This is the first of the two articles by this author that research the doctrine of theosis, sometimes also called deification or divinization. The second article presents theosis as a New Testament ...and evangelical doctrine. This first article presents theosis as a biblical and historical doctrine. The first major section of this article analyzes the main biblical texts for the doctrine of theosis; their interpretation and appropriation for theosis. The second major section of this article gives an overview of historical development of the doctrine of theosis, from the beginning of Christian thought to modern era. It shows that theosis was not limited to Eastern theologians but was also represented in the West in certain mainstream theologians and movements. Because of its biblicity and historicity, theosis should be considered an essential historical doctrine of the Church.
Ovo je prvi od dva članka od ovoga autora, koji istražuju doktrinu teoze, ponekad također zvanu pobožavanje, deifikacija ili divinizacija. Drugi članak predstavlja teozu kao novozavjetnu i evanđeosku doktrinu. Prvi članak predstavlja teozu kao biblijsku i povijesnu doktrinu. Prvi dio ovog članka analizira glavne biblijske tekstove za doktrinu teoze; njihovo tumačenje i usvajanje za teozu. Drugi dio ovog članka pruža pregled povijesnog razvoja doktrine teoze, od početka kršćanske misli do modernog doba. Pokazuje da teoza nije bila ograničena na Istočne teologe nego je također bila zastupljena na Zapadu kod određenih vodećih teologa i pokreta. Zbog njezine bibličnosti i povijesnosti, teozu treba smatrati ključnom povijesnom doktrinom Crkve.
The comparative analysis of Hesychasm in the late Byzantine Orthodox Church and Sufism in the Islamic tradition illuminates intriguing parallels and distinctions in their spiritual frameworks. ...Emphasizing the significance of spiritual experiences through prayer, Hesychasm, rooted in Orthodox spirituality, focuses on hesychia and the prayer of the heart. Sufism, within the Islamic tradition, centers on dhikr, the continuous remembrance of Allah. Despite shared teachings on the heart and continuous prayer, the traditions diverge in practices, such as the Jesus Prayer in Hesychasm and the invocation of Allah's name in Sufism, contributing to the rich tapestry of spiritual experiences. This comparative exploration offers nuanced insights into diverse ways spiritual seekers engage with the divine across cultures. Recognizing universal quests for connection with the transcendent, the analysis contributes to the broader dialogue on mysticism and spirituality. The discussions on divine light, knowledge of God, and transformative processes underscore shared themes, while differences in theological nuances highlight the unique paths individuals traverse in their spiritual journeys. Ultimately, both Hesychasm and Sufism emphasize the experiential dimension of spirituality, fostering profound encounters with the divine despite their theological and philosophical distinctions.
The doctrine of the atonement faces apparently insurmountable complex contemporary challenges around the diversity of scriptural images, variety of postbiblical accounts and disagreements over what ...ought to be permissible in theological discourse. This article reviews these challenges, develops how three recent works attempt to overcome them and evaluates why these attempts at reconstructing atonement should be cautiously welcomed.
The sentence ‘to rule with him in the heavenly world’ (Eph 2:6) as example of an eschatological highlight in the letter to the Ephesians: The viewpoint in this article is that the above-mentioned ...statement in the letter to the Ephesians can be seen as an eschatological sentence of extraordinary value. In view of different eschatological viewpoints from the past, it can be stated that this sentence is an example of eschatology not only for the future, but also for the present. It is understandable that there is a close link between eschatology and mission. The meaning of theosis (deification), a concept from the Eastern churches’ theological debate, underlines the need for a present eschatological consciousness that has significance for the future of church and faith. Believers can in this way escape from the destructive lust that is in the world, and may become partakers of the divine nature.
The Church is God's agency to bring about well-being in the world (Harold, 2018a). This
bringing out of well-being to humanity call for an understanding of justice and compassion through a missional ...reading of the Bible and its intersection with "actions" of the Evangelical Church in post-apartheid South Africa. The aim of this article is two-fold, the first, is to examine the praxis of the Evangelical Church and its relevance to the marginalised in South Africa critically, and the second, is to help the ECSA understand that a missional reading or a missional hermeneutic through theosis brings about a correct understanding (orthodoxy) of compassion, justice and the Missio Dei leading to the right action (orthopraxis). Using literature, this article will explore and recommend ways the ECSA can act prophetically by speaking to and on behalf of the voiceless in South Africa. The researcher then employs the notion of Theosis to show that by acting compassionately, the Church reflects the very nature of God.
