Of all his writings, only three survive: First Apology, Second Apology, and Dialogue with Trypho. And a few plumbed the depths of the Logos and became the great thinkers and virtuous pagans we know from history. For Thou have hidden these things from the wise, and revealed them to babes; that they that labour and are heavy laden might come unto Him, and He refresh them, because He is meek and lowly in heart; and the meek He directs in judgment, and the gentle He teaches His ways, beholding our lowliness and trouble, and forgiving all our sins. In this school of Greek philosophy the Logos is not just "God's word", but rather one of the Persons of the Godhead. To tie this all together, I would like to circle back to where it all began with Heraclitus. At the end of the day's catechesis, the Pope recalled that March 24 is World Tuberculosis Day. What Heraclitus started, Justin finished. At least, that's a rough estimation of what logos means. 2010-present. In 1956, Paul Rand designed the iconic, pictographic IBM logo featuring a human eye and a bee. And that He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. In mid-2010, the brand underwent a logo redesign, as . 62.3-4; 63.7-8, 17).[8]. Incontinence. For example, by teaching the idea of the world-soul in his work the Timaeus, Plato was was really discussing the idea of a world ordered by logos. I welcome you if you are a first time visitor. The Holy Spirit is likened, in both the Old and New Testaments, to fire. Christ is the source of all wisdom and knowledge, even among these virtuous pagans. The center of gravity in Justins christology is to argue for a God beside God the Father, a first Power, the first-born and only-begotten Son of the unbegotten Father, the Logos who is Christ (Dial. Unlike Tertullian, who was opposed to Greek philosophy and viewed it as a dangerous pagan influence, Justin Martyr took a more optimistic approach. Jesus is begotten from the Father, not an excision (apotome) of his essence (ousia) (Dial. Was it their intention to import all of the Greek philosophical baggage that was associated with the term into Christianity? And that the soul of man, though it bear witness of the light, is not itself the light; but the Word of God, being God, is the true light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world. We've earned a perfect score from Charity Navigator. . "And Thou [Lord], willing first to show me how Thou resist the proud, but give grace unto the humble, and by how great an act of Thy mercy Thou had traced out to men the way of humility, in that Thy Word was made flesh, and dwelt among men: Thou procured for me, by means of one puffed up with most unnatural pride, certain books of the Platonists, translated from Greek into Latin. Design by Perceptions Studio. I've always suspected that a lot of information is lost when translating Johns Gospel to English where they translate "Logos" as "Word". Jesus is distinct in number, but not in substance (Dial. This is a quote from a book by C.H. @JimGaidis I am always wary of analogies/metaphors/images. Barnard (Justin Martyr: His Life and Thought [Cambridge: CUP, 1967], 100) points out: It was inevitable that his unsystematised language about the derivative nature of the logos should later be capable of an Arian interpretation. Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Justin believed that any person who lived in accordance with the logos was a Christian whether that person knew it or not. Lincoln uses pathos, ethos, and logos in order to persuade his audience. He did not see a great divide between the Hellenic and Judaic minds; he claimed that they could both be traced back to the revelation of Moses.10 But, they both faith and philosophy had declined and by the time of Christ, Judaism had descended into legalism and Greek philosophy had fractured into various competing sects and superstition. Instead of going head-to-head with his opponents strength, he used that strength against them. Tertullian goes out of his way to describe it as "a second person within you" because he's bringing up the Logos of God as a second Person of the Trinity. 36.1). It is the Holy Spirit who is at work in the hearts of all people to draw them to Christ, the eternal Logos. This is the only blog where you will get a comprehensive and integrated perspective on how Greek Philosophy and Christian Revelation came together to form Western Civilization and why the West is on the verge of collapse today. Stack Exchange network consists of 181 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow, the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers. John was not the first to say in the beginning, nor the first to use Logos; but he did connect them in a unique way. And that he was in the world and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. 