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spolion be truo or false, and then sit in judgment no longer, giving fuit credit to iis decision; so also me refer ali stat lasaid rogarding men and the worid to tho truth, and by it
truth me judge by no separate test, giving tuli credit to itself.
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342JUSTIN ON THE RESURRECTIONAnd God, tho Fastor of tho universe, Who is the persectintelligenco, is the truth. And the Word, being Ηis Son,
as their proof, shali rest in Him. But sinco the adversarydoes not cease to resist many, and uses many and divers aristo ensnare them, that he may seduce tho faithful froni thoirfaith, and that ho may provent tho faithless from bellovinnit Seems to me necessary that Ne also, being armod With thoinvulnerabis doctrines of tho faith, do batilo against him in bolials of the weah. CHAP. II.-Objections to the resurreetion of the feah. They Who maintain the wrong opinion say that there is no resurrection of tho susti; giving as thoir reason that it is impossibio that What is corruptod and dissolved should borestored to the samo as it had beon. And bosides tho impossibilitri they say that tho salvation of tho flesti is disadvantageous ; and thoy abuso tho flesti, adducing iis infirmities, and declaro that it only is the causo of our sitas, so that is thenesti, say then riso again, our infirmities also rise with it. And such sophistical reasons as the folio ing they elaborate: It tho festi riso again, it must rise either entire and possessedos ali iis paris, or imperfeci. But iis rising imperfeci argues a Want of poWer on Goaes pari, is some paris could be saved, and othors not; but is ali tho paris are saved, then tho bodyWill manifestly havo nil iis members. But is it not absurdio say that theso members mill exist aster tho resurrectionsrom the dead, since the Saviour satil, They neither mar , nor are given in marriage, but shali bo as the angeis in heaven 'δ And the anguis, say they, have netther flesti, nordo they eat, nor have sexuat intercourse; therefore therestiali be no resurrection of the flesb. By these and such lihe
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IUSNN ON THE RESURRECTION. 343 arguments, they attempt to distraci men from tho faith. Andthere are some Who maintain that even Jesus Himself appearedonly as spiritual, and not in flesti, but presented merely the
appearance of flesh: these persons seeh to rob tho flosh of tho promise. First, then, let us solve those things Which seem tothom to bo insolubio; then me will introduce in an orderly manner tho demonstration concerning the flesti, proving thatit partahes of salvation. CHAP. III. the members rise, must they diseharge the
They say, then, ii the body shali riso entire, and in possession os ali iis members, it necessarily follows that the functions of the members shail also bo in existenco; that the wombshali become pregnant, and the male also dischargo his function os generation, and the rest os tho members in lihomanner. NoW let this argument stand or fati by this oneassertion. For this boing proved salse, their Whole objectionwill bo removed. Now it is indoed evident that tho memberswhich dischargo functions dischargo those functions whichin the present lite me see; but it does not folioW that th necessarily dischargo the fame functions hom the beginning. And that this may be moro clearly seen, let us consider itinus. Tho function of the womb is to become pregnant; and of the member of tho male to impregnate. But as, thoughthese members aro destined to dischargo such functions, it is not thereiore nocessary that thoy froin the beginning dis-charge them since me seu many Women Who do not become pregnant, as those that are barren, even though they have Wombs), so pregnancy is uot the immediate and necessa
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344 IUSTIN ON THE RESURRECTION.
