TRUTH BELONGS TO US, THE CHRISTIANS

In the beginning the elohim created skies and earth.

          Welcome back. Let's think about Justin Martyr's statement above that truth belongs to the Christians. First, a little background should be given.

          Justin Martyr, one of the "early church fathers" comes to us as a writer within the Apologetic movement in the 2nd century C.E. He may be the movement's most important thinker. He is credited with being an architect of the Logos doctrine.

        The Apologetic movement was the first intellectual movement within Christianity after all the latest New Testament books were completed. It must be noted that “apology" here does not mean Christians were forever saying, "Sorry about that," when someone disclosed their absurdities.  

         
        No, that is my job, today.

          Instead, the word apologia in Greek means a reply or an answer, especially to an accusation in court. For example, Plato wrote a book entitled The Apology which depicted Socrates' answer to those in an Athenian court who accused him of being an atheist and of corrupting young people.

          So, the Apologetic movement answered certain charges that were leveled against the faith as its cultural influence grew. One charge was political: Christianity was a threat to the Roman Empire. The other was philosophical: Christianity was a superstition.

         It always takes a person to attempt to start or stymie a movement.  In this case that person was Celsus, the Richard Dawkins of his day. He became a leading critic of the faith. He presented some of the earliest criticisms, with exposition, that are still with us today:

        The resurrection was stupid. It was witnessed by adherents of the faith and women only.  

         Biblical prophecy is a stupid proof that Jesus was the Messiah.  

         Paul's idea that demonic powers had been defeated by Christ was stupid. Indeed, according to Celsus, demonic powers were ruling the world.

       Lastly, the idea of a divine being descending from the sky to earth once only and in a despised place like Israel was really really dumb.  

        Please note: since everybody including Celsus believed that divine beings lived in the sky, he was okay with that superstition, just not the idea that a god would descend from the sky in order to become a Jew. Maybe Celsus was Dawkins and Trump rolled up into one critic.

          Justin Martyr's answer to Celsus was a philosophical response because for Justin Martyr philosophy was a rational, non-magical, and non-superstitious answer. Moreover, Christian philosophy was a universal, all embracing truth about the meaning of existence. 

         Justin Martyr’s actual quotation from which I get the title of this post is, "What anybody has said about the truth belongs to us, the Christians."  

         This does not mean he is boasting that what Christians believe is the truth, which sadly is one of those stupid ideas I hear hissing out of the mouths of ignorant, prattle snake preachers.  

         Rather, it means something else. I will write more about that next time. Please ponder what I wrote this time.

        Blessings...