Books

THE CASE FOR CHRISTIANITY: St Justin Martyr on Religious Liberty, Robert Haddad

Br Michael McMurray CCS

Contents - Oct 2009 - Buy a copy now Editorial: Anglican Communion's moment of truth - Michael Gilchrist Priestly Identity: Renewing the priesthood in the Year for Priests - Fr Anthony Denton News: The Church Around the World Community Life: 'Progressive' leadership and the demise of religious life - Br Paul Macrossan Youth: RISE: restoring integrity and sexual ethics to Australia's secular culture - Br Barry Coldrey Episcopacy: Bishop Luc Matthys: on being a bishop - Bishop Luc Matthys of Armidale Poetry: A Morning Poem - Bruce Dawe Seminary Life: Spiritual direction at Sydney's Good Shepherd Seminary - Fr Paul Glynn SM FOUNDATIONS OF FAITH: Cutting edge moral issues for the third millennium - Br Barry Coldrey Priesthood: Why the Catholic Church cannot ordain women - Kathleen Wood OAM Letters: Liturgy reform - Paul Martin Letters: Healthy families - John Carty Letters: Marriage and divorce - Arnold Jago Letters: Christian divisions - Jack Blair Letters: Galileo debate - David Walker Letters: Prayer for Priests - John Schmid Letters: Thanks from India - Fr. S. John Joseph Books: THE QUEST FOR SHAKESPEARE, by Joseph Pearce - Michael Daniel (reviewer) Books: THE CASE FOR CHRISTIANITY: St Justin Martyr on Religious Liberty, Robert Haddad - Br Michael McMurray CCS Books: AFTER THE HEART OF GOD, by Bishop Julian Porteous - Br Michael McMurray CCS (reviewer) Update: The 2009 Fighting Fund Books: This month's selection from AD Books Reflection: The Mass: priest and people offer sacrifice - Bishop Edward Slattery

THE CASE FOR CHRISTIANITY:
St Justin Martyr's Arguments for Religious Liberty and Judicial Justice
by Robert M. Haddad
(ConnorCourt, 2009, 205pp, $32.95, Available from Freedom Publishing. ISBN: 978-1-921421-23-5)

As the years and centuries go by since the time of Jesus and the beginnings of the Church he founded, it is interesting to note that times were similar in the first and second centuries to what they are today.

There were serious errors and problems then as there are today and God sent men and women of great holiness to address them just as he has in the past 20 or 30 years.

One great saint of the early Church who combated errors which confused Christians was the man we know today as St Justin, Martyr.

Justin had not been born a Christian. His parents were Greeks who lived in Samaritan territory. He studied philosophy at Ephesus, finally settling for the teachings of Plato. He held to this belief until it was finally undermined by an old man who converted him to Christianity. He taught first at Ephesus then later at Rome and was martyred for his faith around 165 AD.

The Case for Christianity has an imprimatur from Cardinal George Pell and treats in clear and scholarly detail St Justin's arguments for religious liberty and judicial justice.

Robert Haddad is well credentialled to handle this subject, with qualifications in law, theology and religious education and is author of the Christ the Teacher and Lord of History series.

Currently he is Director of the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine for the Archdiocese of Sydney and lectures part-time in Scripture and Church at the University of Notre Dame, Australia.

Although many centuries have passed since Saint Justin defended the teachings of Christ, our present time and its accompanying problems hold many similarities.

Robert Haddad writes in an accessible style which covers the problems faced by the early Christians and the situations which called for an explanation and justification of Church teachings.

The Case for Christianity covers the purpose of Justin's defence of the faith, the arguments he used and the assistance he offered to those seeking answers to those opposed to Christian belief.

Among the book's helpful features are a scholarly summary, a description of St Justin's martyrdom, extensive footnotes and a lengthy bibliography.

Reprinted from AD2000 Vol 22 No 9 (October 2009), p. 17