Writings of Saint Justin Martyr

by Justin Martyr

Title: The First Apology of Justin Martyr, Addressed to the Emperor Antoninus Pius: Prefaced by Some Account of the Writings and Opinions of Justin Martyr Publisher: London: Griffith, Farran, Okeden

Genres: Theology, Religion, Nonfiction, Christianity, Christian, Philosophy, Church History

486 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 150

About the author

Justin Martyr, also known as Saint Justin (c. 100–165 CE), was an early Christian apologist, and is regarded as the foremost interpreter of the theory of the Logos in the 2nd century. He was martyred, alongside some of his students, and is considered a saint by the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Church, and the Eastern Orthodox Church.

Most of his works are lost, but two apologies and a dialogue did survive. The First Apology, his most well known text, passionately defends the morality of the Christian life, and provides various ethical and philosophical arguments to convince the Roman emperor, Antoninus, to abandon the persecution of the fledgling sect. Further, he also makes the theologically-innovative suggestion that the "seeds of Christianity" (manifestations of the Logos acting in history) actually predated Christ's incarnation. This notion allows him to claim many historical Greek philosophers (including Socrates and Plato), in whose works he was well studied, as unknowing Christians. (Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Wendy Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Justin Martyr has always been a man I’ve wanted to look into. To be honest, I didn’t know much about him. It wasn’t until I read The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius that I found (included in the back of the book) Justin Martyr’s First Apology and the written record of his trial where he was sentenced, along with many others, to be scourged and decapitated. I didn’t know that Justin wrote the apology to Hadrian and Aurelius, and he was martyred during the reign of Aurelius under the prefect Rusticus. This is a must read for all Christians if you ask me. Although the idea of martyrdom can be disturbing, reading Justin’s thoughts are extremely comforting and gave me a more eternal outlook. Now if I could just hold onto those thoughts endlessly, I’ll be set...

[Rev Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having read a multitude of Justin's quotes in classes and commentaries, I finally set down to read Justin myself. I had some fear that I would find the church fathers to possess a faith and trust different from today's conservative Protestant Christianity. I didn't need to fear. It was so encouraging to see with my own eyes that the faith of the church today is in line with the early church. The Gospel has not changed. Their faith in the person of Christ is the same. Those who add their own rules and doctrines to the Word of God should fear the teaching of Justin, but those who trust in the Bible alone find a brother in this pillar of the faith.

[Jaakko Ojala · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some time ago I decided to read through as many of the writings of the Early Church Fathers (ECF) as I could. Justin Martyr is one of the ECFs and one of the earliest of them. I don't know what I expected. Probably boredom. And I feared legalism, which I also expected. I expected high-flying, nonintellectual spirituality. In large part I embarked on this mission out of duty, I felt that as a Christian I needed to know about the Early Church fathers. Again, I was positively surprised. In this book writes a sincere and honest man. I like the setting, a man, persecuted, writing to an emperor who is persecuting or is to be feared to be persecuting him. One is bound to be honest having his staked his life. And one can hear it in this gem of a book! And Justin Martyr writes with such confidence! And clarity! The fact that Justin Martyr lived and wrote so close to the life of Christ is also historically interesting. He urges the emperor to look at the census record of Quirinius and the records of Pontius Pilate regarding the life and death of Christ. Such evidences make vivid the historicity of our Lord Jesus Christ, a fact too easially forgotten. Also, the fact that Justin Martyr, clearly an intellectual heavyweight, places so much importance on Old Testament prophecies as a proof of Christ's divinity is worth remarking.

[Scott Meadows · Rating 5 out of 5]

From doctrine to practice, Justin provides a fascinating look into one of the earliest systematic catechistic of the Christian faith and church. Martyr has a fascinating testimony and I particularly love his use of Platonism and other Grecco Roman philosophies for an apologetics of Christ as Logos.

[Brent · Rating 5 out of 5]

Justin Martyr is easily the most influential early Gentile Christian in regards to the philosophical-theological spectrum that Christianity would inevitably evolve into. For instance, Justin - who was well studied in Greek philosophical thought - was the first to attach the Hellenistic notion of the 'logos' of God to Christ, who was the Word (eternal Logos). Thus, he ties the initial seeds of Christianity to Christ's partial revealing through in the wisdom of many Greek philosophers such like Socrates and Heraclitus.

Justin's philosophical training truly is impeccable and can be seen in his extant writings, wherein he takes such a rational approach through reasonable arguments for Christianity. Although many of even the later Anti-Nicene Fathers embraced a way more unsophisticated and unintellectual 'blind faith' which tended to slide very easily into legalism, Justin Martyr is the complete antithesis of this decline.

