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Theosis

450 bytes added, 15:44, September 23, 2006
Union with God, East and West: added paragraph on Anglicanism and Lutheranism
Some Western writers refer to theosis using the same implications given above (e.g., [http://ic.net/~erasmus/RAZ184.HTM], [http://www.kensmen.com/catholic/purgatory.html]). It is common to find western writings that suggest that eastern spirituality manifests ''theosis'' and that by implication the West is lacking in this regard, but this is a case of rhetoric obscuring fact: under different terminology the western spiritual traditions, which also reach to the origins of Christianity (in the East), share the objective of sharing in the life of God. It is also necessary to recall that in the west there is a problematic form of ''[[ecumenism]]'' in vogue, in which people are quick to deny their own truths in order to appear to exalt the ''other''. Some Catholic writers consider it lamentable that the term ''theosis'' is not used more extensively in western theology. [http://www.kensmen.com/catholic/solafide.html]
 
In addition to the strong currents of ''theosis'' in Catholic theology, particularly that of Thomas Aquinas, one can find it as a recurring theme within Anglicanism: in Lancelot Andrewes (17th c.), the hymnody of John and Charles Wesley (18th c.), Edward B. Pusey (19th c.), and A. M. Allchin and E. Charles Miller (20th c.). The Finnish school of Lutheranism led by Tuomo Mannermaa understands Martin Luther's on justification to mean ''theosis''.
===Protestant use of the term "theosis"===
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