The Dialogue With Trypho
Today's episode is The Dialogue With Trypho. It was written by Justin Martyr who lived between AD 110 and 165. This is by far the longest of his works in the collection and, as a result, has been broken up into three separate episodes.
This particular work takes a narrative form, as though Justin had met Trypho, a Jewish man, who sought to understand Justin’s teachings. Whether or not this was an actual meeting is impossible to determine, but even if the encounter is fictitious there are many things that can be learned from this text.
First, in the dialogue Justin presents an account of his own conversion. He was a Samaritan seeking enlightenment through worldly philosophy. Having become disillusioned with his chosen course in life, he encountered a Christian and, after some discussion, abandoned his pursuit of godliness through worldly means to follow Christ. As will be seen, Justin’s studies proved to be quite helpful in demonstrating the supremacy of Christ over other religions and philosophies.
Second, we find that the focus of the dialogue is largely to prove that the Hebrew Scriptures, today’s Old testament, foretold Christ. Most of Justin's arguments draw upon these writings to show that they prophesied Jesus’ coming. This suggests that, much like the book of Hebrews in the Bible, Christians in Justin’s day found it necessary to explain how their faith and savior fit into the narrative of God revealed in the Hebrew scriptures.
Finally, in listening to Justin's arguments, one finds many of the orthodox doctrines of Christianity expressed. In particular, he describes Christ’s nature in essentially Nicene terms: that Christ is God, of one substance with the father, begotten before all worlds. He also affirms the historic reality of the virgin birth, the visit of the Magi, the flight to Egypt, and other events recorded in the Gospels that have been preserved until today.
If you would like to read more of the writings of the Early Christian Fathers, please visit ccel.org to view the full collection.
