Justin Martyr: The Christian Philosopher by Chris White

                                                                                                                                                                   

Justin Martyr was born in Roman Palestine in the province of Samaria around 100 AD.  His parents were not Jewish by race or faith but were Greek and Roman and had migrated to Israel for reasons of employment.  As Justin grew up he knew about the Jewish and Christian religion as both had their origins in his homeland and were the faith of most of his neighbors, but as Justin began his own quest for ultimate things, he looked in the direction of philosophy and the life of the mind and was inspired to begin his journey.

The Philosopher Plato

In Justin’s day institutional universities as we understand them didn’t exist but higher learning certainly did.  Philosophers and scholars would teach pretty much any student who was a paying client.  Justin traveled through several schools of philosophy studying Aristotle, Pythagoras, Stoicism, and finally found himself at home studying Plato.  Justin truly was studying philosophy to understand the deeper meaning in life and Platonic teaching on the soul’s vision of God captured his mind.

Ephesus seaport dried up today

Justin was at the time living and studying in the seaport town of Ephesus in Asia Minor where only 30 years earlier the last of Jesus’ apostles St. John had died at the ripe old age of 100 and was buried outside of town.  It is during this period that Justin has a fateful encounter with an elderly Christian man while in the midst of meditating on the existence of God at the seashore.  There is an illustration here of Jesus’ principle that if we act on the light we are given, we will be given more (Mt. 13:12).

We don’t know the exact content of this conversation or even who really initiated it, but we know three important details.  First, that the evidence that proved convincing to Justin was how the Old Testament prophets gave detailed information about the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Christ centuries before it happened.  Secondly that there was a gentle, yet firm confrontation of Justin’s motives in studying philosophy as being more about winning debates than seeking to live by the truth.  And finally an exhortation to seek the God of the Bible in earnest prayer asking Him in humility to reveal Himself  and Christ to his heart and mind rather than trust his own philosophic reasoning.

His encounter in Ephesus set the tone for his future ministry.  After coming to the Christian faith he became the first apologist (from the Greek apologia “a defense”) for the Christian church, writing books aimed at showing ordinary people the reasonableness of the Christianity.  Ultimately Justin ends up coming to Rome where he opens a school where he teaches Christianity as the fulfillment of all philosophy.  An interesting sidelight to this is that for the remainder of his life he wears the costume of a philosopher which makes him the first minister in the church who wore any specific clothing to conduct their ministry.

Philosophic debate a public activity in the ancient world

For what is believed to be the next 35 years, Justin studied, collected information, wrote, taught, and even debated other religionists and pagans in an effort to show Christianity was the reasonable path to take and the true philosophy.  Justin was eventually beheaded in Rome under the emperor Marcus Aurelius in 165 after being betrayed by a disgruntled critic of his work.  Justin was brought to trial and refused to renounce his faith and make a sacrifice to the Roman gods.  He famously said “you may be able to kill us (fellow Christians) but you can never actually do us any harm.”  As Justin faithfully ended his life and laid down his work here on earth, it was taken up by others and has been an important ministry in every generation of the church ever since.

You can kill us but you can't really hurt us

Although Justin is quite removed from us by time and culture, I would like to end this essay by focusing on 10 ways his thinking has become a legacy to the Church:

1.  Christ is the culmination of all partial knowledge discovered by the Greeks (in philosophy) and the completion of all Jewish history.

2. Justin believed Christ is the Logos who was present in the Greek philosophers and is in germ form in all men.  God dwells in men insofar as they are susceptible and open to Him.  To the pagan and evil man he dwells not at all.

3.  All truth, no matter where it comes from is God’s truth.

4.  Prophecy is the supernatural basis by which the Christian faith is established.

5.  While Christianity can be understood philosophically, intellectual powers alone will not make you a Christian.  You must have a changed heart.  Teaching must include reaching the mind and heart.

6.  He believed that Plato was like Abraham.  He was a Christian before Christ who acted upon the light he had by God’s universal revelation.

7.  Justin took the Apocalypse of John quite literally and believed Christ would return to earth, rebuild Jerusalem as his capitol and would reign there for 1000 years.

8. Justin one of the earliest writers to refer to the Eucharist as a sacrifice offered to God and that the bread and wine once “eucharized” become the actual flesh and blood of Christ to the faithful.

