Second Apology of Justin Martyr

The Second Apology was meant to expose the real reasons behind the recent persecutions of Christians under Urbicus.

Justin recounts the story of a certain woman who on hearing the teachings of Jesus and having become a Christian refused to comply with the immoral practices of her husband.

They control humans through magic arts, libations, and such intimidating systems that hold people in bondage.

On the contrary, it was the accusers who had a system of religion in which noble men sacrificed humans to gods such as Saturn and in which sexual immorality was openly practiced without shame.

He desires that this appeal be published that the world will not be superstitious about Christians and closes with the words: And our doctrines are not shameful, according to a sober judgment, but are indeed more lofty than all human philosophy; and if not so, they are at least unlike the doctrines of the Sotadists and Philaenidians, and Dancers, and Epicureans and such other teachings of the poets, which all are allowed to acquaint themselves with, both as acted and as written.