Participation In God Research Articles

Μετοχῇ Θεότητος: Partakers of Divinity in Origen’s Contra Celsum

Abstract: Origen employs the words μετοχῇ θεότητος in Contra Celsum 3.37, which could be translated as “participating in divine nature.” There are two academic perspectives on this phrase. One sees this phrase to be a deification reference to 2 Peter 1.4, and Origen is said to be the first author to use the verse’s wording to refer to followers of Christ as “partakers of the divine nature.” The other view considers this phrase a simple comment on the divine realm, reflecting the understanding of Origen regarding the divinity of angels. The paper at hand provides clarification for the phrase μετοχῇ θεότητος, positioning it in Origen’s overall understanding of deification, and challenging the two scholarly stances on this phrase. First, this paper shows that Contra Celsum 3.37 does not intend to reference 2 Peter 1.4, but likely signals completely different biblical references. Second, the paper examines the language and context of Origen’s statement to show that this phrase is not only a comment on the divinity of angels, but also reflects Origen’s thoughts on human deification. In doing so, this paper analyzes Origen’s terminology and his philosophical approach towards human theosis in order to propose an answer to the questions of who is deified, who is not deified, and what it means to share in divinity. Overall, it becomes clear that in addition to commenting on angels, the phrase μετοχῇ θεότητος summarizes Origen’s understanding of human deification, even if not as a reference to 2 Peter 1.4. It reflects a human-angel continuum and posits a direct human participation in God.

Towards an African Theology of the Lord’s Supper that is more than a Miracle Meal

Abstract The Lord’s Supper is viewed as a miracle meal by African Pentecostals. However, it is suggested that a miracle notion only partly conveys the meaning embedded in the Lord’s Supper. The study adds that the Lord’s Supper is a symbolic ritual that involves spiritual and mystical participation in God’s economy by grace through faith in Jesus Christ in the Spirit. Admission to the Lord’s Supper should be based on faith in Jesus Christ and a preparation process that includes instruction, baptism, confirmation, and regular penitential prayer such as the ‘speaking’. The essay argues that infants can partake in the Lord’s Supper based on the faith of their parents or guardians, while children of responsible age can participate if they go through the confirmation rite. The discussion covers church governance principles and suggests that limiting the covenantal rights of offending members is just insofar as the church remains an ethical institution.

In search of spirituality for intercultural mission: Hospitality, solidarity and marginality

Today's multicultural situation in many parts of the world requires a new missionary approach and practices. In addition, along with advanced understanding of culture and mission, interculturality is being presented as an alternative to complement the existing cross-cultural mission paradigm. In this intercultural mission paradigm, which emerges in the vision that people with various backgrounds and orientations participate in God's mission together with equal status on the Christian base, mission is not understood as a human strategy, but as a spiritual activity that involves the task of discerning God's initiatory work and of practicing a way of life appropriate for it. This article examines the possibility that the Christian mission as a joint participation in God's mission is practiced interculturally in today's multicultural situation. Focusing on the migration context, this article attempts to define “intercultural mission” within the larger framework of the missio Dei, and presents hospitality, solidarity, and marginality, which has been already recognized as important mission spiritualities in existing studies, as core mission spiritualities for intercultural mission. And, from this, this paper describes intercultural mission as a joint spiritual practice of creating space and building bridges for God's mission.

A Listening Church on the Synodal Pathway: Discernment and Decision-Making in Communion

AbstractPope Francis's has described his vision for a synodal Church, not simply as a once off programme of renewal, but as God's desire for the Church of the third millennium. As such, it aims to concretise the ecclesiology of the Second Vatican Council, making the Church today more manifestly one of communion, participation, and mission. It differs from previous synods and Councils in history in that it more directly invites and involves all the baptised in a direct process of listening and discernment to the voice of the Holy Spirit. This paper aims to understand from a theological perspective how listening will work in a synodal Church, by exploring firstly what we mean by the ecclesiology of communion from the Council. Such an ecclesiology, manifesting the equal dignity of the faithful in Christ, will ground listening at the level of participation in God as well as acknowledging the gift of infallibility given to the whole Church. It means calling on the Holy Spirit to help discern how and where, the apostolic deposit of faith has been received by members of the body. It also explores what we mean by listening to the sensus fidei of the whole body and how the authority of laity and hierarchy operate both in united but distinct ways within a synodal process grounded in communion ecclesiology. Overall, such listening is to be done carefully for the sake of the Church's mission as the sacrament of salvation to the world.

