Theosis: The Crown Jewel of Theology with Norman Russell

Hank Unplugged: Essential Christian Conversations

The Christian Research Institute

Education, Society & Culture, Religion & Spirituality

4.9 • 809 Ratings

🗓️ 22 December 2022

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Through the incarnation of Christ, His kenosis (emptying) makes our theosis (deification) possible. But, what is theosis? While Hanegraaff believes that theosis is the crown jewel of theology, he is aware that for many Christians theosis is a foreign concept and those who are aware of it all too often misunderstand it. Yet, if we ignore—or denounce—theosis than we miss the point of all theological speculation. Said Vladimir Lossky, ‘Christian theology is always in the last resort a means: a unity of knowledge subserving an end which transcends all knowledge. This ultimate end is union with God or deiﬁcation.” For more information on Hank’s view see Truth Matters, Life Matters More available for your partnering gift here. In short, theosis is best understood as the process of attaining an ever-deepening union with God—a process that begins during our lives on earth and extends into eternity. As we celebrate the incarnation it is critical to remember that Jesus Christ came not only to save us from death, but to give us life. Theosis is what our lives are for and the process through which we become fully human. For more information on receiving Fellow Workers With God: Orthodox Thinking on Theosis for your partnering gift please click here. Topics discussed include: Why do so many Christians denounce deification? (4:30); what is deification? (9:20); the difference between the essence and energies of God and why it matters (11:30); what does it mean to experience theosis? (15:00); the incarnation, theosis and kenosis (17:45); we can’t do it alone—the ecclesial and sacramental nature of theosis (21:55); was the incarnation always intended to happen? (25:00); cooperation with God—some quintessential examples of theosis (32:05); self-transcendence and the communal experience of Christ—we cannot experience theosis on our own (38:25); the power of the Sacraments—chiefly the Eucharist (42:30); the Jesus Prayer and Hesychasm—seeking divine stillness through the contemplation of God in uninterrupted prayer (48:45).

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Transcript

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0:00.0	And welcome to another edition of the Hank Unplugged podcast, a podcast that is committed to bringing the most interesting, informative, and inspirational people directly to your earbuds.
0:34.3	And today we have a very special podcast. I have Dr. Norman Russell on this podcast.
0:44.0	He's a scholar specializing in early Greek patristics and in the monastic life in which practitioners
0:52.5	seek divine quietness through the contemplation of God in
0:57.7	uninterrupted prayer, a foreign concept of most people in Western civilization,
1:05.9	Hezekism.
1:07.4	He is a fluent Greek speaker.
1:10.8	He's a fluent Greek speaker.
1:12.7	He's a prolific author.
1:19.8	And among his treasures, his literary treasures, is a wonderfully accessible book that is titled Fellow Workers with God,
1:24.1	subtitled Orthodox Thinking on Theosis.
1:28.0	And this book, by the way, is available to all of you who stand shoulder to shoulder with us in the battle for life and truth.
1:35.2	You can get your copy on the web at equip.org or simply writing me at Post Office Box 8500,
1:43.0	Charlotte, North Carolina, zip code 28271.
1:47.9	You know, Vladimir Lossky, one of my favorite theologians, said that Christian theology
1:54.1	is in the last resort a means.
1:59.0	It is a unity of knowledge that subserves an end that transcends all knowledge.
2:07.8	And that end is union with God or deification or in Greek theosis. And he also said that following the fall, the history of the human race is a history of shipwreck awaiting rescue.
2:23.3	And then he said, but the port of salvation is not the goal.
2:26.3	The goal is for the rescue to continue on a journey whose sole goal is union with God.
2:33.3	But tragically, the glorious truths that whose sole goal is union with God.
2:35.0	But tragically, the glorious truths that undergird deification have been obscured in Western
	...

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