Monday, June 06, 2011

Justin Martyr Questions And A Link

I've been using the resources on Google Books to peruse texts of Justin Martyr and sources regarding his thought. I'm still curious about why the Latin texts sometimes take precedence over the Greek texts of his work. Of course, we could suggest that bias is responsible for this phenomenon but I also wonder if there are not other mitigating factors involved. You might want to consult the link at http://books.google.com/books?lr=&id=SKECAAAAQAAJ&q=latin#v=onepage&q=dialogue&f=false

It's for the work by Carl Gottlob Semisch Justin Martyr: his life, writings and opinions, tr. by J.E. Ryland

Regards,

Edgar

3 comments:

Matt13weedhacker said...

Hi Edgar.

Yes Edgar I do agree that there are other factors involved. We must be reasonable and I cannot put everything down to Trinitarian bias. I know I do tend to come across that way.

I simply found a couple of versions of the Latin texts and did a comparison where the Greek did not suport the reading in English. Actually it was a comment you made way back about legitmate variants that pointed me in that direction.

I do have a PDF of Semisch which funny enough I downloaded from Google Books and have been researching it on and off. It is full of very interesting information.

Thank you, enjoy your day.

Matt13weedhacker said...

Hi Edgar.

I came accross your book on Tertullian the other day on Google Books and it got me thinking.

Is there a marked difference in Tertullians doctrine on the "holy spirit" in his pre-montanist writings compared with his post-montanist writings?

Is he more BI{2}-nitarian as regards Christ and the Father in pre-montanist writings?

Edgar Foster said...

Hi Matt13,

I've been tied up with other projects/duties, so I have not been devoting much time to blogging. Regarding your questions, I would say that the doctrine of God presented in Adversus Praxean may differ from what we find in Adversus Marcionem and other treatises. Daniel has written (if memory serves me correctly) that Tertullian did not always make clear distinctions between the Son and Holy Spirit. I have encountered this lack of clarity in Adversus Praxean as well. Concerning his binitarianism/trinitarianism, I tend to agree with Gerald Bray. He believes that Tertullian approached the line of trinitarianism, but did not cross it.