The theory of natural revelation in Justin martyr

Annotation

Justin the Martyr is known in the history of early Christian thought as a Christian Platonist who, with mixed success, applied the Middle Platonic tradition to Christian teaching. Recent scholars tend to see Justin mainly as a theologian and biblical thinker. The article deals with Justin’s theory of «seed logos» as a development of the New Testament idea of natural revelation. The methodological basis is found in the view of Ragtak Holte, who separated the terms «Logos spermatikos» and «seeds of the Logos» in Justin’s system and revealed the relationship between the personal Logos-Christ and natural, ethical potentialities in man. This approach to the crucial concept of Justin’s teachings has not been comprehended sufficiently. Developing Holte’s view, the author reveals the historicism of Justin’s theory, focusing on man’s reflection on Divine activity in history and one’s personality in this process. Through the analysis of relevant texts and Justin’s terminology of the doctrine of Logos spermatikos, a connecting thread is revealed between the reality of the individual’s consciousness and the phenomenon of the revelation of the divine truth in the empirical world.

Keywords

natural revelation, mind, soul, Logos spermatikos, Justin Martyr, history, nature, participation, imitation, cognation.

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The article was prepared with the support of the Russian Foundation for Basic Research, project No. 21-011-44178 "The formation of rational Theology in Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages", BFU named after Immanuel Kanta