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A Biblical Perspective

A popularly-written study of the biblical roots of the Eastern Orthodox Church’s mystical understanding of the knowledge of God. This unique study brings together the best of contemporary exegesis with the tradition of Eastern Christianity and illustrates the biblical roots of the Eastern Church's understanding of grace as the energy of God. The book presents, in lay terms, the shape for an Orthodox biblical theology for the 21st century and will be of interest to all Christians for whom the Bible is divine revelation and for whom tradition continues to be creative.
Publisher: Gorgias Press LLC
Availability: In stock
SKU (ISBN): 978-1-59333-638-7
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Publication Status: In Print
Publication Date: Jun 9,2008
Interior Color: Black
Trim Size: 6 x 9
Page Count: 220
Languages: English
ISBN: 978-1-59333-638-7
$82.00 (USD)
Your price: $49.20 (USD)
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This unique study brings together the best of contemporary exegesis with the tradition of Eastern Christianity and illustrates the biblical roots of the Eastern Church's understanding of grace as the energy of God: Grace is a transforming experience which exalts the Christian to a state in which sharing in the divine life is possible, first as a pledge in this earthly life, then in paradise and at last in a glorious body at the final resurrection. The book presents, in lay terms, the shape for an Orthodox biblical theology for the 21st century and will be of interest to all Christians for whom the Bible is divine revelation and for whom tradition continues to be creative.

Stephen Thomas recently retired from a long career in academic theology. His last position was that of Senior Lecturer in Christian Theology, Canterbury Christ Church University, from which he retired in 2000. He holds degrees from Oxford and London Universities and has a doctorate from Durham University, England. His book, Newman and Heresy, was published by Cambridge University Press in 2001. He has also written numerous articles on the relationship of theology to philosophy and on conscience in Orthodox thought. He is an Orthodox Christian.

This unique study brings together the best of contemporary exegesis with the tradition of Eastern Christianity and illustrates the biblical roots of the Eastern Church's understanding of grace as the energy of God: Grace is a transforming experience which exalts the Christian to a state in which sharing in the divine life is possible, first as a pledge in this earthly life, then in paradise and at last in a glorious body at the final resurrection. The book presents, in lay terms, the shape for an Orthodox biblical theology for the 21st century and will be of interest to all Christians for whom the Bible is divine revelation and for whom tradition continues to be creative.

Stephen Thomas recently retired from a long career in academic theology. His last position was that of Senior Lecturer in Christian Theology, Canterbury Christ Church University, from which he retired in 2000. He holds degrees from Oxford and London Universities and has a doctorate from Durham University, England. His book, Newman and Heresy, was published by Cambridge University Press in 2001. He has also written numerous articles on the relationship of theology to philosophy and on conscience in Orthodox thought. He is an Orthodox Christian.

