JUSTIN MARTYR SAID THE FATHER WAS THE "...CAUSE..." OF THE SONS BEING

A passage Trinitarians struggle mightly with:

GREEK TEXT: "...Καὶ [1.] νῦν δὲ ἔτι καὶ οὓς εἶπον λόγους εἰς ἀπόδειξιν τούτου ἐρῶ. ὅταν λέγῃ· Ἔβρεξε κύριος πῦρ παρὰ κυρίου ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ, δύο ὄντας ἀριθμῷ μηνύει ὁ λόγος ὁ προφητικός, τὸν μὲν ἐπὶ γῆς ὄντα, ὅς φησι καταβεβηκέναι ἰδεῖν τὴν κραυγὴν Σοδόμων, τὸν δὲ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς ὑπάρχοντα, ὃς καὶ τοῦ ἐπὶ γῆς κυρίου κύριός ἐστιν, ὡς πατὴρ καὶ θεός, αἴτιός τε αὐτῷ τοῦ εἶναι καὶ δυνατῷ καὶ κυρίῳ καὶ θεῷ..." - (Dial. Chapter 129:1) 

 

(JUSTIN MARTYR): “...The former is the LORD ( of ) the Lord who was upon the earth, AS HIS FATHER AND GOD, THE (CAUSE-OF-HIS-EXISTENCE), AND OF HIS BEING POWERFUL, AND LORD AND GOD...” - (Dial. Try. p. 413. [As quoted in: “The theological and miscellaneous works of Joseph Priestley, Volume 6] Page 241.)

(JUSTIN MARTYR c. 160): “..."To prove this point, I will now repeat some of the Scriptural passages I already quoted. When the word of the prophecy says, 'The Lord rained fire from the Lord out of heaven' [Gen 19.24], it indicates that they are two in number: One on earth, who came down to witness the cry of Sodom, and One in Heaven, who is the Lord of that Lord on earth, and AS ( HIS ) FATHER ( AND ) GOD WAS THE (αἴτιος) CAUSE ( OF ) HIS ( BEING ) THE MIGHTY ONE AND LORD AND GOD...” - (Dial. 129, Kevin Edgecome Translation)

(JUSTIN MARTYR): “...The prophetic word intimates that there were ( Two ) in number ; One being on earth, who says that He had come down to see the cry of Sodom ; the Other being in the heavens, who is the Lord even ( of ) the Lord on earth, as being [His] Father ( and God ), and [as being] to Him the [Gk., aitiov tou eivai] ( cause – of His being – and of ) His being both mighty, and Lord, ( and ) God...” - (Page 557, Dial. DEFENSIO FIDEI NICAENAE Vol 4. By Bishop George Bull)

[PERSONAL NOTE 1]: Page 560 Gk., ( aitia ) “cause” or “origin” the equivalent in Latin is Ltn., ( causa ).

It is obvious by the above that whatever Justin Martyr thought about Jesus being Gk., ( theos ) or even Gk., ( ho theos ) that they were not on an equality.