Partakers of the Divine Nature

Author: Michael J. Christensen
Publisher: Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press
ISBN: 9780838641118
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 340

Partakers of the Divine Nature

Author: Michael J. Christensen
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781611473445
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
This critical volume focuses on the issue of continuity and discontinuity ofthe Christian concept of theosis, or deification, in the intellectual history of ideas. It addresses the origin, development, and function of theosis from its antecedents in ancient Greek philosophy to its nuanced use in contemporary theological thought. Often seen as a heresy in the Protestant West, the revival of interest in deification in both lay and scholastic circles heralds a return to foundational understandings of salvation in the Christian church before the divisions of East and West, Catholic and Protestant. The five sections of this work, written by scholars from the Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Protestant traditions, introduce and summarize the nature and function of deification and then lead the reader through four general historical periods of development: Greek and New Testament, Patristic, Medieval and Reformation, and Modern thought. This multi-author work accomplishes what no single author could: it treats the various visions and trajectories of deification that have emerged over the span of a millennium in the various Christian traditions, resulting in a sweeping yet thorough and distinctive contribution to scholarly and informed lay discussion of theosis.

With All the Fullness of God

Author: Jared Ortiz
Publisher: Lexington Books
ISBN: 1978707274
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 279

Book Description
Christians confess that Christ came to save us from sin and death. But what did he save us for? One beautiful and compelling answer to this question is that God saved us for union with him so that we might become “partakers of the divine nature” (1 Pet 2:4), what the Christian tradition has called “deification.” This term refers to a particular vision of salvation which claims that God wants to share his own divine life with us, uniting us to himself and transforming us into his likeness. While often thought to be either a heretical notion or the provenance of Eastern Orthodoxy, this book shows that deification is an integral part of Catholicism, Orthodoxy, and many Protestant denominations. Drawing on the resources of their own Christian heritages, eleven scholars share the riches of their respective traditions on the doctrine of deification. In this book , scholars and pastor-scholars from diverse Christian expressions write for both a scholarly and lay audience about what God created us to be: adopted children of God who are called, even now, to “be filled with all the fullness of God” (Eph. 3:19).

The Doctrine of Deification in the Greek Patristic Tradition

Author: Norman Russell
Publisher: OUP Oxford
ISBN: 0191532711
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 432

Book Description
Deification in the Greek patristic tradition was the fulfilment of the destiny for which humanity was created - not merely salvation from sin but entry into the fullness of the divine life of the Trinity. This book, the first on the subject for over sixty years, traces the history of deification from its birth as a second-century metaphor with biblical roots to its maturity as a doctrine central to the spiritual life of the Byzantine Church. Drawing attention to the richness and diversity of the patristic approaches from Irenaeus to Maximus the Confessor, Norman Russell offers a full discussion of the background and context of the doctrine, at the same time highlighting its distinctively Christian character.

Partaking in Divine Nature

Author: Paul M. Collins
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 0567353117
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 229

Book Description
With strong application and relevance to contemporary ecclesiological questions, this is an investigation of how understandings of theosis in the Christian Tradition have related to understandings of divine nature in terms of koinonia.

Theosis

Author: Stephen Finlan
Publisher: James Clarke & Company
ISBN: 0227903544
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 193

Book Description
'Deification' refers to the transformation of believers into the likeness of God. Of course, Christian monotheism goes against any literal 'god making' of believers. Rather, the NT speaks of a transformation of mind, a metamorphosis of character, a redefinition of selfhood, and an imitation of God. Most of these passages are tantalizingly brief, and none spells out the concept in detail.

Partakers of Divine Nature

Author: Christoforos Stavropoulos
Publisher: Light & Life Publishing Company
ISBN: 9780937032091
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 95

Book Description

The Doctrine of Deification in the Greek Patristic Tradition

Author: Norman Russell
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199265216
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 433

Book Description
Deification was not only a pagan concept but a metaphor for a deeply Christian view of the purpose of human life. This title brings together much recent research on the Church Fathers from the second to the seventh centuries, offering an analysis of their spiritual teaching and setting it within the context of the times.

Deification in the Latin Patristic Tradition

Author: Jared Ortiz
Publisher: Catholic University of America Press
ISBN: 0813231426
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 329

Book Description
It has become a commonplace to say that the Latin Fathers did not really hold a doctrine of deification. Indeed, it is often asserted that Western theologians have neglected this teaching, that their occasional references to it are borrowed from the Greeks, and that the Latins have generally reduced the rich biblical and Greek Patristic understanding of salvation to a narrow view of redemption. The essays in this volume challenge this common interpretation by exploring, often for the first time, the role this doctrine plays in a range of Latin Patristic authors.

Becoming Divine

Author: M. David Litwa
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1625641559
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 291

Book Description
"Some have called it the essence of sin, others the depth of salvation. Regardless of one's evaluation of it, however, deification throughout Western history has been a part of human aspiration. From the ancient pharaohs to modern transhumanists, people have envisioned their own divinity. These visionaries include not only history's greatest megalomaniacs, but also mystics, sages, apostles, prophets, magicians, bishops, philosophers, atheists, and monks. Some aimed for independent deity, others realized their eternal union with God. Some anticipated godhood in heaven, others walked as gods on earth. Some accepted divinity by grace, others achieved it by their own will to power. There is no single form of deification (indeed, deification is as manifold as the human conception of God), but the many types are united by a set of interlocking themes: achieving immortality, wielding superhuman power, being filled with supernatural knowledge or love--and through these means transcending normal human (or at least ""earthly"") nature. "