OF SAINT JUSTIN PHILOSOPHER AND MARTYR, RESPONSES TO THE ORTHODOX CONCERNING CERTAIN

 a prediction having come to pass? Answer. All these things are of the same God, both the prediction of the words and the outcome of the deeds, who als

 is it unjust to subject to punishments those who have been led astray from the truth? Response. The heretics have so little sought the truth with all

 for example from joy we are not turned to sorrow, nor do we rejoice in the same good thing sometimes more, sometimes less, even if we rejoice more in

 That which is ours and that which is in our power differ from each other. We are male and female, but it is in our power to be chaste or fornicato

 But God does not exist because of the universe. Therefore God is greater than the universe, just as in substance, so also in worth. Question 12. *) If

 the destruction of that day. But if he was not heard, why must it not be said that being a sinner he was unheard? For God will do the will of those wh

 we sometimes think. The Son of the Father is therefore the Son of God according to essence. And to say Son of the Father is the same as to say Son of

 to abstain, and, if it is necessary to approach them, either having washed or having used some other such thing, so as not to be purified in a Jewish

 of it both growing and declining, it is clear that the account concerning it has been proven false but if from the beginning of the preaching until t

 did not need matter, but events followed and do follow his commands and prophecies. And the charms wrought by Apollonius, since they were made accordi

 their cattle also. From this water drawn from the wells the magicians made the blood, and in no way is the account falsified. And the miracles perform

 held the daughter of Jairus by the hand? For even if both were raised from the dead, yet the dead bodies received the touch. Response. The dead bodies

 the divine scripture says, but men sometimes endured increase, and sometimes decrease, as in the case of the flood and the other calamities, on accoun

 Response. But that the time of each one's life is not fixed is shown from the words of Scripture thus: If, it says, a man finds a betrothed young w

 except for the pig they were deifying, for this reason he named some animals clean, and others unclean and he permitted them to sacrifice the clean o

 another besides him? Response. Since different reports were circulating about the wonders Jesus performed, some saying, It is Elijah who is doing the

 chains, but the demon himself shattered and broke the bonds and the chains, even if the divine scripture attributed the works of the demon to the one

 ...praising the holy and co-honorable Trinity for the greatness of the divine gifts, in whose name they were baptized and justified, having received t

 takes from Jesus that which is honored by creation in obedience to the command, so also Ezekiel takes the name of the son of man and through the visio

 Question 48. Why did the Lord say to Mary after the resurrection: Do not touch me, for I have not yet ascended to my Father? If, therefore, before the

 Question 51. If the divine is unchangeable, how, when blasphemed and praised, has it often rendered to both parties the rewards worthy of their respec

 Response. Although the generative parts are not useful for procreation after the resurrection, yet they are useful for the remembrance that it was thr

 51. How then do they not say things contrary to themselves, and yet in both respects they speak the truth? Response. Moses himself spoke of heavens, b

 of heaven and earth that the heaven and the earth stand, concerning the first heaven and the earth it is possible to conjecture this because they came

 How is the saying, We shall not all sleep, true according to him? Answer. God is said to be the only one who has immortality, because he does not ha

 to have died. But if in truth the Lord tasted of death, how is the example of Jonah not proven false? Response. He did not compare death with death, b

 offspring for of man, they say, is not a feminine but a masculine name. By what arguments then shall we refute such slander, spoken in vain? Respon

 why is it created and invisible? Response. Having the words of the creator of creation that distinguish soul from body, they ought not to demand more

 as productive of pride, while humility and gentleness are handed down by the divine scripture to those who have received these things, how are the gif

 by argument: The eye is beautiful and more honorable than the feet but if God is ungrudging, why did He not make the feet eyes? For this argument als

 it recovered it, how does it not now vainly expect the restoration of its ancient dominion? For what reason does Hellenism expect the restoration of i

 If the soul receives perception of perceptible things through the cooperation of the bodily senses, and both good and bad things happen to be percepti

 Scripture, having caused the people to fulfill, and he violently laid down his life by a Hellenic sword, but his children were led away captive to Bab

 he flogged the parents of the children, so that they might learn not to dishonor the prophets and, through them, God. Question 81. If all deception wa

 Response. None of those who sacrificed irrational animals as a sacrifice to God before the law sacrificed according to the divine ordinance, even if G

 of those who are rising, it is clear that all, both those who have risen and those who are about to rise, have risen perfect by the Lord for it is im

 by the Savior after the execution of John for they would not have said this, if they had heard the miracles performed by the Savior before the execut

 I have eaten anything common or unclean how through such words is it not shown that he forbids all the irrational animals as unclean, and blames the

 being ashamed at the stripping, yet having been stripped he was ashamed, having within himself the name and the concept of shame, so he had within him

 and that the extreme cold from them is sent downwards, from which, when mixed with the extreme heat of the sun, the good temperament of the airs is pr

 we ourselves needing them, on account of the lack of need of the body, as I said? Answer. If according to the apostle Paul, God is causing the fashion