His first apology is a great example of the brilliance of his passionate faith and his theological convictions. He writes that Christianity is a reasonable religion, and it is not what the accusers were saying of it, namely, that it was atheism or cannibalism. He urges the Emperor for leniency, arguing that Christians, are of all people that are not in rebellion against authority, but to the contrary--he states that Christ taught to obey rulers. In short, of the little writings we have left of Justin Martyr, Christians would do well to read them!

"Whence to God alone we render worship, but in other things we gladly serve you, acknowledging you as kings and rulers of men, and praying that with your kingly power you be found to possess also sound judgment."

Brent McCulley

[Drew Davis]

My ‘getting paid to read at work’ saga continues, Praise God! This is awesome. This was a rather quick read (more accurately a quick listen), so I don’t pretend to have gleaned every meaningful morsel from this work.

Justin Martyr’s First Apology is a letter from Justin, a Gentile Christian, to Antoninus, Emperor of Rome, in the 100s AD, requesting the cessation of persecution of Christians. I marvel at Justin’s course of action. Who among us would look at our brothers and sisters being killed, imprisoned, etc. for the name of Christ, and think, ‘I’m fed up with this, I’m writing a letter to the most powerful man in the world to tell him the gospel, convict him of his wrongdoing, and change his ways.’ How Bold! How beautiful!

I didn’t leave a star rating because I realized it felt strange and unbecoming to say ‘4 Stars!’ for an Epistle written to a Roman Emperor by a Christian Philosopher 1,850 years or so ago. It feels like rating this book is treating it as a consumer good, to be evaluated in terms of enjoyment, but Justin Martyr’s First Apology simply doesnt fit that category. Thus, No Stars will suffice.

I did enjoy it however! It was at times strengthening and inspiring to hear Justin speak uncomfortable truths to power, and to plainly and strongly articulate the Gospel in the face of persecution. It was amazing to hear Justin, a gentile, recall SO much Old Testament literature from memory. It was reassuring to hear how Christ-centered Justin’s whole world has become.

There’s also this weird part at the end where he reproduces Epistles from both Emperor Adrian (Antoninus’ father) and Marcus Aurelius himself, as a further defense of Christians’ virtue. Adrian’s epistle sorta claims that Christians are just good people, and no one should mess with them. The Aurelius epistle, however, relates a whole story of non-violent Christians hidden in his army saving them from certain destruction in Germany through fervent prayer and fasting, leading to relief from the siege. Aurelius then has some propositions about the power of ‘their God’ and how Romans should not persecute them or make them deny Christ.
Both of these epistles felt a little ‘too good to be true’, and had my post-modern historical skepticism bells ringing. They would be huge if true, but Aurelius’ epistle almost exactly advocates for everything Christians want in regard to persecution. I’ll need to do some research!

But there are also very intriguing and perhaps uncomfortable parts of this Epistle, depending on your view of Church History, the Gospel, or Scripture. Here’s a few points I’m still mulling over:

- Justin, despite firmly holding to Jesus being the Son of God, begotten before all creation, and attributing personhood to the Spirit, definitely speaks as a person living before Trinitarian or Christological doctrine had really been hammered out. There’s language he uses that we wouldn’t use today, and language he doesn’t use that we would insist on today. He definitely holds to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, but doesn’t really insist on having Antoninus understand that they are ‘3 persons, 1 being’ or homousia or all God. I don’t know whether this portrays Justin not being Trinitarian, being Trinitarian in different language than us, or simply that this was not the primary point he was trying to relate to his very specific audience of Roman Emperor.

- Justin, like many other Church Fathers, and indeed virtually all scholars up until very recently, really has no issue making full use of an Allegorical Interpretation of the Scriptures. He pulls meanings and symbolisms out of text (usually Old Testament), that have ‘deeper meaning’ that is applied to Christ or the New Covenant in some way. Today, readers like me often get very shifty with these interpretations, and they stick out to us as clunky or perhaps even a bit dishonest? I’m not sure how I should feel about drawing lots of allegory from the OT, especially when it would be meaning that the author wouldn’t intend, but would be a ‘hidden gift of God’ for us post-Christ readers to marvel at. I don’t doubt God’s power, and it would be awesome if true, but I still always feel rather wary to dive all the way in. Does honesty to authors original intent override drawing every bit we could from the text, at risk of overstepping? I don’t know. Interesting question though.

