Hortatory Address to the Greeks

by Justin Martyr

Chapters

1. Chapter 1: Reasons for Speaking to the Greeks.

2. Chapter II—The poets are unfit to be religious teachers.

3. Chapter 3: Opinions of Thales' School.

4. Chapter 4: Views of Pythagoras and Epicurus.

5. Chapter 5: The Views of Plato and Aristotle.

6. Chapter 6: More Disagreements Between Plato and Aristotle.

7. Chapter 7: Inconsistencies in Plato's Theory.

8. Chapter 8: The Age, Inspiration, and Harmony of Christian Educators.

9. Chapter 9: The Age of Moses Proven by Greek Authors

10. Chapter 10 - The Training and Inspiration of Moses.

11. Chapter 11: Pagan Oracles Speak of Moses.

12. Chapter 12: Proving the Ancient Existence of Moses

13. Chapter 13: History of the Septuagint.

14. Chapter 14: A Cautionary Appeal to the Greeks.

15. Chapter 15: Orpheus' Evidence of Monotheism.

16. Chapter 16: Testimony of the Prophetess.

17. Chapter 17: Homer's Testimony

18. Chapter 18: The Testimony of Sophocles.

19. Chapter 19: The Testimony of Pythagoras.

20. Chapter 20: Plato's Testimony

21. Chapter 21: The Unnamed God

22. Chapter 22: Analyzing Plato's Deliberate Ambiguity.

23. Chapter 23: Plato's Self-Contradiction

24. Chapter 24: The Agreement between Plato and Homer.

25. Chapter 25: Plato's Understanding of God's Eternity.

26. Chapter 26: Plato's Debt to the Prophets

27. Chapter 27: Plato's Understanding of Judgment

28. Chapter 28: Homer's Debts to the Sacred Authors.

29. Chapter 29: The Origin of Plato's Theory of Forms

30. Chapter 30: Homer's Understanding of Human Origin.

31. Chapter 31: Further Evidence of Plato's Knowledge of Scripture

32. Chapter 32: Plato's Theory of the Divine Gift.

33. Chapter 33: Plato's Concept of the Start of Time, Influenced by Moses.

34. Chapter 34: Why People Attribute Human Form to God

35. Chapter 35: Appeal to the Greeks.

36. Chapter 36: True Knowledge is Not Possessed by Philosophers.

37. Chapter 37: About the Prophetess.

38. Chapter 38: Final Appeal.

🎧 Hortatory Address to the Greeks

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Chapter 20: Plato's Testimony

BUT PLATO: although he likely accepted the doctrine of Moses and the other prophets about one only God, which he learned in Egypt, feared, because of what happened to Socrates, that he might also provoke someone like Anytus or Meletus against himself, accusing him before the Athenians and saying, “Plato is harmful and causing trouble by not acknowledging the state-recognized gods.” Afraid of the hemlock poison, he crafted an elaborate and ambiguous discourse about the gods, providing gods in his writings for those who wanted them, and none for those who were otherwise inclined, as can be seen from his statements.

For when he asserted that everything made is mortal, he later said that the gods were made. If he would make God and matter the origin of all things, it is clearly necessary to say that the gods were made of matter; but if they were made of matter, from which he also said evil originated, he leaves it to thoughtful people to consider what kind of beings the gods should be thought to be, produced from matter. For this reason, he stated that matter was eternal, so as not to suggest that God is the creator of evil.

Regarding the gods made by God, he certainly said: “Gods of gods, of whom I am the creator.” And he clearly held the correct opinion about the truly existing God. For having heard in Egypt that God said to Moses, when sending him to the Hebrews, “I am that I am,” he understood that God had not revealed His actual name.