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).

" 'Deification' refers to the transformation of believers into the likeness of God. Of course, Christian monotheism goes against any literal 'god making' of believers. Rather, the New Testament speaks of a transformation of mind, a metamorphosis of character, a redefinition of selfhood, and an imitation of God. Most of these passages are tantalisingly brief, and none spells out the concept in detail. "Deification was an important idea in the early church, though it took a long time for one term to emerge as the standard label for the process. That term was theosis, coined by the great fourth-century theologian, Gregory of Nazianzus. Theologians now use theosis to designate all instances where any idea of taking on God's character or being 'divinised' (made divine) occurs, even when the term theosis is not used. And of course, different Christian authors understood deification differently. "While some articles in this collection discuss pre-Christian antecedents of theosis, Greek and Jewish, most focus on particular Christian understandings. The article by Gregory Glazov examines Old Testament covenant theology, with an emphasis on divine adoption, and on bearing the fruit of knowledge or attaining the stature of a tree of righteousness in Proverbs, Isaiah, and Sirach. The article by Stephen Finlan on 2 Pet 1:4 ('You may become participants of the divine nature') examines the epistle's apparent borrowings from Middle Platonic spirituality, Stoic ethics, and Jewish apocalyptic expectation. The epistle stresses 'knowledge of Christ', which means cultivation of godly character and growing up into Christ." - from the Introduction "If one were to seek a single volume constituting an up-to-date and learned coverage of the subject, this is the book." - J. Robert Wright, General Theological Seminary, in "Religious Studies Review" "An extraordinary collaboration of scholars examining the neglected theme of deification in the classic Christian tradition from its biblical roots through Irenaeus, Augustine, and Maximus, to contemporary reconstructions of Torrance and Soloviev." - Thomas C. Oden, General Editor, Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture. "Here is a wonderfully comprehensive and academically careful presentation of theosis from the Bible until Vladimir Soloviev. It is a superb contribution to fresh Christian thinking." - Ellen T. Charry, Margaret W. Harmon Associate Professor of Systematic and Historical Theology, Princeton Theological Seminary, and editor of "Theology Today"

Deification penetrates all spheres of human existence, and can be seen as an answer to most pending ultimate questions. It is essentially practical in its manifestation and uplifting in its content, but nevertheless, always evasive and arcane in its comprehension. Aimed both at those who are already students of theosis and at those who are looking for an introductory text. (Lutterworth Press 2012)

Description: This revised edition of The Family Metaphor in Jesus' Teaching examines the family metaphors for God (Father) and for believers ("children," "brothers") that Jesus chose to use. Jesus not only held up a child as an example of receptivity, but he defended actual children, warning against despising "one of these little ones." Using current discussions of the "equal-regard family" and of the importance of "human fathering," Stephen Finlan explores how the gospel entails a changed model of parenting and of marriage and a new approach to spiritual growth. Endorsements: "In this careful and beautifully written book, Stephen Finlan demonstrates not only the importance of the family metaphor or the message of Jesus, but also that the equal-regard family is not just a construction of abstract theology, but rather has a true basis in the Christian Scriptures." --Don Browning, author of Equality and the Family About the Contributor(s): Stephan Finlan is pastor of Mathewson Street United Methodist Church, Providence, Rhode Island. He has taught theology at Fordham, Drew, Seton Hall, and Durham Universities. He is coeditor of Theosis: Deification in Christian Theology (Pickwick, 2006), The Apostle Paul and the Pauline Tradition (2008), Options on Atonement (2007), and Problems with Atonement (2005).

In his previous book, Problems with Atonement, Stephen Finlan compellingly argues that the doctrine of atonement has been more a stumbling block to a true understanding of the relationship between God and humanity than a genuine explanation of how we relate to God and God to us. Options on Atonement reprises these arguments briefly, then looks more closely at the solutions to the problem offered by a variety of modern interpreters. Finlan's focus in this volume is on revelation, on the gradual human absorption of and interpretation of revelation received from God, the maturing of human cultures, and especially the light shed by modern family systems psychology.

At a time when public debates rage over the notion of evolution in the natural world, this book asserts that our understanding of divine revelation is likewise subject to evolution. If religion itself does not evolve, the author asserts, we are left only with an unsatisfactory choice: to remain mired in the past, or to repudiate al that is past, including our Scriptures. Will that be our choice? Or can we resolve to examine our traditions, including that of the atonement, in the light of new knowledge? Stephen Finlan chooses to do just that.

"Stephen Finlan, PhD, teaches biblical studies at Fordham University and Seton Hal University. He is also the author of "The Background and Content of Paul's Cultic Atonement Metaphors" (SBL and Brill, 2004), "Problems with Atonement" (Liturgical Press, 2005) and co-editor of" Theosis: Deification in Christian Theology" (Wipf and Stock, 2006)."

The origins of atonement are found in Paul's writings. Popular Christian theology has understood them to mean that God demanded a bloody victim to pay for human sin. In Problems with Atonement Stephen Finlan examines the Christian doctrine of atonement and current debates about it. He considers its biblical foundation in Pauline texts, the Old Testament background, and the theological questions under discussion about atonement. He provides ancient historical background and raises questions, such as whether the Incarnation must be understood through the lens of atonement. Chapters are Chapter 1: Sacrifice and Scapegoat," "Chapter 2: Paul's Use of Cultic Imagery," "Chapter 3: Atonement after Paul," "Chapter 4: Rationalizing the Atonement Doctrine," and "Chapter 5: The Incarnation." Stephen Finlan, PhD, is an adjunct professor of New Testament at Seton Hall University and Fordham University. He is the author of The Background and Content of Paul's Cultic Atonement Metaphors (Society of Biblical Culture, 2004).

Beneath the commonplace affirmation that Jesus "paid for our sins" lie depths of implication: did God demand a blood sacrifice to assuage divine anger? ls sacrifice (consciously or unconsciously) intended to induce the deity to show favour? What underlies the various metaphors for atonement used in the Bible? Here, Stephen Finlan surveys psychological theories that help us to understand beliefs about sacrifice and atonement and what they may reveal about patterns of injury, guilt, shame, and appeasement. Early chapters examine the language in both testaments of purity and the "scapegoat," and of payment, obligation, reciprocity, and redemption. Later chapters review theories of the origins of atonement thinking in fear and traumatic childhood experience, in ambivalent or avoidant attachment to the parents, and in "poisonous pedagogy." The theories of Sandor Rado, Mary Ainsworth, Erik Erikson, and Alice Miller are examined, then Finlan draws conclusions about the moral responsibility of appropriating or rejecting atonement metapors and their effects today.