- Justin draws on a lot of Greek and Roman philosophers, whether because he really finds meaning in them, or wants to relate to common ground that he can share with his audience. He, himself a former Stoic and Platonist, has a rather rosy view of the great philosophers. He sort of sees them as a great men that picked up on true aspects about Christ before He came, though they were misguided. He also takes the view that many of them are merely espousing twisted versions of ‘Moses’ teachings’ in the Torah, not fully understanding the allegories. To us today, this seems a little farcical, even silly. I would really be shocked if Socrates and the like were even aware of Torah, much less secretly taking all their ideas from it. Not only that, but I think today, in hindsight, we can see that most similarities between Greek philosophy and the Old Testament seem primarily coincidental. This is just some of the quirks that writers around this time seemed to have. I’m sure that our own blindspots will be a gaping ravine to future readers, and we will look much sillier than Justin Martyr.

[Christian Barrett · Rating 4 out of 5]

The church today has much to learn from Justin’s first apology. He beautifully demonstrates the need for Christians in society and articulates for Christians the necessity of holy living as they demonstrate Christ to those around them. An interesting read in light of the current moment in the west.

[Lyndsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an encouraging and convicting read by one of our early church fathers, Justin Martyr, who was born about 70 years after the death and resurrection of Christ. He wrote this apology to the Roman emperor primarily to argue against the persecution of Christians, and in so doing he gives a beautiful defense for Christianity and an explanation of common Christian practices at the time.

What stuck out to me most was the high and hard calling to which early Christians committed themselves as they followed Jesus. What an example that is to us modern people who tend to seek comfort and acceptance at the cost of our salvation. Becoming a Christian meant true heart change for the believers of Justin’s day, to the point where they were willing to be killed by “those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul” because of their lack of conformity to pagan culture. In fact, in this work of apologetics Justin emphasizes Jesus’ words that “not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.” He has a deep conviction that “faith without works is dead,” as should we all.

True repentance, real discipleship, walking in righteousness, no fear. This is what the Christian life looks like. Lord Jesus, have mercy on me a sinner.

[Bobby Daugherty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting defense of Christianity from the Roman era. He mentions towards the end the evil Jews have mimicked the sacrament of bread in wine in their occultic ceremonies to the pagan god Mithra. This may be an allusion to the murder of children by Jews such as Simon of Trent.

[Hanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

So interesting to hear from an early church father and what defending the faith looked like in a time dominated by the Greeks. Also what was so interesting was near the end hearing how St. Justin martyr described church services from the 2nd century in comparison to today! Cool read for learning more about church/christian history

[gloriabluestocking · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating. We're so blessed this has been preserved.

[Giovanni Del Piero · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply beautiful

[Justin Echevarria · Rating 5 out of 5]

This short work of the First Apology of St. Justin Martyr provides a crucial insight into the developing philosophy and tradition of the early Church. He defends the rationality for Christian belief in an intellectual, faith-filled manner that demonstrates the importance of the relationship between religion and reason for especially western civilization.

[Jordan Carl · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the earliest, if not the earliest apology for the Christian faith. Justin was a philosopher converted to Christ. As such, his defense of the faith is a philosophical one. A few interesting notes:

1. His appeal to reason and natural theology are very robust.
2. His desire to find the common themes and threads between Christianity and pagan mythologies. In our modern context, we run away from any commonality noted between pagan mythology and the theology of the Bible. Justin runs headlong toward this common ground and even makes the assertion (probably unfounded) that Plato took some of his philosophy from Moses. Regardless of the veracity of this claim, perhaps we should take a note from Justin and reposition our apologetics toward commonality?
3. His description of the Eucharist and baptism are interesting. He takes a decidedly RC view of the body and blood and calls baptism enlightenment (Hebrews 6).
4. He gives a thoroughgoing defense of OT prophecy as one of the ultimate reasons for pagans to believe in Christ as the fulfillment of these prophecies. He calls on eyewitness accounts of prophetic fulfillment as a sign of their legitimacy.

[The Restless Theologian · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a short but interesting read. Justin seemed to reason that the devil, being aware of the prophecies in the Old Testament concerning Christ, began to devise schemes to mimic prophecies to lead people astray. It is an interesting take and he does bring in some reasonable theories regarding this. One aspect I didn't care for, is that he talked up an individuals merits/works to a great extent. So much so, that I saw it as contrary to Paul's writings and his understanding that our works are a result of our being saved and not the cause. Ephesians 2:8-9 "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."

