THE DEIFICATION OF MAN

by

Elden J. Watson

[August 2012]


       One of the doctrines of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints which has been widely criticized in the Christian world, is that which was expressed by President Lorenzo Snow in the following familiar couplet:


As man now is, God once was:

As God now is, man may be.


       In support of this concept, the present article will show that the doctrine of the deification of man is not only both reasonable and biblical, but it was repeatedly taught by orthodox figures of the first three centuries of the Christian era.


BACKGROUND1


       President Lorenzo Snow first saw the Prophet Joseph Smith at Hyrum, Portage County, Ohio, in 1831, when he (Lorenzo) was only 17 years old. Hiram, Ohio, was located 4 miles from Mantua, where Lorenzo Snow was born and raised. Although he remembers being impressed with the Prophet at that time, the event largely passed out of his mind until three or four years later. Lorenzo's mother and Leonora, his sister, accepted Mormonism in 1831, and another sister, Eliza Roxey joined the church in 1835. Eliza moved to Kirtland in the fall of 1835, about the same time that Lorenzo went to study at Oberlin College. Although an excellent student, Lorenzo expressed himself as singularly unimpressed with Presbyterianism, the only religion taught at Oberlin College.


       Lorenzo's sister Eliza urged him to come to Kirtland, after his studies were completed. She had been hired by Joseph Smith to be the teacher of his "family school," and resided at the home of the Prophet. One of the major enticements was news of a school to be taught at Kirkland by Mr. Joshua Seixas, a distinguished Hebrew scholar. Lorenzo had taken one term of Hebrew, and was interested by the subject. He accordingly moved to Kirtland, and was at once thrown into close association with the Prophet Joseph Smith and the other leading elders in the Church.


       This time Lorenzo was very impressed by both the Prophet Joseph Smith and his teachings, and soon he was wrestling with a growing testimony of the Gospel. Although at that time he had still not even thought of becoming a member of the church, on Sunday, June 5, 1836 Lorenzo attended a "patriarchal blessing meeting" at the Kirtland Temple which was presided over by patriarch Joseph Smith Sr. During the blessings, Lorenzo witnessed an unusual outpouring of the Spirit, and after the meeting he was introduced to Father Smith by his sister Eliza. Of this meeting Lorenzo says:


"He surprised me when he said, "don't worry, take it calmly and the Lord will show you the truth of this great latter-day work, and you will want to be baptized. You will become as great as you can possibly wish -- even as great as God, and you can not wish to be greater."2


       The statement of father Smith weighed heavily on his mind and initially he felt confounded by it, feeling that it almost bordered on blasphemy. After a short while, he felt impressed with the feeling "And why not?" And two weeks later, in June of 1836, Lorenzo was baptized. It was, however, approximately four years before he received the special revelation which clarified and brought personal satisfaction from Father Smith's statement:


At the time, I was at the house of Elder H. G. Sherwood; he was endeavoring to explain the parable of our Savior, when speaking of the husbandmen who hired servants and sent them forth at different hours of the day to labor in his vineyard..

While attentively listening to his explanation, the Spirit of the Lord rested mightily upon me -- the eyes of my understanding were opened, and I saw as clear as the sun at noon day, with wonder and astonishment, the pathway of God and man. I formed the following couplet which expresses the revelation, as it was shown me, and explains Father Smith's dark saying to me at a blessing meeting in the Kirkland Temple prior to my baptism, as previously mentioned in my first interview with the patriarch.

 


as man now is, God once was:

as God now is, men may be.


       I felt this to be a sacred communication, which I related to no one except my sister Eliza, until I reached England, when in a confidential private conversation with President Brigham Young, in Manchester, I related to him this extraordinary manifestation.3


       Pres. Young's reaction was to tell Lorenzo Snow that this was a new doctrine which had been revealed for his own private information. He said that the doctrine, if true, would eventually be taught by the Prophet to the Church, until that time it should be laid to rest and no more should be said about it.


