Justin Martyr Complete Works: Dialogue with Trypho First and Second Apology

by Justin Martyr

"Justin Martyr Complete Works" includes two of Justin Martyr's most significant the "Dialogue with Trypho" and the "First and Second Apology." The "Dialogue with Trypho" presents a detailed discussion between Justin and a Jewish scholar, defending Christian beliefs and interpreting Scripture. The "Apologies" are defenses of Christianity addressed to the Roman emperors, arguing against misconceptions and outlining the moral and theological foundations of the faith. This collection provides valuable insights into early Christian thought and apologetics.

278 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 2, 2024

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

[Theodora Girgis]

In my first year Calculus class, we spent two hours learning how to prove that 1 > 0… that is the best metaphor I can find for how this book felt to me. All the points being made by St. Justin seemed so obvious to the point of being trivial and tedious… reading the Dialogue with Trypho felt like chewing cardboard sometimes. But I also recognize how impactful and important it was, especially at his time, to go through this whole philosophical apologetics narrative to prove to Jews and Pagans that Jesus is God.

This work contains some cool insights into the early church and pulls some nice symbolism from OT prophecies, but philosophy and apologetics just aren’t really my thing… not a bad text - just not for me.