Burrell's Critical Thomism: Aquinas and Kant Revisited

AbstractDavid Burrell's version of Aquinas was written with Kantian parallels in mind. This is the accusation of John Milbank that was questioned by Nicholas Lash and Paul DeHart in a series of articles. ‘Burrell's Critical Thomism’ shows beyond doubt that Milbank's claim is correct: Burrell cites Kant throughout his oeuvre and finds parallels between Aquinas and Kant's philosophies. However, this article also shows that the form of Kantianism promulgated by Burrell is not as dogmatic as Milbank argues, especially in Burrell's later writings. If Milbank's critique holds, it follows that a properly negative theology must be denied. Finally, the relationship between Milbank's participatory theology and Burrell's emphasis on divine simpleness is examined in order to critically evaluate the status of participation in God, arguing that, for Aquinas, it does not make sense to say we participate in the divine essence, only in its likeness. Direct participation in God's essence is rendered incoherent by divine simpleness.

‘Draw me after you’: Toward an erotic theosis

AbstractIn this article I propose an erotic theosis as a fruitful possibility for conceptualising our final participation in union with God in the beatific vision and for imaging said participation on earth. Particularly, I propose a synthesis of recent work from Oliver Crisp on theosis with that of Sarah Coakley on sexual desire as an especially helpful way in which to conceive of our ever-deepening participation in God's love. Further, this synthesis uses contributions from Erin Dufault-Hunter on the intersections of sexual desire and ethics as a catalyst for its recommendations.

Eine Theologie der Teilhabe

Eine Theologie der Teilhabe

Imago Dei in St. Thomas Aquinas: a philosophical and anthropological analysis of man created in the Image of God

Image as a philosophical concept has a long and complex history that begins as early as antiquity. Christian scholars included it in their philosophical studies in the form of imago Dei. In this paper, the author analysed the works of St. Thomas Aquinas to determine the anthropological consequences that follow from the idea of human creation in the image of God. It was first established that man as a being created in the image of God participates through his intellect in God’s nature. Moreover, three stages of human participation in God were presented. Subsequently, the author defended the classical theory of Aquinas against contemporary reinterpretation of his thought. It was argued that Aquinas rightly claims that only the intellectual part of the human soul is, strictly speaking, created in God’s Image, while the human body (and other irrational creatures) resembles God in the likeness of a trace.

Еще один фрагмент «книги» Каллиста Ангеликуда «Исихастское обучение»? Слово 15 по рукописи Barb. gr. 420. Editio princeps

In continuation of a series of publications devoted to the study of the literary corpus com-posed by the Byzantine hesychastic author Kallistos Angelikoudes in the second half of the 14th century, this article proposes a discussion of the problem of the existence in the manu-script legacy of this writer of the so-called “two books” – the Hesychastic Education and the Hesychastic Consolation. The author studies the manuscript tradition of the Discourses (Lo-goi) of Kallistos Angelikoudes and presents for the first time a critical edition of one of the Discourses preserved in the manuscript Barb. gr. 420, supposedly belonging to the corpus of texts that made up the book Hesychastic Education, and therefore not included in the collection commonly referred to as the Hesychastic Consolation and found in the Vat. gr. 736. In Logos 15, the author touches upon the important theme of the difference in essence and en-ergies in God, and, contrary to the opinion of some modern researchers, Kallistos Ange-likoudes strictly adheres to the Palamite interpretation of the doctrine of man’s participa-tion in God. Despite the fact that Kallistos touches on this issue in various of his writings, in theological and ascetic texts that can be correlated with the Hesychastic Consolation and Hesychastic Education, this problem is rarely considered with such completeness and clarity as can be seen in Logos 15 being published.

Participation in God's Love: Revisiting John Milbank's ‘Out‐Narration’ in the Light of Jean‐Louis Chrétien and the Song of Songs

AbstractIn this essay, I interrogate the nature and grounds of Milbank's understanding of taste as it applies to differing mythic sensibilities, arguing that it is insufficiently responsive to the priority of God's action and so inadequate to a Christian theological account of the interplay of mythoi. By reading Milbank in light of The Song of Songs and Jean‐Louis Chrétien's phenomenology of prayer, I suggest that rather than the subject embracing a mythos, it is instead the mythos which first embraces the subject. Thus one no longer requires recourse to the implicitly violent language of ‘out‐narration’, but can speak instead of willing seduction by God. By approaching taste in this way, especially in relation to ‘mythic sensibilities’, a more truly Christian approach to difference becomes possible.