       It was on the seventh of April, 1844 that Joseph Smith preached the doctrine to the Church. In a speech which has become known as the King Follett discourse, Joseph said:


God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens! That is the great secret. If the veil were rent today, and the great God who holds this world in its orbit, and who upholds all worlds and all things by his power, was to make himself visible, -- I say, if you were to see him today, you would see him like a man in form -- like yourselves in all the person, image, and very form as a man; for Adam was created in the very fashion, image and likeness of God, and received instruction from, and walked, talked and conversed with him, as one man talks and communes with another.4


       After hearing this discourse, Brigham Young made a point of going out of his way to inform Lorenzo Snow that the doctrine he had discussed with him in England was true, and he could teach it openly now for the Prophet had just delivered a discourse on it to the Church.


       Thus, the deification of man, one of the more grand and glorious principles of the Gospel, was introduced into the Church in the last days. This one principle probably contributes more to a proper understanding of the true nature of God than any other single principle of the Gospel.


PUBLIC REACTION


       The majority of the Latter-day Saints have always heralded the doctrine of the deification of man as a gem of priceless value. Today the principle appears in one form or another in virtually every speech, article or manual in the Church which deals directly with the basic nature of God. It may be reasonably considered one of the most loved doctrines of the Church. And rightly so, for serious contemplation of its implications is inherently and nobly, uplifting and purifying.


       However, as might be anticipated, initial reaction to this principle within the Church was varied, and although not specifically listed, the Laws, Fosters and Higbees do complain about recent Latter-day Saint teachings regarding the nature of God as one of the reasons for leaving the Church.5 Apostates and antagonists added some aspects of this doctrine to their list of justification for fighting the Church,6 but at first it was not really a critical issue, as mud-slingers are seldom concerned with the texture of the mud they throw: generally one reason to cry "Heresy!" Is as good as another.


       Today the anti-Mormon Christian world still malign the concept, calling it blasphemous, heretical and a doctrine of the devil, basing their claims on the fact that according to the Bible account it was Satan who told Eve that she and Adam should "become as the gods, knowing good and evil." They misinterpret the doctrine to mean that the Latter-day Saints are seeking to earn personal rewards and greatness, including godhood, my good deeds and righteous living during mortality; a practice which they see as unbecoming a Christian who should seek only to glorify God.


       This problem, however, is more semantic than real, and when viewed from the proper perspective, is not a cause of concern. Latter-day Saints fully accept the doctrine that man is saved by grace. All that mortals can do is insufficient to warrant salvation, and it is only by the grace of God that we are saved. However, Latter-day Saints also realize that after being saved by the grace of God, every individual will be rewarded according to his works,7 and God, being perfect, gives perfect rewards. His method of reward will therefore be to place every individual in that position in which he is best suited to give honor and glory to the Father. Those who through their diligence and good works have achieved the greatest capabilities will then be able to render the greatest service to God. And consequently, those who will be able to serve God the best will be those who are most like Him.


BIBLICAL REFERENCES


       In the introductory paragraph of his Second Epistle General, Peter, the chief apostle, indicates that the epistle is written to all those who, like himself, through a knowledge of Christ, have been called to glory and virtue, and have thereby been given all things that pertain to life and godliness. He states that it is by this calling that exceeding great and precious promises have been given, in order that those who receive these promises may become like God (i.e. "become partakers of the divine nature.") The actual quotation is as follows:


Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Savior Jesus Christ:

Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,

According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:

Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. (2 Peter 1:1-4) 


       It should be noted that these verses do not indicate that all are to become "partakers of the divine nature," but only those who have been called to glory and virtue, and thereby received the great and precious promises.

       That John, the beloved apostle, understood the principle of the deification of man is clear from his First Epistle General. In chapter three of 1st John he says:


Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. (1 John 3:2)


       Inherent within the meaning of the preceding verse is the knowledge that unless we are like him we can never see him as he is. Continuing, John makes it clear that he advocates being "like him," and in contradistinction to being in any way wrong, even the hope of becoming like God is ennobling and purifying.


