Chp.71 - The Subject Diverted To Reestablish Objective Authority

“But I am far from putting reliance in your teachers, who refuse to admit that the interpretation made by the seventy elders who were with Ptolemy [king] of the Egyptians is a correct one; and they [yours] attempt to frame another. And I wish you to observe, that they have altogether taken away many Scriptures from the translations effected by those seventy elders who were with Ptolemy, and by which this very man who was crucified is proved to have been set forth expressly as God, and man, and as being crucified, and as dying; but since I am aware that this is denied by all of your nation, I do not address myself to these points, but I proceed8 to carry on my discussions by means of those passages which are still admitted by you." Justin Martyr. (1885). Dialogue of Justin with Trypho, a Jew. In A. Roberts, J. Donaldson, & A. C. Coxe (Eds.), The Apostolic Fathers with Justin Martyr and Irenaeus (Vol. 1, p. 234). Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Company. Justin continues to establish the authoritative facts, but has been side tracked by the absurd allegations that Christianity is somehow compatible with the Greco-Roman mythologies. After working to quickly cast those thoughts aside, with a quick defense, Justin redirects Trypho's attention back to the authoritative question, upon which the truth can be established objectively. For it is in those "mythologies" and vain allegories that God's truth is blasphemed and made relative by the evil mind of men who hate the truth (Rom.1:18). Trypho understood this, but refuses to practice this in his own faith. The heart of man always demands to believe in something, but always ends only believing in itself. And therefore to live at peace with all men it has created and made its own truth that is relative to all men. But this in itself is a demonstration man's evil nature: Jeremiah 17:4–10 (NKJV) 4 And you, even yourself, Shall let go of your heritage which I gave you; And I will cause you to serve your enemies In the land which you do not know; For you have kindled a fire in My anger which shall burn forever.” 5 Thus says the Lord: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man And makes flesh his strength, Whose heart departs from the Lord. 6 For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, And shall not see when good comes, But shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, In a salt land which is not inhabited. 7 “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, And whose hope is the Lord. 8 For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, Which spreads out its roots by the river, And will not fear when heat comes; But its leaf will be green, And will not be anxious in the year of drought, Nor will cease from yielding fruit. 9 “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it? 10 I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings.

But Justin himself should also be warned not to go beyond what is written and supersede a translator's intent against the LORD's original intent. It is believed that it was indeed Ptolemy who assembled seventy wisemen to formulate a translation of the Hebrew writings into what is known as the Septuagint--a Hellenistic translation. Justin argues that Ptolemy's translators have preserved the Word of the Lord better than the "oral" traditions of the Hebrews, as it has been originally "written" in their own language. Upon this, the Christian mind would agree, but Justin, as we will later see, fails to prove this case having no authoritative canon to draw from. The question of an unchangeable canon must be established, first, in order to objectively discern the truth. It does the seeker no good to assume that all writings on the topic are equally valid and true. There must be a standard to validate these truths. The Hebrews had a canon and a test upon which the Word of God should be established. If a word was going to survive, as from the LORD, it must pass some qualifications: Deuteronomy 12:32–13:10 (NKJV) 32 “Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it. 1 “If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder, 2 and the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods’—which you have not known—‘and let us serve them,’ 3 you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the Lord your God is testing you to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. 4 You shall walk after the Lord your God and fear Him, and keep His commandments and obey His voice; you shall serve Him and hold fast to Him. 5 But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has spoken in order to turn you away from the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of bondage, to entice you from the way in which the Lord your God commanded you to walk. So you shall put away the evil from your midst. 6 “If your brother, the son of your mother, your son or your daughter, the wife of your bosom, or your friend who is as your own soul, secretly entices you, saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods,’ which you have not known, neither you nor your fathers, 7 of the gods of the people which are all around you, near to you or far off from you, from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth, 8 you shall not consent to him or listen to him, nor shall your eye pity him, nor shall you spare him or conceal him; 9 but you shall surely kill him; your hand shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people. 10 And you shall stone him with stones until he dies, because he sought to entice you away from the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.

Because of this, Trypho rightly questions the grounds upon which Justin wants to establish his authority. Also, because Justin is using the Septuagint to make his arguments, Trypho desires to know how the Word of the LORD has been cancelled by their oral tradition. Instead of creating words that the LORD has not said, and treating them as infallible truth, the case must be made from the canon that has been tested and accepted throughout the generations of Israel. Justin labors to make his case from "translations" of that original, which are necessary but are not inerrant (2Tim.4:13). As we noted in a previous study, Trypho needs to understand and see this from the original word for word preservation of what God spoke through the prophet. For if the prophet's word was to be preserved it had to pass the above mentioned test, according to Deut.13. Therefore, we should not see Justin arguing for a new canon, but see him arguing that the Jews have removed what was "written" by what they "orally" spread as historical truth. Thus they have made oral tradition superior to that of what was "written." Justin says he too will not trust in the teaching of man, but only upon that which is established truth. Justin even points out that the Ptolemy dynasty's translators continue to frame another (that is a translation), who have taken out the original translator's intentions. Why would they do this other than to corrupt the truth for the sake of "relative" peace in the Roman empire?

"For you assent to those which I have brought before your attention, except that you contradict the statement, ‘Behold, the virgin shall conceive,’ and say it ought to be read, ‘Behold, the young woman shall conceive.’ And I promised to prove that the prophecy referred, not, as you were taught [orally], to Hezekiah, but to this Christ of mine: and now I shall go to the proof.” Here Trypho remarked, “We ask you first of all to tell us some of the Scriptures which you allege have been completely cancelled.”" Justin Martyr. (1885). Dialogue of Justin with Trypho, a Jew. In A. Roberts, J. Donaldson, & A. C. Coxe (Eds.), The Apostolic Fathers with Justin Martyr and Irenaeus (Vol. 1, p. 234). Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Company.