Union with God: An Assessment of Deification (Theosis) in the Theologies of Robert Jenson and John Calvin by Audy Santoso

Reviewed by: Union with God: An Assessment of Deification (Theosis) in the Theologies of Robert Jenson and John Calvin by Audy Santoso John W. Hoyum Union with God: An Assessment of Deification (Theosis) in the Theologies of Robert Jenson and John Calvin. By Audy Santoso. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2021. 298 pp. By putting Robert Jenson’s view of theosis in conversation with John Calvin’s, Audy Santoso’s work takes up a subject of intense interest in recent years. Jenson’s retrieval of theosis and his appropriation of the new Finnish reading of Luther might suggest that it [End Page 490] is Luther, instead of Calvin, who would be the right Reformation figure to include in this study. Yet in focusing on theosis as a point of contact between (Jenson’s) Lutheranism and (Calvin’s) Reformed theology, Santoso nevertheless takes up a subject of great ecumenical significance. This book rightly identifies both figures with a common legacy that imagines salvation as union with God. The first, introductory chapter sets out the general features of theosis in the broad heritage of Christian theology. Among the instances of theosis in Western theology, Santoso includes the Finnish reading and its contention that, in Luther’s doctrine of justification, there is a real presence of Christ in faith itself. As for Calvin, Santoso helpfully notes Calvin’s own criticisms of Osiander’s tendency to ascribe the indwelling righteousness of Christ to the divine nature alone. The second chapter explores Jenson’s theology in more detail, culminating with an examination of his turn toward deification as a paradigm for figuring human salvation as participation in the divine life. Santoso rightly draws creation into this discussion, because it is creation’s original envelopment by the divine life that underwrites the eschatological reconciliation of created being with its proper end in God, as Jenson sees it. Chapter three examines Calvin’s use of union as the inclusive image of human salvation. One crucial subtext of the engagement with Calvin is a debate over the status of union in Reformed theology: is the doctrine of justification the overarching principle of human salvation, conceived as a declaration extra nos? Or is justification properly situated within the wider and more inclusive horizon of union with God? Santoso prefers the latter alternative, rejecting Bruce McCormack’s contention that justification is the principal paradigm of salvation in Calvin’s theology. Having set forth the doctrines of deification that appear in Jenson and Calvin, Santoso proceeds to a discussion of the Lord’s Supper as a point of contact between Calvin’s view of union and Jenson’s theology of deification. Santoso suggests that Jenson sublates Christ and the church to the degree that the eschatological tension between the present and the future is lost, thus resulting in an over-realized eschatology that cannot properly distinguish Jesus, the Spirit, and those gathered at the table. [End Page 491] In the fifth, evaluative chapter, Santoso concludes by noting the similarities and differences between Calvin and Jenson. He uses three criteria to assess the coherence of their accounts of theosis: the creator-creature distinction, the mediatorial role of Christ, and the Holy Spirit’s reconstitution of the human self. Santoso contends that Jenson’s Lutheran emphasis on hearing undermines the physical dimensions of salvation: thus participation in God is not simply hearing the internal triune conversation, but is doxology involving all the human senses in everlasting worship before the throne of the lamb. This book compares and contrasts Jenson and Calvin, with Calvin supplying the needed supplement to some of Jenson’s weaker formulations, especially his conflation of Christ, the Spirit, and the church. However, the work would have been strengthened if the constructive significance of these comparisons were drawn out, perhaps especially with ecumenical dialogue in view. John W. Hoyum Denny Park Lutheran Church Seattle, Washington Copyright © 2022 Johns Hopkins University Press and Lutheran Quarterly, Inc

A Theology of Forgiveness: Theosis in Matthew 18:15–35

Jesus’s discussion of the discipline of the church (Matt 18:15–35) shows an example of theosis. While there has been growing interest in theosis among NT scholars, little work has been done on theosis in Matthew’s Gospel. Moreover, scholars who do recognize theosis in Matthew’s Gospel do not attend to how God and the human are united. This article seeks to fill the lacuna. The purpose of this study is to offer a theological exegesis of forgiveness in Jesus’s church discipline. I aim to demonstrate that forgiveness as an embodied way of life is a hermeneutical key to theosis, namely, our transformative participation in God’s life. Forgiveness as an embodied way of life requires the cultivation of particular practices, such as prayer and repentance. This study shows that embodying forgiveness through the practices of prayer and repentance is to take part in the nature and will of the Father in heaven who desires love and mercy (7:21; 12:50; 18:19, 35).

