Justin’s Writings to the Greeks

This episode contains three separate works by Justin Martyr: the Discourse to the Greeks, On the Sole Government, and the Hortatory Address to the Greeks. These were all written for the same  audience: individuals of Greek culture outside of the Church. In them, Justin seeks to show the supremacy of Christ and Christianity primarily by demonstrating the ways in which respected Greek writers, philosophers, and poets correctly identified the nature of God. 

Compared to everything presented so far, these arguments represent early evangelistic writing. Justin’s audience is not well versed in the Hebrew scriptures or intimately aware of the Christian tradition, but rather are a part of what today Christians would call the ‘secular’ culture. I believe that the way Justin argues is instructive: he draws heavily upon the traditions and works held in high esteem by the people to which he is writing. As someone who was trained as a philosopher, Justin uses his familiarity with the writings of Plato, Homer, Socrates, and the like in the hopes of convincing some to accept Christ’s teachings as the true religion by which people can be saved.

If you would like to read more of the writings of the Early Christian Fathers, please visit ccel.org to view the full collection.