Hi, READERJOSEPH,Does she still have this series as well as The Inner Life series? I am looking for a new set to transfer to DVD.
Hello, ReaderJoseph, and welcome to CF, and to TAW!Does she still have this series as well as The Inner Life series? I am looking for a new set to transfer to DVD.
I am a convinced Calvinist for many years now. And recently encountered this Orthodoxy of East. Though I will admit it sound strange, I have been doing my homework to find out more. I have been conversing with EOC on a private chat. Which has spark a lot questions for me. I would to ask you these questions, in hoping to finding answers. May I ask you these questions?I have taken notes on a lecture by Fr. David Anderson on what the Orthodox Church believes. I would like to share all of what I took notes on here so that people who are interested in the EOC, can read this thread to learn where we stand on very important issues. I have two more DVD's to listen to, so I will probably add more notes after watching them.I was wondering if the MODS should make this a sticky so people can see it when they come in and go to it.
ETA: As of this evening, March 5, 2014, I have added a link on the last page that was provided to me by angelsbooklove (christian forum member who has this series on tape as well and uploaded the videos for us).
I am a convinced Calvinist for many years now. And recently encountered this Orthodoxy of East. Though I will admit it sound strange, I have been doing my homework to find out more. I have been conversing with EOC on a private chat. Which has spark a lot questions for me. I would to ask you these questions, in hoping to finding answers. May I ask you these questions?
May I ask you these questions?
I am a convinced Calvinist for many years now. And recently encountered this Orthodoxy of East. Though I will admit it sound strange, I have been doing my homework to find out more. I have been conversing with EOC on a private chat. Which has spark a lot questions for me. I would to ask you these questions, in hoping to finding answers. May I ask you these questions?
The main question I have is what is Theosis in Eastern Orthodoxy. I have been doing my research on it. I have encountered different answers. So please clear it up for me.absolutely, fire away! although I agree on the main board, more folks will prolly respond there.
Thanks Ed, I thought you were angry with me, because of my last post. Yea, I have been doing a lot of research since our conversation began. I am utilizing all resources to gain knowledge not just from the Reformed position. That is something I learned a long time ago. To understand both side of aisle in these debates. Gives me more insight into the center of the debates. So, that's why I am here. To get it from the horses mouth.Hello, Jesse!!! Wonderful to see you here. These are really good folks with a much better grip on things than I have. Hope this is helpful to you.!
Oh, just a simple question then.The main question I have is what is Theosis in Eastern Orthodoxy. I have been doing my research on it. I have encountered different answers. So please clear it up for me.
The main question I have is what is Theosis in Eastern Orthodoxy. I have been doing my research on it. I have encountered different answers. So please clear it up for me.
I am glad I can bring a smile to your face.Oh, just a simple question then.
LOL, sorry, it made me smile.
Matt can surely answer better than I can, but I want to watch the conversation, and I don't usually come in here.
Theosis is the process by which we become more and more like Christ - essentially we are being returned to the state which God intended for us from the beginning, healed of the effects of sin, which include the passions (perversions of good desires). That's sort of the nutshell answer, and like I said, I know Matt can explain much better than I can.
There is the statement often quoted by St. Athanasius - "God became man so that man might become god." But it is very important not to misunderstand this! We can become more and more like Christ - we are "in the image AND likeness of God" as it was in the beginning (except even more so - Adam had not attained maturity in Christ). But God - the uncreated, divine, Being - remains God, and we are and always will be creatures. We never cross any kind of border to "become God" in the same way that God is God.
It might also be good, if you've heard confusing answers, or those that contradict, to ask about them specifically. There can be a lot of misunderstanding and misinformation, but there can also be cases where we answer a question in a way that seems contradictory. The question may be "Is it a or b?" and our answer may be "yes." Sometimes it is not either/or, but rather it is both/and. But in order to know if that is what has happened, you'd have to give us the particulars.
I hope that helps a tiny bit. I'm guessing your question is really more than that. And I'm glad Matt caught the thread.
Welcome to TAW, by the way.We are glad to have you join us!
Yes Anastasia gave some good material. I am looking for the specific teaching on it from the East word for word on it. And I would like also to know in the East teaching of Adam; who was he and was he create in Theosis before He sin? And how do people now get to this state of Theosis now?I trust than Anastasia's post has helped. Perhaps Matt will add more.
The post below might help with regard to background and how this critical understanding has seen by others.
BTW, IMHO, theosis (or divinization) was a central part of the faith of us all until the time the West broke from the East. Many of the Fathers spoke of this. Currently, this is central in the West only among Quakers and Methodists.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divinization_(Christian)
I am glad I can bring a smile to your face.
I have been reading some data from their camp and I am getting mix answers to this thing "THEOSIS". Some say its the believer getting absorb into God's essence. Others say its the energies of God that they become. That we become like gods, sounds weird for me. And what is the differences between Theosis, Union with Christ and Sanctification? I will post what I found very interesting tomorrow on the subject of Theosis.
But thanks for your time and energy. All in Love, not hate.
Yes Anastasia gave some good material. I am looking for the specific teaching on it from the East word for word on it. And I would like also to know in the East teaching of Adam; who was he and was he create in Theosis before He sin? And how do people now get to this state of Theosis now?
Smiles are good.
Through Theosis, we become like God (specifically like Christ, since He is God revealed to us). It probably does sound weird at first, but it is essentially the same process as what Protestants refer to as sanctification. It's just that Protestants tend to see salvation as a moment-in-time done event, while we tend to view it as a process, which is not complete (salvation that is) until the final judgement. We don't see it as a simple legal transaction, but rather a process. As I understand it, union with Christ would also fall under what we describe as theosis.
Yes, our union with God is a process, not an event.
Many Protestants have what I would call imprecise language, as well as the difference in doctrine. As a Baptist, I was taught (and taught) that salvation has three parts: justification, sanctification, and glorification. "I was saved when I accepted God; I am being saved as I become more conformed to him each day of my life; and I will be saved (if God wills) on the last day." Wesley (an Anglican priest for all of his life, who founded the Methodists) tried to make clear the importance of sanctification (his understanding was very close to what I have read and discussed as theosis).
The Eastern understanding of energies and essence makes theosis easier to understand for many.
The main question I have is what is Theosis in Eastern Orthodoxy. I have been doing my research on it. I have encountered different answers. So please clear it up for me.
That we become like gods, sounds weird for me.
And what is the differences between Theosis, Union with Christ and Sanctification?
Some say its the believer getting absorb into God's essence.
Others say its the energies of God that they become.
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