Belief and Possibility

Καὶ κατανοοῦντι ἀπιστότερον ἂν μᾶλλον δόξαι, ἤ εἰ ἐν σώματι μὴ ὑπήρχομεν, καί τις ἔλεγεν, ἐκ μικρᾶς τινὸς ῥανίδος τῆς τοῦ ἀνθρωπείου σπέρματος, δυνατὸν ὀστέα τε καὶ νεῦρα καὶ σάρκας εἰκονοποιηθέντα, οἶα ὀρῶμεν, γενέσθαι. Ἔστω γὰρ νῦν ἐφ' ὑποθέσεως λεγόμενον; εἰ τις ὑμῖν μὴ οὖσι τοιούτοις, μηδὲ τοιούτων, ἔλεγε τὸ σπέρμα τὸ ἀνθρώπειον δεικνὺς, καὶ εἰκόνα γραπτὴν, ἐκ τοῦ τοιοῦδε οἶόν τε γενέσθαι διαβεβαιούμενος, πρὶν ἰδεῖν γενόμενον, ἐπιστεύσατε; Οὐκ ἄν τις τολμήσειεν ἀντειπεῐν. Τὸν αύτὸν οὖν τρόπον, διὰ τὸ μήπω ἑωρακέναι ὑμᾶς ἀναστάντα νεκρὸν, ἀπιστία ἔχει. Ἀλλ' ὄν τρόπον τὴν ἀρχὴν οὐκ ἂν ἐπιστεύσατε ἐκ τῆς μικρᾶς ῥανίδος δυνατὸν τοιούτους γενέσθαι, καὶ ὁρᾶτε γινομένους· τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον λογίσασθε, ὅτι διαλυθέντα τὰ ἀνθρώπεια σώματα, κατὰ καιρὸν προστάξει Θεοῦ ἀναστῆναι, καὶ ἀφθαρσίαν ἐνδύσασθαι, οὐκ ἀδυνατον. Ποίαν γὰρ ἀξίαν Θεοῦ δύναμιν λέγουσιν οἱ φάσκοντες εἰς ἐκεῖνο χωρεῖν ἔκαστον, ἐξ οὖ περ' ἐγένετο, καὶ παρὰ ταῦτα μηνδὲν ἄλλο δὐνασθαι μηνδὲ τὸν Θεὸν, οὐκ ἔχομεν λέγειν· ἀλλ' ἐκεῖνο συνορῶμεν, ὅτι οὐκ ἂν ἔπίστευσαν δυνατὸν εἶναι τοιούτους ποτὲ γενέσθαι, ὁποίους καὶ ἕαυτοὺς, καὶ τὸν συμπαντα κόσμον, καὶ ἐξ ὁποίων γεγενημένα ὁρῶσο. Κρεῖττον δὲ πιστεύειν καὶ τὰ τῇ ἑαυτῶν φύσει καὶ ἀνθρώποις ἀδύνατα, ἤ ὁμοίως τοῖς ἄλλοις ἀπιστεῖν, προειλήφαμεν· ἐπειδὴ καὶ τὸν ἡμέτρον Διδάσκαλον Ἰησοὺν Χριστὸν ἔγνωμεν εἰπόντα· Τὰ ἀδύνατα παρὰ ἀνθρώποις δυνατὰ παρὰ Θεῷ.' Ἅγιος Ἰουστίνος , Ἀπολογία Πρῶτη,  Μάρτυς

And to the thoughtful nothing would seem more incredible, than, if we were not in the body, some one were to say that from a small drop of human seed bones and sinews and flesh would be able to be fashioned into that which we see. For let this now be said hypothetically: if you were not as you now are, nor arising from such things, and someone were to show you human seed and a picture of a man, and were to say that from the former the latter could be produced, before seeing that which is to come, would you believe? No one will dare to dispute it. In the same way, then, because you have never seen a dead man rise, you are now incredulous. But as at first you would not have believed it possible that such a thing could be produced from the small drop, and yet you see them so produced, so also think that it is not impossible that the dissolved bodies of men should in God's appointed time rise again and put on incorruption. For what power worthy of God they speak of who say that each thing returns to that from which it was produced and that beyond this not even God Himself can do anything, we cannot say. But this we do see clearly, that they would not have believed it possible that they could have become such things as they now see both themselves and the whole world to be. That it is better to believe even what is impossible to our own nature and to men, than to be unbelieving like the rest, we have learned, for we know that our Master Jesus Christ said, 'What is impossible with men is possible with God,' 1 Saint Justin Martyr, First Apology 1 Mt 19:26