[Nathan G. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This defense of the faith includes some fascinating glimpses into the practices and beliefs of early 2nd century Christian communities, particularly a credo-baptist (?) description of baptism and a much-debated passage about the Eucharist.

[Andrew Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting jurisprudence in chapters 2, 3, 4, 7, and 43. Curious if there was other Christian jurisprudence in the second century or if there was/is a Justinian legal tradition of any kind that existed/exists after his martyrdom.

[Carl · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's interesting to read basically the earliest Christians after the bible years finished, and Justin Martyr is probably chief among those 2nd century Christians. I was struck by a few things.

1. He tries to justify his Christian beliefs by reference to all of the pagan beliefs of the Romans. This isn't really something we Christians have to worry about anymore. In fact, a few weird neo-pagans aside, basically in our culture you are either monotheistic or atheistic.

2. He also attacks some of those same pagan beliefs with the assertion that the Roman gods really exist, but they are demons masquerading as gods. An interesting tack in a pagan world for a monotheist to take. I do wonder if there were pagan "miracles" that he would have to explain. Nowadays, again, anything miraculous would be either ascribed to God or chalked up to ignorance of, say, how the body can heal itself.

Some things never change, though. Early Christians were mistrusted because of their weird beliefs. As a Latter-day Saint, I get it, and feel some solidarity with Justin Martyr trying to explain his weirdness to the 2nd century folks, as I do explaining our weirdness to the 21st century folks.

[Jon · Rating 5 out of 5]

As you read Justin Martyr’s First Apology, you are struck by one thing first and foremost: the continuity of Christian belief and worship through the ages. Justin’s understanding of theology, and his accounts of the sacraments of baptism and the Eucharist, are all completely intelligible and familiar to 21st century Catholics and Orthodox. Justin’s rhetorical ability is impressive to say the least, and no doubt saved the lives of many early Christians by persuading Emperor Antoninus to intercede on their behalf. In the edition I read, 161 out of 260 pages are dedicated to a survey of St. Justin’s life, beliefs, and an examination of various scholarly critiques of his works, written by the Rt Rev. John Kaye, an Anglican Bishop who lived in the 18th and 19th centuries. I found it to be mostly helpful, but sometimes bogged down in technical minutiae. His comments are also featured extensively as footnotes throughout the rest of the book, which I found added useful theological, exegetical, and historical context to Justin’s writing. All in all a surprisingly light and engaging read.

[Jim Gulley · Rating 3 out of 5]

With staccato bursts of assertions and evidence, the patristic era theologian Justin Martyr answers the Roman critics of Christianity. In 68 concise “books,” Justin explains the divinity of Jesus Christ, defends the religious practices of Christians, and argues against the pagan religions of the Roman Empire during his time. Justin and several of his students were martyred as heretics during the reign of Marcus Aurelius.

[Brian Edwards · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely must read if you want to better defend Catholicism. It is 100% excellent apologetics material facing protestants. Transubstantiation!!!!

It's also extremely ancient. This id older than the official canon of sacred scripture.

Another key note within is the teaching of "seeds of truth" which is by no means a modernist doctrine.

[Max Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an amazing piece of church history. Justin Martyr addresses persecution faced among the very early Christian church and does so in a respectful yet firm way. The foundations of apologetics are being established in this book, and we should all strive to be as good at defending our faith and as outspoken about our faith as Justin Martyr was in this work.

[William Lockett · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s interesting to see what things Justin chose to emphasize both when deserving basic Christian doctrine and also see the claims levied against the early church, particularly that Christians are atheist. Worth the 1.5 hours it takes to consume.

[T. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing. Very orthodox in teaching. Justin defends the Trinity, the resurrection, eternal life and damnation, baptismal regeneration and sacramental union, Sunday worship, and more. Justin quotes from the prophets extensively to prove the Christian religion. Amazing apology

[Elliot Lake · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very plain and relatively boring, but a good historical resource

[Henry]

Reading through a list of patristic writings, enjoyed it

[Alexander Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful defense of the goodness and reasonableness of the Christian faith by the great philosopher/ theologian of the second century.

[Ephrem Arcement · Rating 3 out of 5]

While a valuable source for second century apologetics, I must say that St. Justin hasn't aged well. Also contains works attributed to Justin that scholars now think to be pseudonymous.

[Rob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting for its account of baptism and the mass in the early second century.

[Adam Bloch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as good as the Bible, obviously, but it’s an extremely early account of Christian thought and worth the read. I enjoyed it.