St. Justin Martyr: The Philosopher Who Found Christ
Objective: The student will identify St. Justin Martyr and how he used Greek philosophy to defend the faith.
Meet a saint who is the perfect bridge for this week: a man who loved Greek philosophy and then found that all his searching pointed to Christ. Justin (c. AD 100-165) was born in Samaria of pagan parents and spent his youth studying the great philosophical schools, Stoic, Pythagorean, Platonic, hungry for truth. He found glimpses of it everywhere, but no certainty. Then an old man on a seashore told him about the Hebrew prophets and the Christ they foretold, and Justin's whole search came to rest. 'I found this philosophy alone to be safe and profitable,' he wrote. But Justin did not throw away his learning; he baptized it. He argued that wherever pagans like Socrates had glimpsed truth, they had glimpsed the Logos, the Word, who is Christ himself. He wrote his First Apology to the Roman emperor, defending Christians against slander and explaining the faith with calm reason. In the end he was beheaded for refusing to sacrifice to the gods, earning the name 'Martyr.' He models the virtue of wisdom: the love of truth that follows reason all the way to God. His feast is June 1.
Resources
Discussion Questions
- 1How can a non-Christian thinker like Socrates 'glimpse' truth that points to Christ?
- 2Why might Justin keep his philosopher's cloak even after becoming a Christian?
Write one sentence: 'Justin believed that all truth comes from ____.' Fill in and explain.
Justin: wherever there is truth, there is the seed of the Word (Logos).