Moving Beyond Theoria Toward Theosis

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.

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.

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.

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.

This book combines the mainstream liberal arguments for religious tolerance with arguments from religious traditions in India to offer insights into appropriate attitudes toward religious ‘others’ from the perspective of the devout. The respective chapters address the relationship between religions from a comparative perspective, helping readers understand the meaning of religion and the opportunities for interreligious dialogue in the works of contemporary Indian philosophers such as Gandhi and Ramakrishna Paramhansa. It also examines various religious traditions from a philosophical viewpoint in order to reassess religious discussions on how to respond to differing and different religious others. Given its comprehensive coverage, the book is of interest to scholars working in the areas of anthropology, philosophy, cultural and religious diversity, and history of religion.

Literature and Theory is designed to assist students to apply key critical theories to literary texts. Focusing on representative works and authors widely taught across classrooms in the world – Joyce, Dickinson, Shakespeare, Beckett, Eliot, and Octavia Butler – it picks up different aspects of studying literature in an accessible format. The volume also brings together chapters that represent major modern literary schools of thought, including structuralism, poststructuralism, myth criticism, queer theory, feminism, postcolonialism, and deconstruction. This book will be of great interest to scholars and researchers of literary and critical theory, as well as culture studies.

In recent years, Eastern Orthodox thought has had an increasing influence on key aspects of contemporary Western Christian thought, particularly as regards the doctrine of the Trinity and mystical spirituality. However, the foundations and fundamental presuppositions of Eastern Christianity's theological system have remained largely unstudied -- and thus unknown -- in the West. In this important study, Emil Bartos examines the doctrine of deification which provides the conceptual basis for the way Staniloae and other Orthodox theologians understand the major doctrines of the Christian faith. The idea that God became man that man might become God sounds almost heretical to many Western ears, yet this affirmation is repeated countless times in the writings of the Eastern Fathers. Beginning with the apophaticism that lies at the heart of Eastern theology, Bartos examines each of the key doctrines of anthropology, christology, soteriology and ecclesiology as they relate to deification in Staniloae's thought. Bartos' study represents not merely a contribution to contemporary dialogue between Eastern and Western theologians, but also a much needed introduction to an aspect of Christian thought down the centuries that is largely neglected in the Christian West.

An overview of the context, thought, writings and legacy of John Scottus Eriugena, the most important philosopher and theologian in the Latin West from the death of Boethius until the thirteenth century.