Book Review: Participation in God: A Study in Christian Doctrine and Metaphysics

Book Review: Participation in God: A Study in Christian Doctrine and Metaphysics

Chaucer's Prayers: Writing Christian and Pagan Devotion

Chaucer's Prayers: Writing Christian and Pagan Devotion

The Synodal Path and the Participation of God’s People in the Election of Bishops: Some Aspects of Canon Law

The Synodal Path and the Participation of God’s People in the Election of Bishops: Some Aspects of Canon Law

Telling a Better Story: How to Talk about God in a Skeptical Age by Joshua D. Chatraw

Reviewed by: Telling a Better Story: How to Talk about God in a Skeptical Age by Joshua D. Chatraw Mary Sue Dehmlow Dreier Telling a Better Story: How to Talk about God in a Skeptical Age. By Joshua D. Chatraw. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Reflective, 2020. 228 pp. Joshua Chatraw presents an approach to apologetics shaped by patient listening to the stories of secular people in order to enter into authentic dialogue with them about God. He contrasts this with more familiar "building block" apologetics that logically leverage abstract ideas to make a rational case for the gospel. His goal is to help readers become better gospel storytellers within today's late modern cultural milieu of skepticism where familiar ways of sharing the gospel do not make sense within current scripts and shifting plausibility structures. [End Page 106] Citing famous Christian storytellers like C. S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, Chatraw argues that the Christian story is deeply ingrained in our human "storying nature." He further asserts that the gospel, embedded in the unbeliever's own metanarratives, "better" addresses the fears, anxieties, and yearnings of people today than the secular narratives that bombard us every day. This book is divided into three parts, in which Chatraw provides an interpretation of today's secular culture (Part I), aptly identifies and discusses five cultural assumptions about Christianity (Part II), and helpfully addresses prevalent objections to the Christian story (Part III). The lens he employs is an "inside out" apologetic. He suggests we move from "inside" peoples' own secular stories and "out" to the Christian narrative that is both connected to and distinct from those stories. I particularly appreciate Chatraw's insistence on humble and sensitive listening to the stories of those around us for pathways to substantial conversations about God. He frames "inside out" apologetics as an incarnational "apologetics of love" (170) in which we come alongside others and step into the stories that shape their imaginations. "The goal is to embody the truth and beauty of the gospel—the ultimate aim of any truly Christian apologetics" (21). Chatraw's refreshing approach to apologetics winsomely weaves together Scripture and an eclectic cast of conversation partners for each chapter—classical and contemporary theologians, storytellers, fictional characters, musicians, poets, etc. With short, readable chapters, this book would be accessible to individual readers as well as a variety of lay audiences. It encourages and equips Christians to engage in conversations about God within the challenges of today's daunting secularism. Coming out of a Baptist background (both his MDiv and his PhD are from Baptist seminaries) and serving in non-denominational Christian outreach, Chatraw suggests throughout the book that this "inside out" approach to unbelievers might invite them to "try on" the gospel. The notion of "trying on" the gospel signals the decision theology that implicitly undergirds the book and is explicitly addressed, albeit briefly, in his appeal for a decision for Jesus in the Conclusion. The proclaimed Word of God as the means of grace and [End Page 107] the activity of the Holy Spirit calling, gathering, enlightening, and sanctifying are mostly absent from the book. In order fruitfully to engage this book, Lutherans will have to simultaneously address our skeptical age as well as decision theology. These could be important and empowering missional discussions. This book could therefore be productively used by such groups as congregational evangelism committees, outreach teams, and small study groups in which Lutheran leaders are prepared to address both its cultural and theological issues for the sake of enhancing participation in God's mission. Mary Sue Dehmlow Dreier St. Paul, Minnesota Copyright © 2022 Johns Hopkins University Press and Lutheran Quarterly, Inc.