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  • Table of Contents (page 7)
  • Acknowledgments (page 11)
  • Introduction (page 13)
    • The Theme of This Book (page 13)
    • The Purpose of This Book (page 13)
    • The Structure of This Book (page 14)
  • 1 Salvation as “Deification” (page 19)
    • The Meaning of the Term “Deification”as Applied to the Christian (page 19)
    • Isn’t It Blasphemous to Claim to Be a “god”? (page 20)
    • “I Said ‘You Are Gods’ ”—Starting from the Bible:John 10:34, Psalm 82:6 (page 23)
    • The Humanity of God Makes Possiblethe Deification of Humanity (page 25)
  • 2 Deification: Overviewof the Eastern Orthodox Tradition (page 27)
    • A Total Theology (page 27)
    • The Christian Meaning of Deification: a Summary (page 29)
    • Deification as Healing (page 31)
    • The Transformation of Our Nature (page 36)
    • Paradise after Death (page 38)
    • The Resurrection of the Glorified Bodyat the End of the Age (page 39)
    • Deification and the Communion of the Saints (page 40)
    • In the Image and Likeness of God (page 40)
    • Deification and the Work of Salvation (page 41)
    • Deification Is the Gracious Work of the Whole Trinity (page 44)
    • The “Uncreated Energies” of God (page 45)
    • Deification through a Fully Liturgical Life (page 53)
    • The Nature of Orthodox Mysticism (page 55)
    • Orthodox Theology Is Practical, Not Speculative (page 57)
    • Orthodox Theology Is Based on the Bible (page 60)
  • 3 Revelation and Experience (page 61)
    • Deification Is Based on Divine Revelation (page 61)
    • The Forms of Divine Revelation (page 65)
      • 1) God’s general revelation through creation (page 66)
      • 2) God’s revelation in the Old Testament (page 72)
      • 3) God’s final revelation in Christ (page 73)
    • The Threefold Structure of Divine Revelationas Manifested in Orthodox Life and Thought (page 74)
      • The structure of the Church services (page 74)
      • The spiritual structure of human history (page 75)
      • The structure of catechesis (page 75)
      • This threefold structure is integral to Orthodox theology and life (page 77)
    • Divine Revelation and Human Language (page 77)
  • 4 How to Interpret Holy Scripture, Our Guide to Deification (page 81)
    • The Importance of Scripture (page 81)
    • The Letter and the Spirit (page 83)
    • The Scriptures as Treasuries of Spiritual Experience (page 85)
    • The Big Picture: The Meaning of the Bible as a Whole (page 87)
      • The importance of the “Big Picture” (page 87)
      • The Eucharistic Prayer of the “Anaphora” of the Liturgy of St. Basil the Great (page 88)
    • The Various Senses of Scripture (page 93)
      • 1) The literal sense of Scripture (page 95)
      • 2) The “soul” or “mind” of Scripture (page 96)
      • 3) The “spirit” of Scripture (page 97)
    • Conclusion (page 99)
  • 5 The Old Testament: The Historyof the Energies of God in the Bible (page 101)
    • Why Read the Old Testament? (page 101)
    • The Old Testament as an Integral Partof the History of God’s Grace (page 103)
    • The Creation of Man to Share the Kingship of God: Genesis 1:1–2:3 (page 106)
      • The Septuagintal and Greek patristic account: A summary (page 106)
      • Deification in the Hebrew text:Every man as sacred king and representative of God (page 107)
      • God’s work and Sabbath rest (page 110)
    • Paradise Lost: Genesis 2:4–3:24 (page 113)
      • The differences between the two accounts of creation in Genesis (page 113)
      • The symbolic nature of many of the details (page 114)
      • The serpent (page 116)
      • “As gods knowing good and evil”: deification and knowledge (page 118)
      • God’s merciful “economy” for lapsed humanity (page 122)
    • The “Natural Man” from Adam to Noah (page 126)
    • Moses and the Law:The Hebrew Theology of Revelation (page 129)
    • The Prophecies of Fulfillment in Christ:How the Old Testament Speaks of Christand the Mysteries of the Church (page 135)
    • The Saints of the Old Testament (page 137)
    • Excursus to Chapter 5: Adam Our Ancestor? (page 142)
  • 6 The Uncreated Light of Mount Thabor (page 153)
    • The Light of Glory (page 153)
    • The Transfiguration in the Gospels (page 157)
    • The Experience St. Peter (page 165)
      • The First Letter of St. Peter (page 166)
      • The Second Letter of St. Peter (page 169)
    • The Experience of St. John the Evangelist and Theologian (page 175)
      • The effect on St. John’s theologyof his experience of the Transfiguration (page 175)
      • Light and darkness in the writings of St. John the Theologian (page 176)
      • The teaching on the experience of the Uncreated Lightin the First Letter of John: 1 John 3:2 (page 179)
    • The Experience of St. James the Greater,the Son of Zebedee (page 181)
    • St. Paul’s Experience of the Uncreated Light (page 184)
      • The theologian of experience (page 184)
      • St. Paul’s experience of the Light of Glory (page 185)
    • At the Foot of the Mountain (page 189)
  • Conclusion (page 191)
  • Appendix: For Further Reading (page 195)
    • 1. Books on Deification (page 195)
    • 2. Books on the Bible (page 196)
      • a. Orthodox authors (page 196)
      • b. New Testament Studies (page 197)
    • 3. The Fathers and Books on the Fathers (page 198)
  • Bibliography (page 203)
    • Abbreviations to Bibliography and References (page 203)
  • Index of Scriptural References (page 215)
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