Justin Martyr on Philosophy & Theology
A little bit of background before I start on Justin Martyr: I started my undergraduate work in religion back 1997 and did not finish until 2003. After that, I worked on my Master's in Education focusing on Instructional Technology, which I finished in 2008. All that to say that I have been out of the realm of theological jargon for many years and I am not to sure I could read & understand it when I was studying theology.
So, back to this Justin guy - he was a theologian that emerged some where around 148 AD. I remember loving his concept of the "Logos" when I first read through it. In Greek, "Logos" literally translates to "the word" and most of you know it from the first chapter of John: In the beginning was the Word (logos) and the Word became flesh....
So Justin takes this concept and uses it to undermine some basic principles of platonism (which are above and beyond my understanding). Essentially, Justin suggests that Christ is the Logos and the foundational philosophical Platonic principles were all borrowed in the first place. Justin Martyr put it this way:
"Whatever either lawyers or philosophers have said well, was articulated by finding and reflecting upon some aspect of teh Logos...whatever all people have said well belongs to us Christians. For we worship and love, next to God, the Logos, who comes from the unbegotten and ineffable God"
This translates well into the postmodern tension between the "church" and its culture. I remember when "Wow" CDs came out among the Christian circles. These were followed by the "Now" CDs in the secular markets. Perhaps one of the only times the secular world has copied Christians. I think in light of Justin's theology, we should implement our faith with the culture around us because Christ is a natural part of our lives. And any good idea was ours to begin with!
So, back to this Justin guy - he was a theologian that emerged some where around 148 AD. I remember loving his concept of the "Logos" when I first read through it. In Greek, "Logos" literally translates to "the word" and most of you know it from the first chapter of John: In the beginning was the Word (logos) and the Word became flesh....
So Justin takes this concept and uses it to undermine some basic principles of platonism (which are above and beyond my understanding). Essentially, Justin suggests that Christ is the Logos and the foundational philosophical Platonic principles were all borrowed in the first place. Justin Martyr put it this way:
"Whatever either lawyers or philosophers have said well, was articulated by finding and reflecting upon some aspect of teh Logos...whatever all people have said well belongs to us Christians. For we worship and love, next to God, the Logos, who comes from the unbegotten and ineffable God"
This translates well into the postmodern tension between the "church" and its culture. I remember when "Wow" CDs came out among the Christian circles. These were followed by the "Now" CDs in the secular markets. Perhaps one of the only times the secular world has copied Christians. I think in light of Justin's theology, we should implement our faith with the culture around us because Christ is a natural part of our lives. And any good idea was ours to begin with!
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