Theosis

Based on the locus classicus of II Peter 1:4, and the almost equally famous saying of the great Athanasius of Alexandria ("God became man so that man might become God"), the topic of theosis or deification/divinization has attracted an enormous amount of attention if the number of publications in English in just the last five years is anything to go by. Over the years we have reviewed in Logos: A Journal of Eastern Christian Studies almost all of the following:

In 2006 we had Stephen Finlan and Vladimir Kharlamov, Theosis: Deification in Christian Theology.

Also that year we had Norman Russell, The Doctrine of Deification in the Greek Patristic Tradition.

In 2007 we had two more books: Nancy J. Hudson, Becoming God: the Doctrine of Theosis in Nicholas of Cusa. Daniel Keating published a study of theosis that explicitly sought to situate it within modern Roman Catholic theology and demonstrate its acceptability to that tradition: Deification and Grace.

In 2008, we had a welcome ecumenical collection of scholars, from Roman Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox traditions discussing theosis in Michael Christensen and Jeffrey Wittung, Partakers of the Divine Nature: the History and Development of Deification in the Christian Traditions.

Also in that year, Kharlamov returned with another book: The Beauty of the Unity and the Harmony of the Whole: the Concept of Theosis in the Theology of Pseudo-Dionysius.

And then Stephen Thomas published Deification in the Eastern Orthodox Tradition: a Biblical Perspective.

In 2009, Russell returned with a second book: Fellow Workers with God: Orthodox Thinkers on Theosis.

In 2010, we had Paul M. Collins, Partaking in Divine Nature: Deification and Communion.

This year, Kharlamov returned again with the second volume to his 2006 volume: Theosis: Deification in Christian Theology.

And now we have just seen released Nicholas Bamford, Deified Person: A Study of Deification in Relation to Person and Christian Becoming (University Press of America, 2011), 176pp.

About this book, the publisher tells us:

Deified Person: A Study of Deification in Relation to Person and Christian Becoming focuses on a theological exploration of “person” through the notion of deification and is placed within a Christian Orthodox–Byzantine context. The book offers new interpretations of person in relation to Christian becoming while at the same time exploring some of the difficult avenues of Christian theological developments. Nicholas Bamford encourages theological inquiry, and the book will appeal to those who wish to challenge ideas and push the boundaries forward.