I have a small section about Justin Martyr and the image of God in chapter three. Within that section is a paragraph that looks like it represents some of his thinking but is without a footnote (or rather the footnote that I had there wasn’t particularly helpful). It’s quite a good paragraph, but I don’t really want it turning up in my oral I’m not sure where I absorbed the content from. It’s related to an analysis of Justin’s work I read somewhere, rather than directly citing some of his writings.
So today I went into the Auckland University library to get a book on Justin to check where I might have got this stuff from. I knew which book I wanted, and that the university had it. While I was there I thought I’d check out other books on the same shelf and see if they could shed some light. Fat chance. Because I knew the particular book I wanted I didn’t realize that it was pretty much the only book entirely dedicated to an analysis of Justin Martyr in the entire library. I was shocked (especially as the nearby Lactantius (who also appears in the same chapter) seemed to have numerous volumes in the shelf below).
Now, I know that he crops up in other books about the Early Church in the library, but I would have thought we’d have more than one volume dedicated entirely to an analysis of him in the uni library. (I know that the other theological libraries around town that we also have access to might also have more, but I expected more at uni – even if they were eBooks.).
I’m just glad I’m not doing a thesis on Justin, and only have to worry about a few hundred words.
