Five-minute digest
The First Apology
Summary
The First Apology is a defence of Christianity written in Greek by Justin, a convert and teacher of philosophy at Rome, and addressed to the emperor Antoninus Pius, his adopted sons Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus, the Senate and the Roman people. It dates from about 155. 'Apology' here means a formal defence speech, and Justin writes as a petitioner asking for justice on behalf of people 'unjustly hated and wantonly abused'. His first demand is legal. Christians are condemned for the name alone, without any inquiry into their conduct. Justin asks that charges be investigated and that only those proved guilty of crimes be punished; if the emperors refuse, he says, 'you can kill, but not hurt us'. He answers the common accusations that Christians are atheists, immoral or disloyal, explaining that they reject only the gods of the poets, worship the Creator, live chastely, pay their taxes and pray for the rulers. The middle of the book sets out what Christians believe and why. Justin argues that the Word, or Logos, who became man in Jesus, had already been partly present to all people through reason, so that whoever lived by reason, such as Socrates, was in a sense Christian. He gives a long argument from prophecy, showing how the Hebrew Scriptures foretold Christ's birth, death and rising and the spread of the church among the nations, and he claims that Greek myths are demonic imitations of the truth. The closing chapters are among the most valuable sources for early Christian life. Justin describes baptism and the Eucharist and gives the earliest surviving account of Sunday worship: readings from 'the memoirs of the apostles' or the prophets, a sermon, prayers, the bread and wine with water, thanksgiving and a collection for widows, orphans, the sick and strangers. He ends by appending a letter of the emperor Hadrian forbidding mob action against Christians. Justin's appeal to reason and his view of philosophy as a preparation for the gospel shaped later apologists, and his worship chapters are cited in modern discussions of liturgy.
Top Lessons
Justice before judgment
Justin asks only that accused people be tried on evidence rather than labels, a principle of fairness that reaches far beyond his own case.
Faith and philosophy
Justin treats reason as a gift of the Word shared by all people, so philosophy can prepare for faith.
Describing a community to outsiders
Justin explains Christian baptism and Sunday worship plainly to answer rumours.
For the Christian reader
Justin is the first great Christian apologist whose works survive, and he sealed his witness with his life in Rome around 165. His description of Sunday worship, baptism and the Lord's Supper is among the earliest outside the New Testament. Students can see in him a model of 1 Peter 3:15: giving a reasoned defence of the hope within, with gentleness and respect.
Verified Quotes
Frequently cited
“you can kill, but not hurt us”
“those who lived reasonably are Christians, even though they have been thought atheists; as, among the Greeks, Socrates and Heraclitus, and men like them”
Frequently cited
“And on the day called Sunday, all who live in cities or in the country gather together to one place, and the memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read, as long as time permits”