Murals (2008) by PHANTAST - Graffiti - Cultural Music & Art Association inc. - 98 Milne St. Benleigh
"... SEEK AND YOU WILL FIND..."(Matthew 7:7)
Justin Martyr was born in the sleepy backwater of Samaria in the 2nd century AD.
He made his way to Roman civilization, where he sat at the feet of the philosophers.
He first tried out the Stoics, the most successful of the schools of the time, though they did not satisfy him. They were the closest the ancient world came to champions of self-help, and that inclined them to be obsessed with themselves, with little of interest to say about God.
Justin turned to an Aristotelian teacher, though that did not last beyond the old curmudgeon's obsession with fixing the right fee.
Next he reached out to the Pythagoreans, who had a fascination with misteries of mathematics and music. That was appealing in theory, only Justin found that geometry and playing the lyre were beyond him.
Eventually he ended up with the Platonists; they offered a lot. In particular, he was drawn to their ideas about divinity. They had a notion that there is a high God, and that although this aspect remains beyond the reach of human comprehension, the divine energy - or Logos - overflows to touch the souls of men and women. It was an immensely rich theology. Justin loved it and he stuck with it, until one day he was walking along the seashore at Ephesus and he met a wise man.
The two started talking, and before the day was out, he had moved on again. He had been converted to Christianity.
The divine energy of the Platonists, this Logos, had become flesh, the sage told him. You could encounter it in the person of Jesus.
"Philosophy works out the cost of the meal called life and can write you a bill, but religion offers you the meal itself.
Christianity, Justin concluded, offered the richest fare he had tasted so far".