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Divinization: A Lost Pearl

The Greek word theosis, often used by the Eastern Fathers of the church, is probably best translated as “divinization.” [1] Although usually taught in the more mystical and Trinitarian Eastern Church, it was largely lost in the more practical, carrot-on-the-stick emphasis of the Western Church. Every time the Christian church divided or separated, each group lost one half of the Gospel message. That seems to have been true in the Great Schism of 1054, when

Divinization

If we could glimpse the panoramic view of the biblical revelation and the Big Picture that we’re a part of, we’d see how God is forever evolving human consciousness, making us ever more ready for God. The Jewish prophets and many Catholic and Sufi mystics used words like espousal, marriage, or bride and groom to describe this phenomenon. That’s what the prophet Isaiah (61:10, 62:5), many of the Psalms, the school of Paul (Ephesians 5:25-32),

The Eastern Fathers on the Trinity

Just as some Eastern fathers saw Christ’s human/divine nature as one dynamic unity, so they also saw the Trinity as an Infinite Dynamic Flow. The Western Church tended to have a more static view of both Christ and the Trinity–theologically “correct” but largely irrelevant for real life, more a mathematical conundrum than invitation to new consciousness. In our attempts to explain the Trinitarian mystery, the Western Church overemphasized the individual “names” Father, Son, and Holy