And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. (1 John 3:3)

 

       Luke agrees, by saying:

 

The disciple is not above his master: but everyone that is perfect shall be as his master. (Luke 6:40)

 

       And will anyone argue with the Savior, or accuse him of giving a commandment which cannot be achieved?8

 

Be ye therefore perfect, even as your father which is in heaven is perfect. (Matthew 5:48)

 

 

THE DOCTRINE OF DEIFICATION IN THE EARLY CHURCH

 

       The verses quoted above can be, and have been, interpreted in a far milder sense than the interpretation applied here. Because the present interpretation tends to shock some adherents of modern Christian concepts, the tendency is to avoid a literal interpretation, and substitute placid and nondescript figurative vagaries. This was not the case in the primitive church. Since the 1899 publication of William Ralph Inge's series of eight lectures (the Bampton Lectures) delivered before the University of Oxford, it has been well known that the doctrine of deification played a major role in the beliefs of the early Fathers.

 

But the word deification holds a very large place in the writings of the Fathers, and not only among those who have been called mystics. We find it in Irenaeus as well is in Clement, and Athanasius as well as in Gregory of Nyssa. St. Augustine is no more afraid of "deificari" in Latin than Origen is of "theopoiesthai" in Greek. The subject is one of primary importance to anyone who wishes to understand mystical theology; 9

 

       It should be noted that William Inge defines a mystic as "one who has been, or is being, initiated into some esoteric knowledge of divine things, about which he must keep his mouth shut,"10 which certainly describes the vast majority of the early Christian writers. He treats the topic in a 13 page appendix entitled "The Doctrine of Deification." Specific quotes from early writers will be tabulated later, but in his appendix he quotes from an earlier author, saying:

 

Harnack says that "after Theophilus, Irenaeus, Hippolytus and Origen, the idea of deification is found in all the Fathers of the Ancient Church, and that in a primary position. We have it in Athanasius, the Cappadocians, Apollinaris, Ephreem Syrus, Epiphanius, and others, as also in Cyril, Sophronius, and late Greek and Russian theologians. In proof of it, Ps. lxxxii, 6 ('I said, ye are gods') is very often quoted".11

 

       In a recent volume12 by Georgios I. Mantzaridis, a Professor of the University of Thessaloniki, entitled "The Deification of Man," Professor Mantzaridis writes:

 

Deification, as God's greatest gift to man and the ultimate goal of human existence, had always been a prime consideration in the teachings of the Church Fathers on salvation.13 as Fr. Kiprian Kern puts it epigrammatically, deification is the religious ideal of Orthodoxy.14 It is that which from the beginning has constituted the innermost longing of man's existence. Adam, in attempting to appropriate it by transgressing God's command, failed, and in place of deification met with corruption and death. The love of God, however, through His Son's incarnation, restored to man the possibility of deification:

 

Adam of old was deceived:

wanting to be God he failed to be God.

God becomes man,

so that He may make Adam God15

 

Palamas himself, following the tradition of the Greek Fathers and the mystical theologians of Byzantium, saw deification as the ultimate goal of human existence.

 

The teachings of the Greek Fathers on man's deification has not been given much attention by recent theologians. In Protestant circles, this patristic teaching was merely sketched out and noted without, however, being properly understood. Roman Catholic theologians have made deeper researches into the subject, which have resulted in some important studies.16

 

QUOTES FROM THE EARLY FATHERS

 

JUSTIN MARTYR: Born of Roman parentage about 114 A.D. He studied in the schools of the philosophers before accepting Christianity. He probably settled in Rome where he became a Christian teacher. His writings are among the most important that have come to us from the second century. He sealed his testimony by martyrdom about 165 A.D.

 

"It is demonstrated that all men are deemed worthy of becoming 'gods,' and of having power to become sons of the highest"17

 

THEOPHILUS OF ANTIOCH: ~115-181 Was born a pagan, and owed his conversion to Christianity to the careful study of the Holy Scriptures. He became the sixth bishop of Antioch in Syria about 168.