Incarnation, as per definition in its simplistic form, wherein God assumes a human nature, is central to the Christian doctrine of faith. The premise upon which the uniqueness of the Christian ...doctrine of incarnation, as opposed to other religious traditions, is embedded in and among other texts of the Christian Bible, and in the Gospel according to John 1:1-18. This article will articulate some of the philosophies in existence at that time which may allegedly have influenced and elicited a response from the writer of the Gospel according to John (GAJ). An attempt will be made to understand how some of these philosophies view incarnation in forms that may not necessarily reflect incarnation as is traditionally understood in Christianity which is primarily ‘God becoming flesh’. Central to the understanding of Christian incarnation is the philosophical concept of logos which emanated in Greek philosophy. Finally, it should become apparent, that the understanding of ‘incarnation’1, in some religious traditions, which will be explored, cannot claim the same uniqueness of the Christian tradition of ‘God becoming flesh’.
In the article the author tries to analyze the vision of the path of spiritual formation in the philosophical and religious views of the Ukrainian Middle Ages and the early modernism representatives ...in the context of the doctrine of theosis. It is noted that the doctrine of deification is considered fundamental to the theology of holiness. Theosis, the idea of which is to renew the image and the likeness of God in a person, is the main goal of life from the standpoint of the Eastern Church. After all, the combination of the Divine and human natures opens the way to God for a person. As a state of subjective experience of a human person, theosis is considered in hesychasm, which interprets it as synergy - an interacting combination of energies of man and God. The path to the development of knowledge about God is connected with the ascetic rejection from the worldly life, and the path to the union with Him is connected with the union of the Divine and human natures in a person. Followers of hesychasm believe that theosis is the practice of the subjective experience of a human person; synergy is the interacting combination of the energy of man and God. The main task of austerity is the attainment of divine grace. It dissolves the will of man in the process of a human being transformation. The doctrine of theosis had an impact on the formation of the theocratic idea in the culture of Kiev Rus, in which love of wisdom played an important role in human understanding themselves as the image of God. Analyzing the views of the Ukrainian Middle Ages and early modernism representatives on the path of spiritual development of man, the author concludes that they were characterized by the vision of deification as a person’s approach to God through self-exploration and moral improvement. Theosis is the final result on the path of spiritual growth for the representatives of the Middle Ages and early modernism philosophical conception, who attached great importance to gaining inner mystical experience and sought to experience spiritual ecstasy as the ultimate goal in the mystical path to deification.
This entry analyses biblical and subsequent Christian approaches to new creation, under the rubrics ‘the good’, ‘the new’, and ‘the beautiful’. The introduction sketches points of debate: ‘new ...creation’ as realized or eschatological, renewed or utterly new, as heaven or New Jerusalem, and characterized by beauty or truth. Section one (‘the good’) establishes as foundational the goodness of creation, so that the eschaton cannot be merely a matter of dissolving the old, but of retaining all that is good (anthropological and otherwise), and renewing it. Here the current debate concerning whether Christians should speak of ‘heaven’, rather than ‘new creation’, comes into play. The second section (‘the new’) moves from continuity in the eschaton to astonishment, investigating the suggestion that creation was given as good but not perfect. Views of the incarnation as reparatory or as inherent in the first creation are considered. The complication of the fall, with its consequences of corruptibility and death is explored: death is seen as a break between the old and the new. Intriguing, too, is the promise of a ‘new heaven’ conjoined with a new earth. Thus, the promised glory emerges as something unexpected, beyond continuity, glimpsed in the astonishing ‘miracles’ performed by Jesus and his followers. In the third section, beauty in the present age emerges as means to glimpse the final telos (end or purpose) of creation. The sacramental quality of God’s creation is discussed, as is the difference between a realized new creation over against a future beyond human imagination. The conclusion suggests an integrating hermeneutic, in which the inaugurated new creation invites Christians to a blessed vision and final communion that will outstrip the original Edenic walking with the Lord. This mysterious presence of the new creation, and hope for its fulfilment, dignifies human worship and sub-creative efforts, including the priestly calling to nurture the world and present it to the creator of heaven and earth.
Practising Orthodox Christians in the central Serbian town of Kraljevo 'work on' their salvation by striving to live a 'liturgical life' structured around attending the Divine Liturgy, taking Divine ...Communion regularly, and fasting. However, in these committed churchgoing circles there is little explicit eschatological discussion about the Second Coming. The paper argues that the intensity of fasting practices in the liturgical everyday not only produce more proximate expectations, but also provide potential glimpses of the Divine now, thus removing the emphasis on a far-sighted eschatological vision. With a concerted focus on working on oneself in the present, the liturgical day-to-day does not need an abstract, sequential future to imbue it with meaning. But, just as such a lifestyle is a path to salvation, so too it produces social differentiation: churchgoing Orthodox find themselves out of kilter with contemporary Serbian society.
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