Transformed into the Same Image: Constructive Investigations into the Doctrine of Deification - Paperback

by Paul Copan (Editor), Michael M. C. Reardon (Editor), Michael J. Gorman (Foreword by)

The doctrine of deification or theosis has been gaining interest among scholars for some time. Yet most publications on the topic have focused on Orthodox and Roman Catholic traditions and have subsumed the discussion under the category of soteriology. If "being transformed into the same image" (2 Corinthians 3:18) is truly essential to the Christian life, a fuller understanding of this biblical concept is needed for Christians of all traditions.

In this volume, biblical scholars and theologians offer a constructive account of deification that breaks new ground in key ways. First, several essays focus on the work of major Protestant thinkers and Protestant expressions of the doctrine--including Lutheran, Reformed, Baptist, Wesleyan, Pentecostal, and Evangelical. Second, contributors incorporate deification into arenas that have thus far remained largely unexplored, such as the relationship between justification and deification, applications for theological education, how deification compares with transhumanism, the impact of translation philosophy on the visibility of deification in Scripture, and perspectives on deification in global Christianity.

Contributors include both senior and younger scholars from a variety of backgrounds, including Alister McGrath, Ann Jervis, Veli-Matti K?rkk?inen, Ben C. Blackwell, and Michael Gorman. Transformed into the Same Image invites readers to dive deeper into the doctrine of deification and continue the conversation.

Author Biography

Paul Copan (PhD, Marquette University) is the Pledger Family Chair of Philosophy and Ethics at Palm Beach Atlantic University. His books include The Gospel in the Marketplace of Ideas, An Introduction to Biblical Ethics, and Creation Out of Nothing.

Michael M. C. Reardon (PhD, University of Toronto) is academic dean and professor of New Testament and historical theology at Canada Christian College and School of Graduate Theological Studies.