Moving beyond Theoria toward Theosis
Moving beyond Theoria toward Theosis

Author: Justin A. Davis

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2024-06-10

Total Pages: 293

ISBN-13: 1666949566

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Moving Beyond Theoria Towards Theosis focuses on the telos of man as understood in Plato’s theoria, envisioned in the allegory of the cave, and early Christian reinterpretation of theoria as theosis. In his famed allegory of the cave, Plato maintains that real life exists beyond our base perceptions of reality and is found in the realm of ideas. Theoria is eternal rest in this realm and is understood as the telos of mankind. Plato’s theoria underwent change as it was reinterpreted under middle-Platonic and neo-Platonic thought. These systems incorporated a more mature idea of the divine than Plato, but still minimized the material world. This book explores how early Christianity inherited Plato’s cosmology and terminology. Theoria was also reinterpreted within the Christian context. Eventually the term was abandoned for theosis. Theosis is beyond theoria, as it includes contemplation of the forms as well as union with the source of the forms and the affirmation of the material realm. In this volume, Justin A. Davis shows how the Orthodox use of icons can be key to understanding theosis. The icon is a material object that connects to a higher reality, and ultimately toward union with the divine. Plato’s cosmology is collapsed and transfigured in union with the uncreated energy of God. Icons are the depiction of spiritual ascesis and the new telos of man, theosis.

Faith, Reason, and Theosis
Faith, Reason, and Theosis

Author: Aristotle Papanikolaou

Publisher: Fordham Univ Press

Published: 2023-10-03

Total Pages: 319

ISBN-13: 1531503047

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Theosis shapes contemporary Orthodox theology in two ways: positively and negatively. In the positive sense, contemporary Orthodox theologians made theosis the thread that bound together the various aspects of theology in a coherent whole and also interpreted patristic texts, which experienced a renaissance in the twentieth century, even in Orthodox theology. In the negative sense, contemporary theologians used theosis as a triumphalistic club to beat down Catholic and Protestant Christians, claiming that they rejected theosis in favor of either a rationalistic or fideistic approach to Christian life. The essays collected in this volume move beyond this East–West divide by examining the relation between faith, reason, and theosis from Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant perspectives. A variety of themes are addressed, such as the nature–grace debate and the relation of philosophy to theology, through engagement with such diverse thinkers as Thomas Aquinas, John Wesley, Meister Eckhart, Dionysius the Areopagite, Symeon the New Theologian, Panayiotis Nellas, Vladimir Lossky, Martin Luther, Martin Heidegger, Sergius Bulgakov, John of the Cross, Delores Williams, Evagrius of Pontus, and Hans Urs von Balthasar. The essays in this book are situated within a current thinking on theosis that consists of a common, albeit minimalist, affirmation amidst the flow of differences. The authors in this volume contribute to the historical theological task of complicating the contemporary Orthodox narrative, but they also continue the “theological achievement” of thinking about theosis so that all Christian traditions may be challenged to stretch and shift their understanding of theosis even amidst an ecumenical celebration of the gift of participation in the life of God.

With All the Fullness of God
With All the Fullness of God

Author: Jared Ortiz

Publisher: Lexington Books

Published: 2021-01-12

Total Pages: 279

ISBN-13: 1978707274

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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).

Atonement Theories
Atonement Theories

Author: Ben Pugh

Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers

Published: 2014-08-28

Total Pages: 193

ISBN-13: 1630874205

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With the subject of the atonement of Christ attracting such a lot of polemical work at this time, it is easy to conclude that the current debate is generating more heat than light. Atonement Theories presents the beginning student, pastor, or researcher with an accessible and fair treatment of every school of thought on this subject. Atonement Theories significantly updates previous histories of the doctrine, providing analysis of some fascinating and highly significant recent developments. It also intriguingly highlights at various points where aspects of this central message of Christianity might find a connection within contemporary culture. This book will empower the reader to quickly gain a working knowledge of current debates and the history behind them.

A Manual of Theosis
A Manual of Theosis

Author: Joshua Schooping

Publisher:

Published: 2020-09-23

Total Pages: 160

ISBN-13:

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Rather than being shrouded in mystique, reduced to a transactional asceticism, or stripped down to mere piety, theosis is the transformation of the human person by grace, as it works in their will to move them in ever increasing freedom towards God. Gleaning from the Patristic wisdom contained in such works as the Philokalia, this short manual seeks to lay out the necessary practical framework for the systematic cultivation of theosis by connecting theoretical comprehension together with clarity of application. It aims to present the basics of theory and praxis, and the logic of their connection, in such a way that a person can faithfully understand and earnestly apply themselves to the "upward call of God in Christ Jesus." There is not another life with which we might undertake these efforts, therefore anyone who desires all that God has purchased for them by His Blood is urged thus to apply themselves to the exercise of theosis. From the tumult of the passions to the transformative nature of faith, and from practical apophaticism to the insight born of theoria, the stepping stones of watchfulness, stillness, and ceaseless prayer lead the grace-led person onward in their mystical union with the Lord Jesus Christ. The present work thus hopes to assist the faithful reader in fulfilling this, God's Gospel call to abide in Him and to be indwelt by Him.

