The Ambiguous Religiosity of Justin Martyr

Abstract The comparison that Justin Martyr makes between the Christianity to which he converted and the traditional cults of his time has two sides that make Justin’s religiosity essentially ambiguous. On the one hand, Justin critically attributes the concepts and practices of ancient religiosity to the influence of demons. On the other hand, he wants to justify the universality of the Logos in human history. For this reason, he recognizes, in an appreciative way, certain traces of truth and morality in Greek wisdom, which finds its fullness and fulfillment in Christ, Logos made flesh. In the light of this ambiguous religiosity, one can understand why Justin coins the phrase “Christians before Jesus” as a category for Socrates and others. The driving force behind this operation is certainly confessional and proselytising, but for contemporary dialogue it can stimulate a sincere and passionate exchange with the religious position of one’s interlocutors.