January 7 - I'm Sorry

January 7 – I’m Sorry.

No, that’s not right. The first Christian Apologist showed up in the mid-100s. Christians were trying to deal with the charges that were coming at them and it took a young philosopher to begin telling their story in a different way.

Instead of “I’m Sorry,” I guess I should explain myself. The Greek word ‘apologia’ is a legal term that referred to the logic surrounding a person’s beliefs. The apologist in a legal trial in Greece was the defense lawyer. Plato’s Apology was written as the defense’s rebuttal in the trial of Socrates.

A brilliant young philosopher named Justin was walking one day and came upon an elderly Christian man. Justin was impressd with him and throughout their discussion was shown that Jesus was the true Son of God.

From this point forward, Justin began reading Old Testament prophecies, the Gospels, the writings of Paul and soon became a Christian. He then traveled and throughout the rest of his life, taught others about Jesus and wrote his beliefs. He helped develop the church’s theology, how it understood itself and its relationship with the world.

Justin was well educated and had grown up with Greek philosophy. He knew how to interpret Christianity in ways that made sense to educated Greeks and Romans.

The work that he is well known for is his book “Apology,” which was written to Emperor Antoninus Pius. He explained and defended his faith, explaining that it was wrong for the Roman authorities to persecute Christians and encouraging Rome to join Christians in exposing falsehoods within the pagan systems.

Justin was instrumental in developing the awareness of the Trinity and the Incarnation, and at the same time held strongly to the fulfillment of prophecy in Jesus. In another work, “Dialogues with Trypho,” he writes to a Jewish friend, showing how Jesus was the Hebrew Messiah.

In AD 165, Justin was arrested, tortured and then beheaded. With this, he became known forever as Justin Martyr.