9. Oddly, virtually all the knowledge in the world today that we possess about Gnosticism and other mystery religions which were Christianity’s competitors, is found only in the writings of Justin, Irenaeus, and Hippolytus (the Church’s most important ancient apologists).  These groups themselves did not produce their own theologies.

10.  People must be reached with a language they can understand.  In Justin’s day philosophy was an important medium and culturally relevant way of communicating.  While speaking in terms of philosophy is not as important today, the principle of finding the language of a culture in evangelization remains.

Justin's burial spot today

Sources

“Apologists”  New Dictionary of Theology.  Ferguson, Wright, Packer Eds.  (Downers Grove : Intervarsity Press, 1988)

Bartlet, J. Vernon.  Early History of Christianity.  (London: Religious Tract Society, 1897)

Chadwick, Henry.  The Early Church.  (Middlesex: Penguin Books, 1984)

Christie-Murray, David.  A History of Heresy. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989).

Eusebius. The History of The Church.  G.A. Williamson Trans. (New York: Barnes and Noble, 1965)

“Justin”  Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature.  McClintock and Strong Eds.  (Grand Rapids : Baker Books, 1981)

Kelly, J.N.D.  Early Christian Doctrines.  (San Francisco : Harper and Row, 1978)

Peterson, Curtis, Lang and.  The 100 Most Important Events in Christian History.  (Grand Rapids: Revell, 1991)

Pope Benedict XVI.  The Fathers.  (Huntington: Our Sunday Visitor Publishing, 2008)

Norwood, Frederick A.  Great Moments in Church History.  (Nashville: Graded Press, 1962)

Weiss, Johannes.  Earliest Christianity: A History of the Period AD 30-150 vol. 1.  (New York : Harper Torchbooks, 1959)

St. Polycarp of Smyrna (69-155 AD) by Chris White

^“ And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. “      ----Jn. 9:23

Polycarp was the beloved overseer of the church in Smyrna (Asia Minor) in the era immediately following the death of the original apostles.  Early Christian writers such as Irenaeus and Tertullian both gave testimony that Polycarp both knew and was a disciple directly trained by the Apostle John when he was living in Ephesus during his old age.  During his lifetime Polycarp’s central work was preserving the understanding of the gospel that was taught by the Lord’s Apostles.  Even in this early era people were taking the words of Jesus and  giving them new interpretations that were in sync with the times but were far from what Jesus meant when He said them.  Part of the reason why we can be confident  that the scriptures and gospel  have not been diluted or distorted is because  of this early work of the church’s leaders.

    But the one thing that Polycarp is best known for is not his life’s work (important as it was) but his savage death at the hands of Roman soldiers.  Though not the first martyr for the sake of Christ, Polycarp was one of the most well-known.  If you want to read the brief account of Polycarp’s martyrdom go to: http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/martyrdompolycarp-lake.html.

What is important about Polycarp’s martyrdom is that it set a gold standard for Christians to follow over the next few centuries as imperial Rome pressured Christians to renounce Christ and worship the genius of the emperor.  What is interesting about Polycarp’s story is that at every turn there is close parallel with the passion of Christ and how it unfolded.  Manfully facing torture and death for the sake of your Lord became the ultimate form of worship and renouncing of this world.  Polycarp was burned at the stake on February 23, 155.  This became a Christian holiday that was surpassed only by Christmas in the centuries that followed.  For his faithfulness and example, in the face of losing everything, we consider Polycarp as a Father of the church.

St. Ambrose of Milan (339-397 AD) by Chris White

“..Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth.”  Rev. 1:5

If you are at Rome live in the Roman style; if you are elsewhere live as they live elsewhere.   –Ambrose of Milan

Ambrose was born to a powerful Roman family (strongly Christian) and was destined for a career in public service.  Highly educated and charismatic, before age 30 he was governing most of Italy’s northern provinces and was well respected by his superiors and subordinates alike.

When the bishop of Milan died, Ambrose went to the meeting where a successor was being selected.  He was there to give public support but before the meeting was over, he was elected as the new bishop by acclamation.  Ambrose felt a bit awkward about his election since, even though he was a Christian, he had neglected to go through catechism and baptism.  After several attempts to get out of this commitment failed he finally agreed to serve as bishop and did so with great zeal.

