Transformed into the Same Image
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The doctrine of deification or theosis has been gaining interest among scholars for some time. Yet most publications on the topic have focused on Orthodox and Roman Catholic traditions and have subsumed the discussion under the category of soteriology. If "being transformed into the same image" (2 Corinthians 3:18) is truly essential to the Christian life, a fuller understanding of this biblical concept is needed for Christians of all traditions.
In this volume, biblical scholars and theologians offer a constructive account of deification that breaks new ground in key ways. First, several essays focus on the work of major Protestant thinkers and Protestant expressions of the doctrine—including Lutheran, Reformed, Baptist, Wesleyan, Pentecostal, and Evangelical. Second, contributors incorporate deification into arenas that have thus far remained largely unexplored, such as the relationship between justification and deification, applications for theological education, how deification compares with transhumanism, the impact of translation philosophy on the visibility of deification in Scripture, and perspectives on deification in global Christianity.
Contributors include both senior and younger scholars from a variety of backgrounds, including Alister McGrath, Ann Jervis, Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen, Ben C. Blackwell, and Michael Gorman. Transformed into the Same Image invites readers to dive deeper into the doctrine of deification and continue the conversation.
"This book advances the theology of deification in a number of ways. It shows how Luther's theology—read from diverse angles—accords with key insights in ecumenical deification theology. It integrates the important Chinese and Taiwanese church movement fostered by Witness Lee, along with the work of C. S. Lewis. And it fully welcomes Protestant biblical scholars and theologians into the deification conversation. Warmly commended!"
"A fascinating collection of studies on the theological and practical meaning of deification. These refreshing essays show how Protestant theology creatively appropriated—and continues to creatively appropriate—traditional notions of deification in light of particular doctrinal commitments and pastoral contexts. The editors and authors are to be commended for challenging the false idea that deification is merely an Eastern doctrine, while also firmly demonstrating the biblical roots, Protestant appropriation, and evangelical possibilities of this foundational Christian teaching."
"This book will help Protestant theologians, especially evangelicals, see that forensic justification might not be the heart of the gospel or biblical theology. Therefore, this book has the potential of advancing ecumenical understanding among orthodox Christians. Recommended for all those interested in biblical and systematic theology."
"What do you get if you cross PBS's Antique Roadshow, the Protestant Reformation, and one of the trending topics in evangelical theology? The doctrine of deification! This fascinating collection of essays sets out to retrieve the patristic notion of theosis by showing its biblical and Protestant bona fides as well as its potential for ecumenical dialogue about the nature of salvation—and more. I particularly appreciated the suggestion that believers are deified by being transformed into the image of Christ, the God-man: not simply deified but Christified."
Foreword by Michael J. Gorman
Introduction—Paul Copan and Michael M. C. Reardon
Part I: Biblical Foundations
1. Conformity to Divine Messiah in Paul (Ann Jervis)
2. The Church is Christ: The Wirkungsgeschichte of Interpreting Pauline Soteriology as Ecclesial Deification (Michael M. C. Reardon)
3. Deification Seen from Three Biblical Metaphors in Watchman Nee and Witness Lee with a Cognitive-Linguistic Interpretive Approach to Metaphors (Jacob Chengwei Feng)
4. Deification and the Eschatological City: Theological Connections in Early Christian Thought (Nathan Betz)
5. The Influence of Translation Philosophy upon the Visibility of the Doctrine of Deification in Scripture (Chao-Chun Liu)
Part II: Protestant Foundations
6. Deification or Christification? Martin Luther on Theosis (Alister E. McGrath)
7. Deification in the Reformed Tradition from Zwingli to Vermigli (Carl Mosser)
8. Jonathan Edwards, Theosis, and the Purpose of Creation (James Salladin)
9. John and Charles Wesley on Deification (Mark Gorman)
10. C. S. Lewis on Deification (Jahdiel Perez)
11. Towards an Evangelical Doctrine of Deification (Paul Copan)
Part III: New Investigations into the Doctrine of Deification
12. Deification as a Theological Foundation and Goal for Formational Theological Education (Brian Siu-kit Chiu)
13. Sharing in the Life of God: Considering the Relationship between Justification and Deification (Ben C. Blackwell)
14. Justification as Union and Christ’s Presence: A Lutheran Perspective (Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen)
15. Deification and World Christianity: Hesychasm and “Calling upon the Name of the Lord” (Shu-chen Hsu Hsiung)
16. Transhumanism as Active Effort of Technology versus Deification as Active Reception of Grace (Kimbell Kornu)
Contributors