 Response. For such offenses the law gives remission through baptism and sacrifice, for those that contribute nothing to the harm of society and human

 to happen, so that by these things men might show the honor concerning him, how, because they sacrifice men, are the Greeks shown to be more impious t

 of the vow. But God permitted her to be offered as a sacrifice, not as delighting in human blood, but for the instruction of future men never to vow i

 of a sophism but to the question itself we answer thus, that we too are not taught inconsistently, but as the apostles learned, first the things of t

 Having not done the things that are beyond his power, since they are impossible, he is not accountable. How then does God, by commanding things beyond

 The law was placed before grace, so that one is readier and more benevolent for the remission of sins for those who sin, whom he absolves from blame e

 If the flesh of all men has one substance and the soul one substance, how is one person slow, and another quicker in understanding? But if the soul is

 Paul calls this of the spirit, by which he arms the soldiers of piety against the invisible enemies for it is a word of God, which when remembered an

 ...failure dissolves the involuntary ignorance of the Jews concerning Christ? But the saying, You, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they

 having brought His own promise to completion through them? ries of the holy ancient men, nor of the Lord Christ

 sia, it does not have the form of an affirmation from those who asked in their ignorant supposition, but rather a questioning of both, of the supposit

 ...do those who pray? And whence did such a custom enter into the churches? Response. Since it was necessary for us always to remember both our fall i

 Response. Just as the Lord did not walk upon the sea by a transformation of the body into spirit, but by his divine power made the impassable sea pass

 to look to the creation, for this reason, looking to the one part of creation, we make our worship, not as the only work of God nor as a dwelling plac

 a resurrection of judgment. The resurrection, therefore, is divided into life and judgment, according to the differences between the just and the unju

 has been made wretched. Response. If the other things that were named exist for the sake of man, and things that exist for the sake of something are l

 to look to another life, in which the distinction between the just and the unjust occurs according to glory and dishonor. Question 125. If the apostle

 ty, with the master God making the provision and the removal of such things for the benefit of all men but the piety of the superior beings is judged

 and to be instructed through them, good therefore is their coming into being and irreproachable in respect to the inferiority of their nature and thei

 sence, without any division or distinction in this respect, just as the pi is one with the unity of the line without any division or distinction in th

 to name the progenitors of Christ, is he found naming more? But if in the genealogy they say things that are at war with themselves and with each othe

 of the one begotten from his own body. For just as the one begotten from such a union is named for the deceased, so also his wife is called wife. Ques

 word, to show whose the discourse is, as in 'The eunuch was sitting on the chariot and was reading the prophet Isaiah,' and again, 'The abomination,'

 the care of the wine that had run out yet out of much love, if you wish, so that they will not lack wine, tell the servants to do what I tell them, a

 being foolish, how is God just, who killed so many people for the offenses of others? I mean the offenses of Jonathan and David: the one who out of ig

 Understand these things in the manner of the existence of the persons. Question 140. If Christ calls himself the heir, and according to the parable th

 to have begotten. Question 142. If the angel is superior to man, and scripture calls men gods, how is it not fitting for angels also to be called gods

 So that also in this God may separate us from the likeness of beasts, which, along with the eating of the flesh, also lap the blood of those whose fle

 their land from my hands, because the Lord will deliver Jerusalem from my hand? But according to the oracles which the Assyrian received from the soot

the divine scripture says, but men sometimes endured increase, and sometimes decrease, as in the case of the flood and the other calamities, on account of their own deeds, what ministry then did those who are not subject to increase and decrease fulfill, since each of the angels received a ministry from God from the beginning? Answer. All the angels, both rulers and ruled, fulfill a ministry necessary for the heavens and for those things related to man; but those guardians who have received the ministry of accompanying men are always increased, but are never decreased. For they either accompany the composite being, I mean the soul and body, or they accompany the soul after the soul's departure from the body until the time of the re-creation of the world. But before they are assigned to accompany and guard men, they minister in other ministries on behalf of men to their own rulers. Question 31. If by a divine nod the clouds send down rain upon the earth, why do the so-called cloud-chasers with certain incantations contrive for the clouds to hurl hail and immeasurable rains wherever they wish? Answer. Since you testify according to the holy scriptures, it is unbelievable that the rains are from incantations. For even you who asked this question about this did not make the inquiry from what you have seen happen, but from what you have heard. Question 32. If God created our nature mortal, how do you say that God did not make death? Answer. It is not the case that if something is mortal by nature, it must necessarily die; and the proof of this is that both Enoch and Elijah, though being mortal by nature, still remain in immortality, having become superior to "You are earth and to earth you shall return." It is true, therefore, that God made our nature mortal, and that death entered into the world through man's disobedience. For if just as God made nature mortal, so also he made death, death would not be through disobedience; and if God did not make disobedience, then neither did he make death. Question 33. If the nature of men as mortals indeed recognizes its own limit, but the time of each one is not according to a certain boundary, which those outside call fate, how were years added to Hezekiah? For it is clear that what is added is understood with respect to a pre-determined number. Whence then is the indefiniteness of time shown in the case of those who die?

