Justin Martyr

Abstract

Justin is an early Christian figure who is very much of his own time, yet his ideas and intellectual legacy transcend temporal confines. He does not represent just a snapshot of the Christianity of Rome in the mid-second century, but was a courageous figure who challenged the prevailing philosophical systems of his own day with a muscular and robust presentation of Christian thought. Rather Justin, leader of a `schoolchurch' in Rome, is a key figure in the early development of Christianity. Some of the ideas he offered remain central to Christian thinking.