57-60; 127.4; 1 Apol. Dodd (page 10 of book, which begins chapter 2 of Part I, "The Background"):- From Logos to Trinity. Justin emphasizes that Jesus is the logos incarnate (see John 1:1 ), since logos was a commonly understood Greek philosophical concept. Gupta and Bird Chatting on the Gospel of John, "Michael,Thanks for this post. One reason for this may have been the role philosophy played in his upbringing. He believed that all truth was God's truth. Whereas Philo, in discussing logos, blended Stoicism with the Old Testament concept of the Word of God, Justins Logos was Jesus Christ himself portrayed against the backdrop of the Old Testament Word of God and Greek philosophy. The idea was subsequently developed further by other philosophers such as Aristotle. Justin was born in about the year 100 near ancient Shechem, Samaria, in the Holy Land; he spent a long time seeking the truth, moving through the various schools of the Greek philosophical tradition. What?! Even the pre-Christian philosophers who thought, spoke, and acted rightly did so because of the logos spermatikos in their hearts, which is only found in Christ and in this way, united faith and philosophy. The First Apology, his most well-known text, passionately defends the morality of the Christian life and provides various arguments to convince the Roman emperor to abandon the persecution of the Church. Justin equated the Logos with Jesus Christ allowing him to show that Christian teachings were compatible with accepted philosophical truths, and that everything good from Green philosophy could be used for the church (p. 66). 1-17, Paulist Press, New York, Mahwah, New Jersey, 1997, Damascene, Hieromonk, Christ the Eternal Tao, Valaam Books, Patina, California, 2004. If tradition holds true, he could have been born in the same year that St. John the Apostle died, a symbolic passing of the baton. Justin's use of the idea of the Logos has always attracted attention. Nicole Abisinio, Author Insights: an Insider Look at Catholic Publishing. All of these perspectives miss the point. Thus we have a commonality when we dialogue with non-Christians about the true Logos. Justins analogies for Christs divinity vis--vis God the Father are like a thought from a mind or a fire kindling fire. Being created in the image of God, the imago dei, means, according to Justin Martyr, that we have the seeds of Logos planted in our hearts. John was not the first to say "in the beginning", nor the first to use Logos; but he did connect them in a unique way. Rather than always seeking to reinvent the wheel in order to remain relevant, we would do well to rediscover and apply in new ways the wisdom of the ancient thinkers and theologians when studying and acting upon our own understanding of faith and philosophy. Why did Christianity not follow Philo of Alexandria's definition of logos? @Nigel J: Thanks. Justin identifies God with the Angel of the Lord, this Angel with the pre-incarnate Christ, who appeared to Moses in the fire (Dial. [7] L.W. The doctrine of the Logos has a central place in the thought of Justin. The original Gospel of John uses Logos. Justin liked the term logos because it was familiar to Christians and non-Christians alike. Before St. John had consecrated this term by adopting it, the Greeks and the Jews had used it to express religious conceptions which, under various titles, have exercised a certain influence on . Most of his works are lost, but two apologies and one dialogue did survive. I have a question (that actually led me here):I've noticed in ", "I stand by what I wrote. Or he did this, not because Greek philosophy influenced his beliefs, but rather to make the Gospel easier to understand for those who knew the Greek philosophy; he used Greek philosophical teaching about the Logos to act as a bridge to faith in Christ as the Son of God for some of his readers. What makes someone a good communicator? Ethylene Glycol. Why don't we get infinite energy from a continous emission spectrum? What they didnt know is that they each were beholding Christ.13. He was raised in a Jewish environment in Palestine, but as a pagan. Discrepancy between Yahweh (Christian Bibles) and Eh-yeh (Torah). In fact, the pagan religion did not follow the ways of the Logos, but clung to myth, even if Greek philosophy recognized that mythology was . @Andies - Thanks. Eric Osborne sums it up: The word is Gods first-born, God himself, God to him in number, but one with him in essence.