Theological Term of the Week: Justin Martyr

Justin Martyr
The “greatest of the 2nd Century [Christian] apologists.”1 In about AD 165, he was executed in Rome for being a Christian.

• From 2000 Years of Christ’s Power by N. H. Needham:

In his writings, Justin tried to show that all the truths which the Greek philosophers, particularly the Platonists, had been striving to understand were now perfectly revealed in Christianity. To demonstrate this, Justin described Christ as the Logos… . Logos was a term which Greek philosophers used to refer to the eternal principle of Reason that gives order and meaning to the universe. Philosophers saw the Logos standing half-way between God and creation; God was too distant and perfect to have any immediate contact with the universe, but He could deal with it indirectly through His Logos. According to Justin, this eternal Logos or Reason was Christ himself before He became flesh as Jesus of Nazareth… . So instead of setting the Christian faith and Greek philosophy against each other, Justin believed that Christianity was the fulfilment of Greek philosophy. The philosophers had only seen parts of the jigsaw: Christianity gave the complete picture.

Learn more:

1. Got Questions: Who was Justin Martyr?
2. Christian History: Justin Martyr
3. Doug Geivett: Justin Martyr: The First Apologist of the Christian Church
4. Justin Martyr: Dialogue with Trypho
5. Justin Martyr: How We Christians Worship

Related terms:

• Ambrose of Milan
• Apollinarius
• Athanasius
• Augustine of Hippo
• Basil of Caesarea
• Cappadocian fathers
• Columba
• Cyril of Alexandria
• Gregory of Nanzianzus
• Gregory of Nyssa
• Gregory the Great
• Hilary of Poitiers
• Irenaeus of Lyons
• Jerome
• John Chrysostom
• Maximus the Confessor
• Monica
• Nestorius
• Origen
• Patrick
• Pelagius
• Sabellius
• Tertullian
• Venerable Bede, The

Filed under Christian History

1From 2000 Years of Christ’s Power by N. R. Needham.

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Sunday Hymn: Beautiful Savior

Beautiful Savior, king of creation
Son of God and Son of Man!
Truly I’d love Thee, truly I’d serve Thee,
Light of my soul, my joy, my crown.

Fair are the meadows, fair are the woodlands,
Robed in the flowers of blooming spring;
Jesus is fairer, Jesus is purer,
He makes our sorrowing spirit sing.

Fair is the sunshine, fair is the moonlight,
Bright the sparkling stars on high;
Jesus shines brighter, Jesus shines purer
Than all the angels in the sky.

Beautiful Savior, Lord of the nations,
Son of God and Son of Man!
Glory and honor, praise, adoration
Now and forevermore be Thine!

Other hymns, worship songs, or quotes for this Sunday:

• A Shelter in the Time of Storm at The Happy Wonderer

Selected Reading, February 27, 2021

 

My recommendations for your weekend reading. 

Old Testament

Moses’s Life Is a Movie Trailer
If it’s written by Michael Morales, I’m going to read it. You should too:

“God has an artistic way of arranging history and inspiring Scripture that allows us to see patterns in his redemptive work.

This is exactly what we see with Moses in Exodus, particularly its early chapters (typically referred to as his birth narrative). Moses doesn’t just serve as Israel’s redeemer and savior; he serves as a preview of Israel’s experience—almost like a movie trailer.”

Christian Living

Real Churches Commune with Dead Saints
A little encouragement during what can be discouraging times (and also an incentive to gather, if you can, with your church this Sunday): “Despite the distance between heaven and earth, between the dead and living, between now and eternity, we’re already citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem, already enrolled in the same assembly.”

Theological Terms

Prophet, Priest, and King
From the Simply Put podcast, three short reflections on the three aspects of the threefold office of Christ. I’ll be adding links to these in my related theological terms. 

Athanasius
I’ve started a new series of theological term posts featuring people from Christian history. This one on Athanasius, “outstanding champion of Nicene theology,” is first.