The Grammar of Grace
The Grammar of Grace

Author: Kent Eilers

Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers

Published: 2019-06-11

Total Pages: 557

ISBN-13: 1610972333

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This anthology is a collection of readings on the Christian life. They were carefully selected from every era of history and from across the spectrum of Christian traditions. They include letters, sermons, treatises and disputations, poems, songs and hymns, confessions, biblical commentary, and even part of a novel. In each case, the subject is life with God, life in God, life for God—life infused and enlivened by God’s grace. The editors introduce each selection, highlighting relevant aspects of the author’s biography, spirituality, and historical context. Introductions are also provided for the major eras of the church which present theological, historical, and cultural perspectives to help the reader best engage the selections. For individuals and groups, classrooms and seminars, this collection will generate dialogue between past and present, and between traditions familiar and unfamiliar. It is not merely a book on the Christian life but for the Christian life, making yesterday’s witness to life with God a resource for the Church today.

The People's Faith
The People's Faith

Author: Nicholas E. Denysenko

Publisher: Fortress Academic

Published: 2018-10-19

Total Pages: 230

ISBN-13: 9781978704596

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Drawing from the results of four parish focus groups, The People's Faith delivers a comprehensive analysis of the liturgical theology of the lay people in the Orthodox Churches of America. The study brings the people's faith into dialog with contemporary Orthodox liturgical theology.

Eastern Orthodoxy in a Global Age
Eastern Orthodoxy in a Global Age

Author: Victor Roudometof

Publisher: Rowman Altamira

Published: 2005-06-28

Total Pages: 305

ISBN-13: 0759114773

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Despite over 200 million adherents, Eastern Orthodox Christianity attracts little scholarly attention. While more-covered religions emerge as powerful transnational forces, Eastern Orthodoxy appears doggedly local, linked to the ethnicity and land of the now marginalized Eastern Europe. But Eastern Orthodoxy in a Global Age brings together new and nuanced understandings of the Orthodox churches—inside and outside of Eastern Europe—as they negotiate an increasingly networked world. The picture that emerges is less of a people stubbornly refusing modernization, more of a people seeking to maintain a stable Orthodox identity in an unstable world. For anyone interested in the role of Eastern Orthodoxy in the 21st century, this volume provides the place to begin.

Hamann and the Tradition
Hamann and the Tradition

Author: Lisa Marie Anderson

Publisher: Northwestern University Press

Published: 2012-04-30

Total Pages: 226

ISBN-13: 0810166089

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Recent years have witnessed a resurgence of scholarly interest in the work of Johann Georg Hamann (1730–1788), across disciplines. New translations of work by and about Hamann are appearing, as are a number of books and articles on Hamann’s aesthetics, theories of language and sexuality, and unique place in Enlightenment and counter-Enlightenment thought. Edited by Lisa Marie Anderson, Hamann and the Tradition gathers established and emerging scholars to examine the full range of Hamann’s impact—be it on German Romanticism or on the very practice of theology. Of particular interest to those not familiar with Hamann will be a chapter devoted to examining—or in some cases, placing—Hamann in dialogue with other important thinkers, such as Socrates, David Hume, Friedrich Nietzsche, Martin Buber, Franz Rosenzweig, and Ludwig Wittgenstein.

Treating the Body in Medicine and Religion
Treating the Body in Medicine and Religion

Author: John J. Fitzgerald

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2019-05-09

Total Pages: 246

ISBN-13: 1351050850

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Modern medicine has produced many wonderful technological breakthroughs that have extended the limits of the frail human body. However, much of the focus of this medical research has been on the physical, often reducing the human being to a biological machine to be examined, understood, and controlled. This book begins by asking whether the modern medical milieu has overly objectified the body, unwittingly or not, and whether current studies in bioethics are up to the task of restoring a fuller understanding of the human person. In response, various authors here suggest that a more theological/religious approach would be helpful, or perhaps even necessary. Presenting specific perspectives from Judaism, Christianity and Islam, the book is divided into three parts: "Understanding the Body," "Respecting the Body," and "The Body at the End of Life." A panel of expert contributors—including philosophers, physicians, and theologians and scholars of religion— answer key questions such as: What is the relationship between body and soul? What are our obligations toward human bodies? How should medicine respond to suffering and death? The resulting text is an interdisciplinary treatise on how medicine can best function in our societies. Offering a new way to approach the medical humanities, this book will be of keen interest to any scholars with an interest in contemporary religious perspectives on medicine and the body.