The Naming of Food and Drink in the Ladder of John Climacus

The article is devoted to the analysis of the names of food and drink in the Ladder of John Climacus. The material for analysis is the published text of the work (Patrologia Graeca, vol. LXXXVIII) and three unpublished ancient Greek manuscripts of the Ladder. In total, 21 words were found in the work, included in the lexical-semantic group “Food”, and 6 words included in the lexical-semantic group “Drink”. In many cases, lexemes are used in pairs (salt and oil, milk and honey, bread and water, bread and mustard). This use is obviously due to the biblical tradition, on the basis of which the author of the Ladder built his book. For the general designation of food, nouns such as βρῶμα, τροφή, τρυφή, βρῶσις, ἔδεσμα, ἑστίασις, ὄψον, τράπεζα, ἐδώδιμον are used. In a collective sense, the lexemes καρπός and ὀπώρα are used to designate fruits. For the names of vegetables (herbs) in the Ladder, lexemes such as πικρίς and λάχανον are used. Of the specific types of food in the Ladder, there are names of baked goods (ἄρτος ‘bread’ and ἄζυμον ‘unleavened bread’), grapes (βότρυς and ῥάγας), spices (ἔλαιον ‘olive oil’ and ἅλας ‘salt’), honey (μέλι) and cheese (τυρός). To designate drink, in general, in the Ladder there are the lexemes πόμα, νάμα and ποτόν. Specific drinks are called ὕδωρ ‘water’, οἶνος ‘wine’ and γάλα ‘milk’. In the lexical-semantic groups “Food” and “Drink” hyperonyms clearly prevail over hyponyms. The small amount of specific vocabulary is explained by the fact that for a monk, as he moves up the ladder of virtues, it is less and less important what food he consumes. Monks who have reached the highest degrees of spiritual life (ἰσάγγελοι, equal to the angels) no longer feel the taste of food and forget to take it; for them the most important thing is spiritual food. In the lexico-semantic groups “Food” and “Drink” in the Ladder, as in the texts of the Holy Scriptures, direct (physical) and figurative (spiritual) meanings are masterfully connected. Almost all examples of the use of these words can be viewed both in the direct and in the symbolic sense. In the highest metaphorical meaning, all lexemes included in the thematic field “Nutrition” represent a symbol of participation in God’s salvation in Christ.

En el cuadragésimo aniversario de Laborem Exercens: la espiritualidad del trabajo

This year (2021) Pope Francis beatified Cardinal Stephan Wyszynski on september 12th, two days before Laborem Exercens fortieth anniversary. This essay presents some aspects of the book El espíritu del trabajo (The spirit of work) written by cardinal Wyszynski, published in Spanish in 1958, to show its influence in Laborem Exercens contents. Effectively, considering the close relationship between Wyszynski and Wojtyla, better known as John Paul II, results of a special importance to show how much has influenced the poland primate in the Pope. Christianity brought the real elevation of human work according to human dignity, in which, work finds the sources of its own dignity: being an action produced by human intelligence and will. This is the first step to develop the idea of a work ethos referred to human person as image and resemblance of God. Work contributes to the whole development of human person through the perfecting of rational nature. The meaning of work as participation in God’s labour creation is understood as man’s cooperation in His creative labour. Work is also an effective way to approach to God, as Christ has shown himself working with Joseph, at the point of being considered the son of the carpenter. Before original sin work provided only satisfaction and joy, but after it, effort and pain appeared. This is connected with the importance of work as a way of sanctification and salvation for men, aspect specially considered in order to show the redemptive value of human work.

Holiness and Unity

Abstract Drawing on the International Methodist – Catholic report on The Call to Holiness, this article identifies holiness as both a divine attribute and as a Christian imperative, inextricably linked with the unity of Christians and of humanity. For humanity to be in the image and likeness of this holy God implies a participation in God’s holiness. Because human life is inescapably social, it implies that this holiness must be expressed in social interaction. For the life of the Christian Church to reflect the holiness of God requires a commitment to unity and actions that echo that commitment. This paper traces the biblical basis of the Judaeo-Christian belief in the holiness of God. It goes on to examine the obstacles and opportunities for Christian unity, particularly between the churches of the Wesleyan tradition and the Church of Rome.

Human Flourishing and a Theology of Poverty Alleviation

Abstract The Christian Scriptures present an idealized vision for human flourishing that includes material and economic justice, as well as relational, spiritual wholeness. This binds Christians to a non-negotiable responsibility to work to prevent and alleviate poverty as an act of participation in God’s redemption of creation. Key to this work is an appropriate and accurate understanding of human flourishing (and its corollary, human poverty) as multi-dimensional. Consequently, any Christian theology that seeks to address the prevention and alleviation of poverty must also explore the necessary issues from a multi-dimensional perspective. While there are diverse ways in which Christians can participate in this divine work, a Christian vision for the alleviation and elimination of poverty must have a focus on long-term structural solutions to injustice, and the importance of community and relationship. This article gives particular attention to a Canadian context. (150 words only)