Justin’s Dialogue and the Search for Contemporary Discourse Between Christians and Jews: A Closer Look at Dialogue, Chapter 47

Abstract

There has been a long-lasting scholarly debate on whether Justin’s Dialogue with Trypho reflects an authentic “Christian-Jewish dialogue.” Without claiming to provide an answer, this paper will focus on Dialogue, chapter 47 in order to point to a contemporary discourse between Christians and Jews that might form the background of Justin’s writing: In chapter 47, Trypho and Justin discuss whether there will be eternal salvation for Jews who believe in Jesus as the Messiah and continue to observe the law. Against other Christian opinions, Justin argues they will be saved provided they do not force their fellow Christians to observe the law to the same degree that they themselves do. While this is good evidence of an inner-Christian discourse on the salvation of Christ-believers who continue adhering to the law, the subsequent lines in chapter 47 suggest that those Jews who do not believe in Jesus Christ are part of the broader Christian-Jewish discourse on eternal salvation. This is because for Justin the crux in all attempts to make Christians observe the law (even the attempts of assumed Christ-believers) is they tend to replace faith in Christ with observance of law to the exclusion of the former. It is precisely the question of eternal salvation that motivates Justin and Trypho to start their discussion in the Dialogue (8,2–4).