In his recently published book, Dr Myk Habets offers an intriguing look at Theosis in the theology of T. F. Torrance. I’ve only just begun the read (thanks to Ashgate and Myk Habets and the ‘Pacific Journal of Baptist Research’), and thus far it has been compelling and quite informing. Habets says in the first couple paragraphs of the Preface:

The Christian tradition, both East and West, has developed various models and theories of the atonement as explanations of what it means to speak of the reconciling activity of God in Christ. Central to these has been the claim that God has reconciled the world to himself in Christ. One way of testifying to the reconciling love of God has been the adoption of the metaphor theosis (‘divinisation’, ‘deification’) as an explanation of salvation. While central to Eastern Orthodoxy, a doctrine of theosis also has a rich tradition within Western, especially Reformed theology.

The Reformed theologian, Thomas Forsyth Torrance, represents an attempt to construct a soteriology that incorporates both Eastern and Western models of the atonement around the controlling metaphor of theosis. A close reading of his theology presents a robust and clearly articulated doctrine of theosis as a key way of expressing God’s reconciling activity in Christ. As the true Man and the last Adam, Christ represents the arche and telos of human existence, the one in whose image all humanity has been created and into whose likeness all humanity is destined to be transformed from glory to glory. Through the Incarnation the Son becomes human without ceasing to be divine, to unite humanity and divinity together and effect a ‘deification’ of human nature, mediated to men and women who are said to be ‘in Christ’ by the work of the Holy Spirit. By means of a ‘wonderful exchange’ Christ takes what is ours and give us what is his. For Torrance, this is the heart of atonement.

– Myk Habets, Theosis in the Theology of Thomas Torrance, Ashgate Publishing Company2009, ix

See, intriguing. This book represents Habet’s PhD dissertation at the University of Otago in New Zealand. It is the first study of its kind, and, I think, promises to be a pioneering work in the yet, mostly uncharted research of the theology of TFT.

The language of theosis may offend some Christians, especially of the ‘Western bent’; but I think once you engage what in fact, and how in fact TFT was using this language (certainly appropriated from the Eastern church, but not exclusively so, see Augustine) your prejudice will be dispelled into perspective. I’m looking forward to posting more on this topic, and plan to.

*This is a repost from a long time ago at another blog. I am still supposed to write a review for this book for a specific journal, and plan to . This post is taken from a blog I plan to transition to, like I said, February 1st. Here’s the url to that blog: “Behind The Back”