Santoso, Audy
(2021)
Union with God: An Assessment of Deification (Theosis) in the Theologies of Robert Jenson and John Calvin.
Doctoral thesis.
| Item Type: |
Thesis
(Doctoral thesis)
|
| Titel: |
Union with God: An Assessment of Deification (Theosis) in the Theologies of Robert Jenson and John Calvin |
| Samenvatting (EN): |
The title of this dissertation is “Union with God: An Assessment of Deification (Theosis) in the Theologies of Robert Jenson and John Calvin”. Theosis or deification is commonly perceived as an Eastern/ Greek Orthodox concept. However, the hope of partaking in God’s divine nature is actually grounded in the scripture (2 Peter 1:4) and found its common affirmations by the early church fathers. Since theosis implies a closer unity of humans as creatures from our original stage to the final stage with God, it has been (mis-) understood in the later Greek orthodox tradition as a mystical union that mix us with God’s essence. The chief concern of theosis then relates to the question, “how to do justice to the Creator-creature distinction.” The present study discusses this question by means of a systematic-theological evaluation of Robert Jenson’s concept of theosis. Jenson’s theology then is assessed in three loci: the relation between the triune God as Creator and the created world, the mediatory role of the incarnate Christ, and the understanding of self.
Robert William Jenson (1930–2017), a Catholic-Lutheran American theologian wrote his Systematic Theology (1997 and 1999) as a Western system but with “some of its key position [as] reinventions of Orthodox wheels.” Thus, Jenson’s work counts as an important modern Western Systematic Theology that incorporates the notion of theosis. Therefore, in this study, Jenson’s theosis is to be evaluated from within a Reformed theological framework. As one of the reformers who has significant influence on later theologians, John Calvin (1509–1564) is chosen to be the representative of Reformed theology. In this study, Calvin was critically employed to prevent a non-objective judgment towards Jenson. By maintaining an open and critical reading of Calvin, his ontological notion of reality is characterized; instead of merely assessing Calvin’s non-speculative epistemological notion. This probing is necessary due to the ontological leaning character of Jenson’s theological discourse. The goal in this study is to incorporate Jenson’s contribution on theosis discussion that can be integrated within the Reformed theology, as exemplified by John Calvin’s theology.
The initial project of an evaluation of Robert Jenson’s notion of theosis by using the framework of Reformed theology as represented by John Calvin has outgrown into a parallel systematic characterization, analysis, and assessment of both Jenson’s and Calvin’s. |
| Number of Pages: |
482 |
| Theologische Universiteit: |
Theologische Universiteit Apeldoorn |
| Trefwoorden (NL): |
Vergoddelijking ; Jenson, Robert W. ; Calvijn, Johannes, 1509-1564. |
| Trefwoorden (EN): |
Deification (Christianity) ; Jenson, Robert W. ; Calvin, Jean, 1509-1564. |
| Date Deposited: |
23 Mar 2021 13:54 |
| Last Modified: |
18 Jan 2024 13:04 |
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