Folia Theologica 17. (2006)
László Perendy: A Christian Platonist
A CHRISTIAN PLATONIST 197 The use of üXt], i.e. the irrroKeigévov mentioned by Moses, does not mean that Justin accepted a second principle opposed to God. He did not have the intention to speak in detail about how the world came into being. The formula of creatio ex nihilo did not seem the only Christian solution for him. Actually, he did not need to formulate the doctrine of creatio ex nihilo, because in his lifetime the danger of dualistic interpretation of matter was not so obvious than after the appearance of Hermogenes. As Plato himself did not affirm the coeternity of matter with God, Justin should not be accused of having the same ideas about matter that Hermogenes did. So there was no need for him to suppose that God is limited in his creative activity by matter. If matter is regarded as non-being, it does not really mean too much difference if you create out of matter or out of nothing. Justin's terminology points towards a kind of creatio ex nihilo, even if he does not use this expression. In the possession of the knowledge about the philosophical views of his contemporaries it must be obvious for us that Justin's way of Platonizing is authentic philosophy. He was not a servile imitator of Plato, but tried to find common ground with pagan contemporary thought. He accepted the Platonic distinction between Being and Becoming. Like other Platonists, he expressed God's transcendence by using epithets. But he also modified Middle Platonic expressions: e.g. in his opinion 'generate' things depend on God's initiative in their existence. Justin accepted the elements of Greek philosophy on the basis of the New Testament, where the basic rectilinear framework of Christian philosophy was already present. He followed the footsteps of the Septuagint, which taught also the Christians to accept only such Platonic ideas which coincided with the biblical revelation. This way Middle Platonism was enriched by Justin, but his message was deeply Christian: God asserted his monarchy, his sovereignty even above chaos, which he arranged through his Logos. This same Logos was sent to save mankind.
