When Christianity Fell - Part B by slaveofone
(See also Part A)
Justin Martyr (circa AD 150 to 160), took Barnabas’ rejection of Judaism to a whole new level. While Barnabas had at first reckoned Torah as vital in its whole, Justin did not concede even that much. It was from him that the idea of turning parts of Torah into universals and abolishing the rest took flight and gained widespread approval in Christianity. This was, of course, incompatible with Judaism. While Justin was right in recognizing that following Yeshua had replaced Torah observance as the method and means of Yahweh’s covenant faithfulness, it was part of his overall belief that Judaism had been replaced with the gentile church, as if the gentile branches that had been grafted onto the Jewish tree (as Paul wrote) had actually become the tree itself, ready to graft Jews onto its branches instead. This had the effect not only of rejecting the old and established authority out of which Christianity sprung (as Barnabas did), but sitting its own young, inexperienced self in Judaism’s place.
Like the impetuous youth who tries to usurp the place of the wise elders quickly finds out, not only does he not really know what he’s talking about, but he has to go through strange and even worrisome arguments in order to back up his positions. From reading Justin’s Dialogue with Trypho, such a thing is clearly seen. Although Justin has been quick do away with Judaism, he acknowledges ignorance of it. It has to take balls to say that you don’t really understand something, but you’re right about it anyway. Instead of appealing to any great understanding or authority to back up his claims, Justin depends entirely on the subjective claim that God graciously revealed this truth to him (Dialogue 58:1). When Justin combats Judaism, not only are many of his arguments thin, they sometimes have no substance to them at all. We are now at the point where ignorance, clothed in the name of spiritual insight, has replaced the former, solid foundations.