20). He also illustrates how the grand ideals of Plato took him to another level in his philosophy. “…the Platonic theory adde
Justin sites the philosophies of Plato to support the Christian belief in monotheism. “’But the Deity, father,’ I rejoined,’Cannot be seen by the same eyes as other living beings are. He is to perceive by the mind alone, as Plato affirms and I agree with him’” (Bart D. Ehrman, After the New Testament: A Reader in Early Christianity, p. 21). Justin, supported by Plato, argues that there is one God. He is not a physical being, but one that is spiritual. We are connected to God through our beliefs that we hold in our hearts and minds. Justin is considered an apologetic because he is a defender of Christianity. Trypho talks through his argument and ends up opposite of where he began. Then Justin uses the work of Plato, as well as his own beliefs, to support the conclusion that he had led Trypho to. In the Dialogue with Trypho, he leads Trypho to believe that he agrees with him as he walks him into a contradiction of his
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