Reform: Spirituality and the person of Jesus: Christian holiness and deification ( theosis )

Abstract

A return to the theme of the divine potential of humankind has been a feature of recent theological reflection. Found consistently in the Greek Patristic tradition, in Augustine and in Thomas, it faded from the scene as the result of a series of historical circumstances in Western Christianity, challenged by Martin Luther and the Reform. The subsequent return to the sources (ressourcement) that marked the thought and practice of the Reformers and the post-Reformation period in the Catholic tradition has led to its recovery. A New Testament portrait of Jesus of Nazareth provides solid grounds for a Christian anthropology pointing to the divine potential of humankind.