Around 165 AD, in Rome, there lived a Christian philosopher named Justin. He spent much of his life explaining Christianity to a world that often misunderstood it. At a time when Christians could be arrested or executed for their faith, Justin refused to stay silent.
Eventually, he was arrested and brought before Roman authorities. He was ordered to renounce his faith. He refused.
During that time, Justin expressed an idea that people still quote today:
“You can kill us, but you cannot harm us.”
The sentence still catches people off guard. How can a person be killed but not harmed?
Justin measured life differently from the people judging him that day. Rome could decide his fate, but it could not decide what he believed. It could take away his freedom and even his life, but it could not take away his conviction.
That idea still applies today, even if most of us will never face what Justin faced. A student may be pressured to cheat, a worker may be tempted to be dishonest, and a friend may be pushed to join something they know is wrong. Sometimes the easiest option asks us to give up a piece of our integrity. Justin’s point was that losing an opportunity, an advantage, or the approval of others is not the same as losing yourself.
The Roman officials who condemned him believed they had won. They held the power. They controlled the court. They decided who lived and who died. Yet nearly two thousand years later, nobody remembers their voices. Saint Justin’s words are the ones that keep getting replayed.
The empire that threatened him eventually disappeared. Saint Justin’s words survived.
“You can kill us, but you cannot harm us.”
Let’s keep learning the saints’ way—day by day.
⌨ ᴛʸᵖⁱⁿᵍ ᴏᵘᵗ ᵒᶠ ᵗʰᵉ ʙˡᵘᵉ ᵈᵃʳᵉᵐ ᵐᵘˢⁱᶜ ᵇˡᵒᵍ