 

"He [man] was by nature neither mortal nor immortal. For if He had made him immortal from the beginning, he would have made him God. Again, if he had made him mortal, God would seem to be the cause of his death. Neither, then, immortal nor yet mortal did he make them, but, as we have said above, capable of both; so that if he should incline to the things of immortality, keeping the commandment of God, he should receive as reward from Him immortality, and should become God; but if, on the other hand, he should turn to the things of death, disobeying God, he should himself be the cause of death to himself. For God made man free, and with power over himself."18

 

IRENAEUS: Born in Asia minor ~130 A.D., and raised in Smyrna, he became Bishop of Lyons in 177 A.D. Approximately 185 A.D. he wrote Against Heresies to refute the various Gnostic schools.

 

       "It will be incumbent upon thee, however, and all who may happen to read this writing, to peruse with great attention what I have already said, that thou mayest obtain a knowledge of the subjects against which I am contending. For it is thus that thou wilt both controvert them in a legitimate matter, and wilt be prepared to receive the proofs brought forward against them, casting away their doctrines as filth by means of the celestial faith; but following the only true and steadfast Teacher, the Word of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, who did, through His transcendent love, become what we are, that He might bring us to be even what He is Himself."19

 

"Christ became what we are in order to enable us to become what He is."20

 

CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA: Born about 153 A.D., while Justin Martyr and Irenaeus were in their prime. St. Jerome speaks of him as the most learned of all the ancients. The Stromata was written about 194 A.D.

 

       "For he who has not the knowledge of good is wicked: for there is one good, the Father; and to be ignorant of the Father is death, as to know Him is eternal life, through participation in the power of the incorrupt One. And to be incorruptible is to participate in divinity; but revolt from the knowledge of God brings corruption."21

 

"Clement, too, speaks of 'The soul training itself to become God.'"22

 

HIPPOLYTUS: A student of Irenaeus, born ~170 A.D. He was certainly a bishop, and spent most of his life in the vicinity of Rome. The greatest of his writings, The Refutation of all Heresies was written about 220 A.D. in Rome.

 

        "Now such torments as these shalt thou avoid by being instructed in a knowledge of the true God. And thou shalt possess an immortal body, even one placed beyond the possibility of corruption, just like the soul. And thou shalt receive the kingdom of heaven, thou who, whilst thou didst sojourn in this life, didst know the Celestial King. And thou shalt be a companion of the Deity, and a co-heir with Christ, no longer enslaved by lusts or passions, and never again wasted by disease. For thou hast become God: for whatever sufferings thou didst undergo while being a man, these He gave to thee, because thou wast of mortal mould, but whatever it is consistent with God to impart, thee God has promised to distill upon thee, because thou hast been deified, and begotten unto immortality. This constitutes the import of the proverb, 'Know thysef;' i.e., discover God within myself, for He has formed thee after His own image. For with the knowledge of self is conjoined the being an object of God's knowledge, for thou art called by the Deity himself. Be not therefore inflamed, O ye men, with enmity one towards another, nor hesitate to retrace with all speed your steps. For Christ is the God above all, and He has arranged to wash away sin from human beings, rendering regenerate the old man. And God called man His likeness from the beginning, and has evinced in a figure his love towards thee. And provided thou obeyest His solemn injunctions, and becomest a faithful follower of Him who is good, thou shalt resemble Him, inasmuch as thou shalt have honor conferred upon thee by Him. For the Deity, (by condescension,) does not diminish aught of the dignity of His divine perfection; having made thee even God unto his glory!"23

 

"Thy body shall be immortal and incorruptible as well as thy soul. For thou hast become God. All the things that follow upon the Divine nature God has promised to supply to thee, for thou wast deified in being born to immortality."24

 

ORIGIN: born at Alexandria ~185 A.D., he was a student of Clement of Alexandria. He became the greatest Bible critic of antiquity. His great critical work was the Hexapla, six versions of the Old Testament arranged in parallel columns. De Principiis was written about 230 A.D.

