Being and the Imperishable
17
Jun
It was Justin Saint and Christian Martyr of the second century, who,
meeting an Elder, who is in his book Dialogue with Trypho, he understood that it was God’s desire that the soul be immortal and this separated it from Platonism, a philosophical path that had traveled after the Stoics.
Justin is the first in Christianity to deal with the problems of philosophy in a contemplative and philosophical way, his work was not systematic (Apology I and II), but fundamental to a philosophical path of Christian thought, and influenced many thinkers of patristics of early Christian times. .
For his Christian faith, Justin was denounced and beheaded.
Thus, something imperishable inhabits the Being and is essential to it, the simple contemplation and asceticism that does not contain this premise is incomplete, however the access to this truth depends on a stage of beatitudes, those that are in Matthew 5, I highlight 4 that are contextually (Mt 5,5-9): Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth, Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be filled, Blessed are the merciful, for they will obtain mercy, Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God, Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
But all this is not imperative to reach an immediate access to the divine, eternity is timeless and in it time is differentiated, it is a Kairos, or a time on the divine clock.
And all this is not separate from everyday life, which contains an “Scent of Time” as proposed Byung Chul Han, a divine humanly lived in each action and thus is not separate from contemplation, but has a different cadence from pure and simple activism.
Christian following is deeper because it requires renunciation, it is not enough to find Jesus or the Divine, in Lk 9:23, the master himself taught: “Then Jesus said to everyone: “If anyone wants to follow me, let him deny himself and take your cross each day, and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake, he will save it.”
And this is the hardest and most definitive lesson.