As a well-educated man and being very knowledgeable in Greek, Ambrose became famous for being a dynamic preacher and writer.  He wrote many books on theological doctrines which are still read and considered important today.  One person Ambrose was to greatly influence was a young skeptic who had recently moved to Milan and came to hear him preach because he was so eloquent.  That person was St. Augustine of Hippo who is himself a huge theological influence for Roman Catholics and Protestants.

One of Ambrose’s most remembered quotes is “when in Rome do as the Romans do”.  This has been taken to mean that when in Rome you are free to indulge in the debauchery of the Romans (sort of like “what happens in Las Vegas stays in Las Vegas”).  The true meaning of the saying has its source believers in his church who were concerned that the worship services in Rome’s churches were different from theirs.  Ambrose knew that customs on Sunday morning differ from church to church and that believers should not question them or correct them, but be good guests and fit in with the Christians in that locale.

But the biggest contribution of Ambrose was neither his preaching, writing or wise guidance. It was his discipline of the Roman Emperor Theodosius.  Theodosius I (his name means worshipper of God) was a strong Christian and was the person who made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire.  One day in a fit of rage over some riots in Thessalonica, Theodosius ordered the mass execution of nearly 7000 people.  Such a thing was as horrible then as it would be now, but it was something an emperor could pull off especially one as powerful as Theodosius.

When Ambrose heard the news he wrote a letter to the Emperor forbidding him to attend worship or receive communion until he had repented and prostrated himself at the altar out of sorrows for his grievous sin.  Because  Theodosius greatly respected the authority of Ambrose and knew that he did this out of love and spiritual concern, he did the unthinkable and repented publicly for this great sin.

While this was a one-time event it established a precedent that was to be followed for the next thousand years.  Kings have secular authority but are still under the authority of God by being under the authority of the Church.  This authority of accountability over monarchs by the church was to profoundly affect Western Civilization and because of this Bishop Ambrose of Milan is considered one of the important shapers of the Christian Church.

Whatever Happened to Bartholomew? by Chris White

St. Bartholomew depicted by Michelangelo

Outside of mentions in the Gospels and Acts the trail of authoritative evidence goes cold.   According to an ancient apocryphal work known as the Acts of Philip, Bartholomew escaped persecution in Jerusalem and went to Armenia to preach.  Armenia claims Bartholomew as the founding apostle of their Church.  Church history in Iran says that during Bartholomew’s 16 year ministry in Armenia he also came and evangelized them.  The church father known to us as Jerome says that he evangelized India, but back in the day India was considered to start at Iran so there is a good chance this is a duplicate tradition.  Two accounts are given of his martyrdom, one is that he was drown and the other is that he was flayed alive and then crucified in Armenia.  This is depicted in Michelangelo’s fresco of The Last Judgment.  In the 10^th century, his remains were taken to Rome and placed in a Church dedicated to him.

My Personal Nominee for Sainthood by Chris White

 

"Is that fresh coffee I smell?"

Thank God for the wisdom he gave Pope Clement VII.  Even though he said “no” to Henry VIII’s divorce to Catherine of Aragon, he said “yes” to coffee.  It was the turn of the century (the 16^th century, that is) and Rome was under the threat of the Muslims of the Ottoman Empire.  The Muslims, then as now, eschewed all alcoholic beverages as pagan (apparently Jesus was unaware of this at the wedding of Cana) but had their own special concoction called “Kahve” which we call in English, coffee.  Clement’s advisors came to him seeking a papal edict condemning this devilish new brew throughout Christendom.  Wisely, before he issued such a sweeping statement, Clement asked his advisors to bring him a cup of the Muslim drink.  To everyone’s surprise Clement loved the taste and aroma of the coffee and he did not become an arch-heretic or devil worshipper after partaking in his first “cuppa- joe”.  As the story goes he told the papal court that we must not allow this beverage to become the liquid of Satan.  No, we have more power than Satan and we shall make coffee our own.  And that they did, for what church gathering today would seem complete without a “coffee hour” afterwards?.  It is the Psalmist who said “O Lord, how many are your works!  In wisdom Thou hast made them all; the earth is full of Thy possessions (104:24).”  Take some time today and thank the Lord today for the many pleasures He has so generously given us.  May we enjoy all His blessings in true wisdom and of course with a little cream and sugar.