[6], Yet Justin also implies a certain subordination because God is unbegotten and everything after him is begotten and corruptive (Dial. Christ is God from God. "May this anniversary," he said, "favor increased responsibility in the treatment of this sickness and an ever greater solidarity towards those who suffer from it. Augustine, in a well-known passage of the Confessions (vii. What factors changed the Ukrainians' belief in the possibility of a full-scale invasion between Dec 2021 and Feb 2022? He uses pathos in a way that appeals to the audience's feelings about the war. Justin also frequently uses the word Logos . Hair care. 11). This is an example that Christians should keep in mind, for we are increasingly facing a hostile world where those who cannot engage in rational debate turn to violence and intimidation, bringing the power of an ever increasingly corrupt government down upon our heads. Nov 10, 2020. means of men who rejoiced in iniquity, compassed his death, as an Nevertheless, the theology is quite interesting when considering John's use of Logos in his Gospel. Those who came before saw though a glass darkly, but those who embrace Christ in the Christian era experience the fullness of revelation faith and philosophy as one via Christ as Logos. He is regarded as the foremost interpreter of the theory of the Logos in the 2nd century., Bennett, Rod, Four Witnesses, the Early Church in Her Own Words, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, 2002, Brann, Eva, The Logos of Heraclitus, Paul Dry Books, Philadelphia, 2011, Calvin, John, Institutes of the Christian Religion in Two Volumes, Westminster Press, Santa Ana, 1970, Dante, The Divine Comedy Volume 1, Translated by Mark Musa, Penguin Group, New York, 2002, Falls, Thomas B, D.D. The first way Stevenson uses logos is how prisons hold large amounts of mentally ill people. Thank you! That God as He acts does not "exhaust" God as He is, is reflected in sayings of Jesus: "The Father and I are one and "the Father is greater than I." 13.4). Borrowing from John's treatment of the Word ( Logos in Greek) in his gospel, Justin taught that any truth in the Greek or pagan philosophies was the Word or Logos reaching out to sinful humanity. Required fields are marked *, on 39. If Augustine is right (see his quote relating to John 1:1 above) then by the time of the writing of John's Gospel a developing theme in one/some of the schools of Greek philosophy included a progress from a unitarian understanding of God to a Two-Persons-One-God, a "Bi-une", understanding. Ironically, Justin Marty, who had preceded Dante and Calvin, had a more optimistic view. Its only the Bible that really matters. This Logos contains all of God because He is God and we have all the fullness of Logos because we have Christ. I mostly agree with the answer given by @AndrewShanks, summed up in his first paragraph. light, and deliver men from the demons, then the demons themselves, by Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search. Like I mentioned above, unlike Tertullian who refused to build a bridge between faith and philosophy, Justin Martyr was, on the other hand, eager to build a bridge between the two and the name of that bridge was logos. He stated that the logos worked through the arche, fire, in order to bring order to the cosmos. atheist and a profane person, on the charge that he was introducing In summary, Justin Martyrs idea of logos spermatikos has major implications for evangelism today.15 It means that we have more in common with non-Christians of all cultures than we have differences. Despite his character's death, Justin returned in season 4 as Bryce Walker haunts his former classmates. 10.1), who acquired physical form and became a human being (1 Apol. Reigning scream queen Neve Campbell isn't returning to Woodsboro for "Scream 6." Campbell, who plays the perpetually targeted Sidney Prescott in the long-running slasher series, w This was the ultimate apologetical judo move. For I traced in those books that it was many and divers ways said, that the Son was in the form of the Father, and thought it not robbery to be equal with God, for that naturally He was the Same Substance. Justin points out that both Socrates and the Christians in Justins time were accused of upsetting the established religious order, when in fact they were both trying to point people away from idols and toward the one true God. We don't need to delve overmuch into why "Logos" was used by digging down and down into Greek philosophy. Whatever the reason(s) John started his gospel with fourteen verses associating our Lord Jesus with the Logos of Greek philosophy, it does not undermine the ability of those without a Greek philosophical background to understand his message. In the Septuagint (Greek OT):The Word (Logos) of Yahweh is right and trueby the Word (Logos) of Yahweh were the heavens made (Ps 33:4,6). The Logos is the son of the true God (1 Apol.13.3) and is worshipped (Dial. Please read post 33 and post 34 for more clarification. That is why the Jews worshipped the one true God, while the Greeks, in their ignorance, were worshipping idols. There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek,but glory and honor and peace for every one who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. In a society that seeks to divide, we can seek to find commonality with this knowledge. This comports with what St. Paul states in Romans 2: For he will render to every man according to his works:to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life;but for those who are factious and do not obey the truth, but obey wickedness, there will be wrath and fury. 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