{"id":256,"date":"2017-01-11T07:38:27","date_gmt":"2017-01-11T15:38:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/readingthechurchfathers.wordpress.com\/2017\/01\/11\/justin-martyr-apologies\/"},"modified":"2017-01-11T07:38:27","modified_gmt":"2017-01-11T15:38:27","slug":"justin-martyr-apologies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nemoslibrary.com\/patristics\/justin-martyr-apologies\/","title":{"rendered":"Justin Martyr: Apologetics"},"content":{"rendered":"

Free Choice of Will<\/b><\/p>\n

Unless the human race have the power of avoiding evil and choosing good by free choice, they are not accountable for their actions, of whatever kind they be. But that it is by free choice they both walk uprightly and stumble, we thus demonstrate. We see the same man making a transition to opposite things. Now, if it had been fated that he were to be either good or bad, he could never have been capable of both the opposites, nor of so many transitions.
\n–Justin, First Apology<\/em>, Ch. 43<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Truth is Free, and Carries its Own Authority<\/strong><\/p>\n

THE word of truth is free, and carries its own authority, disdaining to fall under any skilful argument, or to endure the logical scrutiny of its hearers. But it would be believed for its own nobility, and for the confidence due to Him who sends it. Now the word of truth is sent from God; wherefore the freedom claimed by the truth is not arrogant. For being sent with authority, it were not fit that it should be required to produce proof of what is said; since neither is there any proof beyond itself, which is God. For every proof is more powerful and trustworthy than that which it proves; since what is disbelieved, until proof is produced, gets credit when such proof is produced, and is recognised as being what it was stated to be. But nothing is either more powerful or more trustworthy than the truth; so that he who requires proof of this is like one who wishes it demonstrated why the things that appear to the senses do appear.<\/p>\n

And God, the Father of the universe, who is the perfect intelligence, is the truth. And the Word, being His Son, came to us, having put on flesh, revealing both Himself and the Father, giving to us in Himself resurrection from the dead, and eternal life afterwards. And this is Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord. He, therefore, is Himself both the faith and the proof of Himself and of all things. Wherefore those who follow Him, and know Him, having faith in Him as their proof, shall rest in Him. But since the adversary does not cease to resist many, and uses many and divers arts to ensnare them, that he may seduce the faithful from their faith, and that he may prevent the faithless from believing, it seems to me necessary that we also, being armed with the invulnerable doctrines of the faith, do battle against him in behalf of the weak.
\n–Justin, On the Resurrection<\/em>, Ch. 1<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

To paraphrase Justin, no man can provide legitimate proof of the existence of God, for all the proofs man can produce must necessarily fall short of the nobility, power and trustworthiness of God. The only legitimate proof of the existence of God is God Himself, and this proof is the Incarnation. As Jesus said, \u201cI am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” \u201cHe who has seen Me has seen the Father\u201d.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Free Choice of Will Unless the human race have the power of avoiding evil and choosing good by free choice, they are not accountable for their actions, of whatever kind they be. But that it is by free choice they both walk uprightly and stumble, we thus demonstrate. We see the same man making a transition to opposite things. Now, if it had been fated that he were to be […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[18],"tags":[32,67,75],"class_list":["post-256","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-justin-martyr","tag-apologetics","tag-evidence","tag-free-choice-of-will"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":281,"url":"https:\/\/nemoslibrary.com\/patristics\/justin-martyr-the-eucharist\/","url_meta":{"origin":256,"position":0},"title":"Justin Martyr On The Eucharist","author":"Nemo","date":"January 22, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"The Eucharist, of which no one is allowed to partake but the man who believes that the things which we teach are true, and who has been washed with the washing that is for the remission of sins, and unto regeneration, and who is so living as Christ has enjoined.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Justin Martyr"","block_context":{"text":"Justin Martyr","link":"https:\/\/nemoslibrary.com\/patristics\/category\/justin-martyr\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1263,"url":"https:\/\/nemoslibrary.com\/patristics\/justin-martyr-on-worship\/","url_meta":{"origin":256,"position":1},"title":"Justin Martyr on Worship","author":"Nemo","date":"October 17, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"And on the day called Sunday, all who live in cities or in the country gather together to one place, and the memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read, as long as time permits; then, when the reader has ceased, the president verbally instructs, and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Justin Martyr"","block_context":{"text":"Justin Martyr","link":"https:\/\/nemoslibrary.com\/patristics\/category\/justin-martyr\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":260,"url":"https:\/\/nemoslibrary.com\/patristics\/justin-martyr-dialogue-with-trypho\/","url_meta":{"origin":256,"position":2},"title":"Justin Martyr: Dialogue with Trypho","author":"Nemo","date":"January 18, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Circumcision The command of circumcision, bidding always circumcise the children on the eighth day, was a type of the true circumcision, by which we are circumcised from deceit and iniquity through Him who rose from the dead on the first day after the Sabbath, our Lord Jesus Christ. For the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Justin Martyr"","block_context":{"text":"Justin Martyr","link":"https:\/\/nemoslibrary.com\/patristics\/category\/justin-martyr\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":254,"url":"https:\/\/nemoslibrary.com\/patristics\/justin-martyr-the-spirit-of-prophecy\/","url_meta":{"origin":256,"position":3},"title":"Justin Martyr: The Spirit of Prophecy","author":"Nemo","date":"January 11, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"When you hear the utterances of the prophets spoken as it were personally, you must not suppose that they are spoken by the inspired themselves, but by the Divine Word who moves them. For sometimes He declares things that are to come to pass, in the manner of one who\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Justin Martyr"","block_context":{"text":"Justin Martyr","link":"https:\/\/nemoslibrary.com\/patristics\/category\/justin-martyr\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":550,"url":"https:\/\/nemoslibrary.com\/patristics\/conversion-of-the-fathers\/","url_meta":{"origin":256,"position":4},"title":"Conversion of the Fathers","author":"Nemo","date":"February 21, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Justin Martyr \u2018There existed, long before this time, certain men more ancient than all those who are esteemed philosophers, both righteous and beloved by God, who spoke by the Divine Spirit, and foretold events which would take place, and which are now taking place. They are called prophets. These alone\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Justin Martyr"","block_context":{"text":"Justin Martyr","link":"https:\/\/nemoslibrary.com\/patristics\/category\/justin-martyr\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":289,"url":"https:\/\/nemoslibrary.com\/patristics\/the-nature-of-the-soul\/","url_meta":{"origin":256,"position":5},"title":"The Nature of the Soul","author":"Nemo","date":"February 2, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"The Soul is not Immortal Per Se For God alone is unbegotten and incorruptible, and therefore He is God, but all other things after Him are created and corruptible. For this reason souls both die and are punished: since, if they were unbegotten, they would neither sin, nor be filled\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Irenaeus"","block_context":{"text":"Irenaeus","link":"https:\/\/nemoslibrary.com\/patristics\/category\/irenaeus\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/peqR9l-48","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nemoslibrary.com\/patristics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/256","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nemoslibrary.com\/patristics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nemoslibrary.com\/patristics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nemoslibrary.com\/patristics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nemoslibrary.com\/patristics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=256"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nemoslibrary.com\/patristics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/256\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nemoslibrary.com\/patristics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=256"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nemoslibrary.com\/patristics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=256"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nemoslibrary.com\/patristics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=256"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}