ἡ θεία γραφὴ λέγει, οἱ δὲ ἄνθρωποι ποτὲ μὲν αὔξησιν, ποτὲ δὲ μείωσιν, ὡς ἐπὶ τοῦ κατακλυσμοῦ καὶ τῶν λοιπῶν συμφο ρῶν, διὰ τὰς ἑαυτῶν πράξεις ὑπέμειναν, οἱ τῆς αὐξήσεως καὶ μειώσεως ὄντες ἀνεπίδεκτοι ποίαν τότε λειτουργίαν ἐπλή ρουν, ἑκάστου τῶν ἀγγέλων παρὰ θεοῦ λειτουργίαν ἐξ ἀρχῆς εἰληφότος; Ἀπόκρισις. Oἱ μὲν ἄγγελοι πάντες, ἄρχοντές τε καὶ ἀρχόμενοι, λει τουργίαν ἐκπληροῦσι χρειώδη τοῖς οὐρανοῖς καὶ τοῖς διὰ τὸν ἄνθρωπον· οἱ δὲ λειτουργεῖν εἰληφότες τὸ παρέπεσθαι τοῖς ἀνθρώποις φύλακες ἀεὶ μὲν αὔξονται, μειοῦνται δὲ οὐδέποτε. Ἢ γὰρ παρέπονται τῷ συναμφοτέρῳ, ψυχῇ λέγω καὶ σώματι, ἢ παρέπονται τῇ ψυχῇ μετὰ τὴν ἐκ τοῦ σώματος ἔξοδον τῆς ψυχῆς ἕως τοῦ καιροῦ τῆς τοῦ κόσμου ἀνακτίσεως. Πρὶν ἢ δὲ ταγῶσι παρέπεσθαι τοῖς ἀνθρώποις καὶ φυλάττειν αὐτούς, ἐν ταῖς ἄλλαις ὑπὲρ ἀνθρώπων λειτουργίαις λειτουργοῦσι τοῖς οἰκείοις ἄρχουσιν. Ἐρώτησις λα. Eἰ νεύματι θείῳ αἱ νεφέλαι τὸν ὑετὸν τῇ γῇ καταπέμ πουσι, διὰ τί τὰς νεφέλας οἱ καλούμενοι νεφοδιῶκται ἐπαοι δίαις τισὶ κατασκευάζονται, ἔνθα βούλονται, χαλάζας καὶ ἀμέτρους ὑετοὺς ἀκοντίζειν; Ἀπόκρισις. Τοῦτο ἐπειδὴ κατὰ τὰς ἁγίας γραφὰς μαρτυρεῖς, τοὺς ὑετοὺς εἶναι ἐκ τῶν ἐπαοιδῶν ἄπιστον. Καὶ γὰρ αὐτὸς ὁ ταύτην περὶ τούτου ἐρωτήσας τὴν ἐρώτησιν οὐκ ἀφ' ὧν ἐθεάσω γινομένων τὴν ἐρώτησιν πεποίηκας, ἀλλ' ἀφ' ὧν ἤκουσας. Ἐρώτησις λβ. Eἰ θνητὴν ὁ θεὸς τὴν ἡμετέραν ἔκτισε φύσιν, πῶς λέγεις ὅτι Ὁ θεὸς θάνατον οὐκ ἐποίησεν; Ἀπόκρισις. Oὐκ, εἴ τι θνητὸν τῇ φύσει, τοῦτο ἀνάγκη πάντως ἀπο θανεῖν· καὶ τούτου ἡ ἀπόδειξις τὸ θνητοὺς ὄντας τὴν φύσιν τόν τε Ἐνὼχ καὶ τὸν Ἡλίαν ἐν ἀθανασίᾳ ἔτι διαμένειν, τοῦ Γῆ εἶ καὶ εἰς γῆν ἀπελεύσῃ γενομένους ἀνωτέρω. Ἀληθὲς οὖν τὸ θνητὴν τὴν φύσιν ἡμῶν πεποιηκέναι τὸν θεόν, καὶ εἰσ ελθεῖν τὸν θάνατον εἰς τὸν κόσμον τῇ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου παρακοῇ. Eἰ μὲν γὰρ ὥσπερ ἐποίησεν ὁ θεὸς θνητὴν τὴν φύσιν οὕτως ἐποίησε καὶ τὸν θάνατον, οὐκ ἂν διὰ τῆς παρακοῆς ὁ θάνα τος· καὶ εἰ ὁ θεὸς τὴν παρακοὴν οὐκ ἐποίησεν, οὐδ' ἄρα τὸν θάνατον. Ἐρώτησις λγ. Eἰ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἡ φύσις ὡς θνητῶν μὲν τὸ οἰκεῖον ἐπιγινώσκει πέρας, ὁ δὲ ἑκάστου χρόνος οὐ κατά τινά ἐστιν ὅρον, ὅπερ καλοῦσιν οἱ ἐκτὸς εἱμαρμένην, πῶς τῷ Ἐζεκίᾳ προσετέθησαν χρόνοι; Τὸ γὰρ προστεθὲν ἐπὶ τοῦ προορι σθέντος ἀριθμοῦ δῆλον ὅτι λαμβάνεται. Πόθεν οὖν ἐπὶ τῶν τελευτώντων τὸ τοῦ χρόνου ἀόριστον δείκνυται;