What do you think?
Rate this book
Deification and Grace
The doctrine of deification came under challenge during the Reformation. Likewise, Orthodox Christians have sometimes charged that Roman Catholic teachings on deification lack coherence. In light of these divisions, Daniel Keating eloquently explores biblical and patristic testimony to deification and provides a sure guide into its mysteries. Human beings come to share in the Trinitarian life, without blurring the distinction between Creator and creature. Along the way Keating treats us to choice quotations from Thomas Aquinas, Gregory Palamas, Calvin, Wesley, Newman, von Balthasar, and others who attest to the shared inheritance of this fundamental truth of faith.
124 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 2007
4 people are currently reading
40 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 22, 2021
An excellent overview of the doctrine of deification or theosis and highly recommended.
This is an academic writing in a style useful to non-specialists. Some will find it a little too repetitious, as Keating seeks multiple sources to prove a point. His goal, however, is to show the wide provenance of the concept.
This is useful because theosis is a doctrine vulnerable to misunderstanding. The most extreme form of the doctrine is, at first glance, heretical: God became man that man might become God. Keating shows just how many authorities, whether church fathers, Orthodox, Catholic, or even Protestant (he's looking at you, Martin Luther) have expressed this formula in one form or another, and despite what you might think, none of the many authorities cited were closet pantheists. He also shows that, although theosis is thought to be an Orthodox teaching, it is also widely embraced in the West.
Most of us will much prefer a softer form of the "divine economy": The Son of God became the Son of Man that the sons of men might become Sons of God. It's also important to recall-and Keating is right there to remind us--the Bible itself resorts to jarring language, no doubt to reinforce the dramatic, unimaginable degree of change redeemed humanity will undergo at the Resurrection. I'm talking about humans called "gods" in Psalm 82 and "partakers of the divine nature" in 2 Peter 1.
I find thinking about such promises, and the effort to try to understand them as much as is possible, highly motivating for one's spiritual growth. I'm more aware now of Heaven as a concrete reality thanks to this book.
That was my goal when I sought an introduction to theosis. I was surprised that this book, by a man from the Western tradition, would be among the first to be recommended. (Dr. Keating teaches at a Catholic seminary.) After reading this short but thorough treatment, I'm no longer surprised.
This is an academic writing in a style useful to non-specialists. Some will find it a little too repetitious, as Keating seeks multiple sources to prove a point. His goal, however, is to show the wide provenance of the concept.
This is useful because theosis is a doctrine vulnerable to misunderstanding. The most extreme form of the doctrine is, at first glance, heretical: God became man that man might become God. Keating shows just how many authorities, whether church fathers, Orthodox, Catholic, or even Protestant (he's looking at you, Martin Luther) have expressed this formula in one form or another, and despite what you might think, none of the many authorities cited were closet pantheists. He also shows that, although theosis is thought to be an Orthodox teaching, it is also widely embraced in the West.
Most of us will much prefer a softer form of the "divine economy": The Son of God became the Son of Man that the sons of men might become Sons of God. It's also important to recall-and Keating is right there to remind us--the Bible itself resorts to jarring language, no doubt to reinforce the dramatic, unimaginable degree of change redeemed humanity will undergo at the Resurrection. I'm talking about humans called "gods" in Psalm 82 and "partakers of the divine nature" in 2 Peter 1.
I find thinking about such promises, and the effort to try to understand them as much as is possible, highly motivating for one's spiritual growth. I'm more aware now of Heaven as a concrete reality thanks to this book.
That was my goal when I sought an introduction to theosis. I was surprised that this book, by a man from the Western tradition, would be among the first to be recommended. (Dr. Keating teaches at a Catholic seminary.) After reading this short but thorough treatment, I'm no longer surprised.
July 19, 2022
As an introduction to what is meant by "God became man so that men might become gods," this is great. Keating weaves in Scripture, Eastern and Western Church Fathers, and contemporary theologians to lay this out.
If anything, the book suffers from too much repetition. Each chapter is capped by a long conclusion that restates what was just said.
Also, Chapters 5-6 contain long digressions attempting to prove that this concept is not Gnostic or Ancient Greek. Fine, but I assume anyone picking up this book already is inclined to believe what Keating has to say, and is not coming at this topic as a complete skeptic?
If anything, the book suffers from too much repetition. Each chapter is capped by a long conclusion that restates what was just said.
Also, Chapters 5-6 contain long digressions attempting to prove that this concept is not Gnostic or Ancient Greek. Fine, but I assume anyone picking up this book already is inclined to believe what Keating has to say, and is not coming at this topic as a complete skeptic?
July 3, 2010
A very good book on the topic, but did not answer my theological questions.
August 2, 2012
A simple, but well researched book on the doctrine of deification.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews