JUSTIN MARTYR'S ANGEL WORSHIP - DIALOGUE WITH TRYPHO CHAPTER 93
PETER
R. CARRELL: “...Bakker, however, has observed that while giving
Christ the title 'Angel' did not necessarily imply his
identification with one of the angels, nevertheless 'as the title
“Angel” conveyed the whole cyclus of conceptions implied in it,
the danger of Jesus being identified with ( an angel generally ), or
even with ( a special angel ) was not imaginary'.{8} In
another passage Justin appears to court this very danger with an
apparent implication that he worshiped angels: “But both Him, and
the Son who came forth from Him and taught us these things, and the
host ( of the other
) good angels who follow
and ( are made like to Him ), and the the prophetic spirit, we
worship and adore” (Apol I.6). BUT
SINCE
ELSEWHERE JUSTIN GIVES NO HINT OF SUCH A PRACTICE
(e.g. Apol. I.13,16,61), IT HAS BEEN SUGGESTED THAT ( THERE MAY BE
SOME CARELESSNESS ) IN JUSTIN'S EXPRESSION,
which could be remedied by supposing that he meant to say
either: “the Son … taught us ( about ) these things and ( about )
the host of the other good angels,” or “the Son … taught us (
and ) the host of other good angels … ( about these things),”.
Yet we cannot be sure that Justin was careless ; he may have ( meant
what he said ), however anomalous and inconsistent it appears to
be...” - (Page 99, “Jesus and the Angels:
Angelology and the Christology of the Apocalypse of John,” By Peter
R. Carrell 1997.)
This claim is made by others as well, that Justin, apart from the well known passage in his 1st Apology chapter 6, that he did not give any hint of adoration or worship of angels.
BUT I DISAGREE!
Why?
Because of the following passage from Justin's Dialogue with Trypho:
LATIN
TEXT: “...nullum alium deum colet, sed tamen Angelum
etiam illum, Deo jubente, colet, quem ipse Dominus et Deus
diligit...” - (Page 696, Vol. 6, MPG.)
GREEK
TEXT: “...ὅθεν μοι δοκεῖ
καλῶς εἰρῆσθαι ὑπὸ τοῦ ἡμετέρου
κυρίου καὶ σωτῆρος Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ,
ἐν δυσὶν ἐντολαῖς πᾶσαν δικαιοσύνην
καὶ εὐσέβειαν πληροῦσθαι· εἰσὶ δὲ
αὗται· Ἀγαπήσεις κύριον τὸν θεόν
σου ἐξ ὅλης τῆς καρδίας σου καὶ ἐξ
ὅλης τῆς ἰσχύος σου, καὶ τὸν πλησίον
σου ὡς σεαυτόν. ὁ γὰρ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς
καρδίας καὶ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς ἰσχύος ἀγαπῶν
τὸν θεόν, πλήρης θεοσεβοῦς γνώμης
ὑπάρχων, οὐδένα
ἄλλον τιμήσει
θεόν· καὶ ἄγγελον
ἐκεῖνον ἂν τιμήσῃ
θεοῦ βουλομένου, τὸν
ἀγαπώμενον
ὑπ' αὐτοῦ τοῦ κυρίου καὶ θεοῦ...”
- (Chapter 93: ; Dialouge ed. E. J.
Goodspeed, Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1915)
JUSTIN
MARTYR (circa. 110 to 165 C.E.): “...For
whoever loves God with all his heart, and with all his strength, and
is full of pious thoughts towards him will not worship any other God
; BUT YET ACCORDING TO THE COMMAND OF GOD WILL
ALSO - ( WORSHIP ) - HIS ANGEL
(OR MESSENGER), WHICH IS THE
WELL BELOVED OF THE LORD GOD...” -
(Page 84; Chapter 93, “JUSTIN
MARTYR'S: DIALOGUE with Trypho the Jew,” Translated from the Greek
into English, with notes, by Henry Brown, Oxford, 1745.)
JUSTIN
MARTYR (circa. 110 to 165 C.E.): “...For, he who loves God with
all his heart and all his strength has a mind that is devoted to God,
and HE – ( WILL WORSHIP ) – NO BUT HE WILL, SINCE GOD DESIRES IT,
– ( REVERE ) – THE
ANGEL WHO IS LOVED BY THE SAME LORD AND GOD...” -
(Chapter 93, “Dialogue With Trypho A Jew,” Translated by Kevin
Edgecome, Berkely, CA., 2002.)
JUSTIN
MARTYR (circa. 110 to 165 C.E.): “...For the man who loves God
with all the heart, and with all the strength, being filled with a
God-fearing mind, WILL REVERENCE NO OTHER GOD; AND SINCE GOD WISHES
IT, HE WOULD REVERENCE THAT ANGEL WHO IS
BELOVED BY THE SAME LORD AND GOD...” - (Chapter 93,
“Dialogue With Trypho A Jew,” Translated by Marcus Dods and
George Reith. From Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 1. Edited by Alexander
Roberts, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe. Buffalo, NY:
Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1885.)
JUSTIN
MARTYR (circa. 110 to 165 C.E.): “...For he that loves God with
all his heart and with all his strength is full of devout sentiments,
AND WILL NOT HONOUR ANY OTHER GOD, BUT WILL
HONOUR THAT ANGEL OF GOD ACCORDING TO HIS WILL WHO
IS [Gk., ( τὸν ἀγαπώμενον )] BELOVED
BY THE LORD AND GOD...” - (Chapter 93, “Dialogue With Trypho A
Jew,” in “THE WORKS NOW EXTANT OF JUSTIN MARTYR,” A Library Of
Fathers Of The Holy Catholic Church, Anterior To The Division Of East
And West: Translated by Members of the English Church 1861.)
It is interesting to note that only one out the four translations, take note of the definite article in the phrase Gk., ( τὸν ἀγαπώμενον ).
Which is more correctly: “...( THE ) BELOVED...” or “...( THE ) BELOVED ONE...”
So, the question remains who is this “...ANGEL...” who is Gk., ( τὸν ἀγαπώμενον ) “...( THE ) BELOVED ONE...” of God that Justin refers to?
Perhaps this may give you a hint:
ALEXANDER SOUTER (circa. 1873-1949 C.E.): “...Gk., ( ἀγαπητός ), Loved, beloved, with two special applications, (a) Gk., ( ὁ ἀγαπητός ), The Beloved, a title of the Messiah (Christ), as beloved beyond all others by the God who sent him ; (b) of Christians, as beloved by God, Christ, and one another...” - (Page 3, “A POCKET LEXICON TO THE GREEK NEW TESTAMENT” By Alexander Souter, 1916.)
Something for Tri{3}nitarians to think seriously about when it comes to reading Justin Martyr!
FEEL
FREE TO COMMENT
Members comments and thoughts are always welcome.
Genuine questions are always welcome.
Verbal abuse of Jehovah's Witnesses is not welcome.
Members comments and thoughts are always welcome.
Genuine questions are always welcome.
Verbal abuse of Jehovah's Witnesses is not welcome.
DISCLAIMER: THIS WEBSITE IS --- ( NOT ) --- AN OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF THE WATCHTOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY This is a personal website that is not officially supported nor endorsed by the WBTS. The Watchtower Society cannot be held responsible or liable for the content found on this blog/website. Links are offered here for additional reading, however the manager of this site does not necessarily support every comment on all of these sites. You are invited to conduct your own research. To those who are not Jehovah's Witnesses, please remember that if you are looking for the authoritative information on beliefs, practices and news releases you should look to the source at http://www.watchtower.org/
Comments
Post a Comment