Re-appropriating “Marvelous Fables”
Justin Martyr’s Strategic Retrieval of Myth in 1 Apology
- Theology
- Publisher: Pickwick Publications (Wipf and Stock)
- Published: 2013
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Publisher's Description
Edwin Hatch provided a colorful portrait of the religious world to which Justin Martyr belonged: "The main subject-matter of . . . literary education [amongst the pagans] was the poets. . . . They were read as we read the Bible. They were committed to memory. The minds of men were saturated with them. A quotation from Homer or from a tragic poet was apposite on all occasions and in every kind of society" (The Influence of Greek Ideas on Christianity, 1957). So when some of these pagans converted to Christianity in Justin's day, is it reasonable to assume that they simply "forgot" these mythical narratives in which they had been reared from childhood? Re-appropriating "Marvelous Fables" sets out to argue that this was hardly the case. Rather, Justin in 1 Apology can be seen taking full advantage of this mythical framework that still loomed large in the minds of fledgling Christian believers and students in his care--masterfully re-appropriating this popular form of religious discourse for the purpose of solidifying their newfound faith.
Endorsements (3)
“Noel Pretila offers readers a careful reexamination of the presence of myth in Re-appropriating 'Marvelous Fables.' Pretila challenges one-sided scholarly assessments of the function of myth in this treatise, and correspondingly enriches our appreciation of the critical and constructive roles of myth in second-century Christian intellectual discourse.”
“Too often today it is said that the church has only recently learned of religious pluralism and that we need to develop new strategies for understanding Jesus Christ amidst a world of competing religions. Noel Pretila reminds us that the early Greek theologians did much of this work long ago, in a world that was no less pluralistic than ours. Pretila analyzes Justin Martyr's sophisticated and subtle treatment of pagan myth in ways that can help us redevelop Christian theology of religions today.”
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