somo even of the lomer animala, though possessed of Wombs, do nes bear, such as the mule; and tho malo mutes do notbeget their hind. So that both in the caso of men and thoirrationat animais me can seo sexuat interco se abolishin; and this, too, beforo sto futuro morid. And our Lord Jesus Christ Was bom os a virgin, for no oster Nason than stat
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saith the scripturo, Tho golis of the nations are deviis,' 'much more ought we, Who hold the right, excellent, and timefaith, to belleve in cur God, since also me have proois Di His pomeri, fidit in the creation os the firsi man, for he was mado hom the earth by God; and this is susticient evidonee
a stili greator degres that hom a littis drop of moisture so grand a living creaturo is formed. And cortainly is this
Were only recorded in a promise, and not seen accomptished, this too would be much more incredibio stan tho ossior; but
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346JUSTIN ON THE RESURRECTI OMit is rendered more credibio by accomplistiment.' But ovenin the case of the resurrection tho Saviour has Ahown us accomptishmenis, of whicli me mill in a lituo speah. ButnoW We are demonstrating that the resurrection os tho flestiis possibio, ashing pardon of the childron of tho church is moadduce arguments Which seem to bo secular and physical: first, bocause to God nothing is secular,' not even the woriditsolf, for it is His Worhmanship; and secondiri becaum Weare conducting our argument so as to meet unbellevers. Forit wo argued with bellevers, it mere enough tο say that me belleve; but no We must proceed by demonstrations. Theio going proose are indeed quite susticient to evinco the possibili of the resurrection of the flesh; but since thesemen are exceedingly unbelleving, we Will further adduce amore conVincing argument still,-an argument dra n nothom faith, for they are not within iis scopo, but from thoirown mollier unbelle mean, of course, irom physical reasons. For ii by such arguments Wo provo to them that the resurrection of tho flesti is possibie, they are certainlyWOrthy of great contempt is they can be persuaded netther by the doliverances of faith nor by the arguments of the worid. CHAP. VI.-The resurrection eonsistent Uith the opinions of the philosopher8. Those, then, Who are called natural philosophera, say, fomeos them, as Plato, that the universe is matter and God; others, as Epicurus, stat it is atonis and the void; M othors, liho tho Stoles, stat it is these four-fire, Water, air, earth. For it is sum cient to montion the most prevalent opinions. And Plato says that ali things aro made from matter is God,
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JUSTIN ON THE RESURRECTION. 347 and according to His design ; but Epicurus and his solio ers
say that est things aro made from the atom and the void bysomo hind of seinrogulating action of tho natural movementos tho bodios; and the Stoics, that ali aro made of tho laurelemenis, God pervading them. But while thero is such
discrepan among them, there are some doctrines achnoWledged by them ali in common, one of whicli is that neithercan anything be produced 'srom What is not in being, noranything be destroyed or dissolved into What has not anybeing, and that the elements oxist indestructibio out of whichali things aro generaled. And this being so, the regenerationos tho flesti Will, according to ali these philosophers, appearto be possibio. For is, according to Plato, it is matter and God, both these aro in destructibio and God ; and Godin deed occupies tho position os an artificer, to vit, a potier;
and matter occupies the place of clay Or Wax, or Some Suchthing. That, then, Whicli is formed of mattor, be it animage or a statue, is destructible; but the matter itsoli is indestructi ble, such as clay or Wax, or any other such hindos mattor. Thus tho artist designs in the clay or Wax, and mahes tho form os a living animal; and again, is his handi-work be destroyod, it is not impossibio for him to mahe thosame form, by Worhing up the fame materiai, and fashioningit ane . So that, according to Plato, nolinor mill it boimpossibio for God, who is Himself industructibio, and has also in destructibie materiat, even aster that Whicli has been fidit formod of it has been destrored, to malle it aneW again, and to mahe the fame form just as it Was bolare. But
the mixture of the Dur elementary substances, When thisbou has beon dissolved into tho laur elemenis, these remaining indestructible, it is possibio that they receive a secondtime the samo fusion and composition, irom God pervadinginem, and so re-mahe the body Whicli they formerly made. Liho as is a man shali mahe a composition os gold and silver, and brass and tin, and then stiali misti to dissolve it again, sothat each element exist separalely, having again mixed them, he mari ii he seases, mahe the Very fame composition as he
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had formerly made. Again, according to Epicurus, the atomsand the void boing indestructibi' it is is a definite arrang ment and adjustment of the atoms as they come together, that both ait ollior formations ars produced, and the bovitsoli; and it being in course of time dissoluod, is dissolved
And as these remain indestructibis, it is not at ali impossibie, that by coming together again, and receising the fame arrangement and position, they should maho a body of lihonature to What Was formerly produced by them; as ii a
joweller should mae in mosaic the forin os an animal, and the stones should be scatiored by timo or by the man himselfwho made them, he having stili in his possession the scatisred stones, may gather them together again, and liming gathered, may dispose them in the fame Way, and mahe the fame formos an animal. And shali not God bo ille to colloci againtho decomposed members of the flesti, and mahe the same