 

"The highest good, then, after the attainment of which the whole of rational nature is seeking, which is also called the end of all blessings, is defined by many philosophers as follows: The highest good, they say, is to become as like to God as possible. But this definition I regard not so much as a discovery of theirs, as a view derived from holy Scripture. For this is pointed out by Moses, before all other philosophers, when he describes the first creation of man in these words: “And God said, Let Us make man in Our own image, and after Our likeness;” and then he adds the words: “So God created man in His own image: in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them, and He blessed them.” Now the expression, “In the image of God created He him,” without any mention of the word “likeness,”conveys no other meaning than this, that man received the dignity of God’s image at his first creation; but that the perfection of his likeness has been reserved for the consummation, - namely, that he might acquire it for himself by the exercise of his own diligence in the imitation of God, the possibility of attaining to perfection being granted him at the beginning through the dignity of the divine image, and the perfect realization of the divine likeness being reached in the end by the fulfilment of the (necessary) works. Now, that such is the case, the Apostle John points out more clearly and unmistakeably, when he makes this declaration: “Little children, we do not yet know what we shall be; but if a revelation be made to us from the Saviour, ye will say, without any doubt, we shall be like Him.” By which expression he points out with the utmost certainty, that not only was the end of all things to be hoped for, which he says was still unknown to him, but also the likeness to God, which will be conferred in proportion to the completeness of our deserts.25

 

ATHANASIUS: born in Alexandria about 295 A.D., he became the great Defender of the Nicene faith. Not a great speculative theologian, he was primarily responsible for the final acceptance of the Nicene Creed.

 

"He was made man that we might be made God."26

 

BASIL THE GREAT: born in Cappadocia about 330, he received the best training that Constantinople and Athens had to offer. He was very familiar with the teachings of Origen. He became bishop of the Cappadocian Caesarea about 370 A.D.

 

"Man is nothing less than a creature that has received the order to become God."27

 

PSEUDO-HIPPOLYTUS: An anonymous author of the 4th Century.

 

              "If, then, man has become immortal, he will be God."28

 

 

CONCLUSION

 

              The above sample of quotations from the patristic fathers is by no means exhaustive. Nor are any of the quotes removed from the intended concept. The doctrine of deification was a major doctrine of the early church. The doctrine did not die with the Nicene Council, although references began to be more scarce about that time.

 

              The first study of the writings of the early fathers on the subject of deification was apparently made by Gregory Palamas (1296-1359), a monk of Mount Athos, archbishop of Thessalonica, and a famous theologian and saint of the Orthodox Church. As might be expected his own writings show a deep understanding and respect for the doctrine of the deification of man. For Palamas, deification was the ultimate goal of human existence. He taught that God's Son became man to show us the heights to which he would raise us, by making men sons of god and participators in divine immortality. Deification was not to be imposed upon man, but it was offered to him as a gift from God in His grace. The question of the possession of the Holy Spirit was not a trifling doctrinal detail, but an altogether fundamental theme, related to the entire Christian faith and to its goal: man's regeneration and deification in Christ. 29

 

              For a more scholarly research into the subject I would recommend: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, Occasional Papers, Volume 1, 2000, Keith E. Norman, Deification: The Content of Athanasian Soteriology.30

 

              So we complete the theological circle, returning to the doctrine of Christ and his apostles which has inspired men to their best for thousands of years, and this by direct revelation from him whose doctrine is: an invitation to those who are not afraid to receive the like precious promises from the God who knows what it is like to have been a man.

 

 

NOTES

 

1. Except where otherwise noted, the information in this section on background has been taken from an article by Orson F. Whitney entitled "lives of our leaders -- the Apostles, Lorenzo Snow." Published in the January 1, 1900 issue of The Juvenile Instructor 35:1-8.

 

2. LeRoi C. Snow, "How Lorenzo Snow found God," Improvement Era 40:84. Also quoted in Thomas C. Romney, The Life of Lorenzo Snow, p. 25.

 

3. Eliza R. Snow, Biography and Family Record of Lorenzo Snow, pp. 46-47.

 

4. Joseph Fielding Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 345.

 

5. See the Nauvoo Expositor, June 7, 1844, pp. 1, 2.

 

6. See "Causes of Mormon Non-Mormon Conflict in Hancock County, Illinois 1839-1846." Unpublished dissertation by Kenneth W. Godfrey, Brigham Young University, 1967, pp. 205-207.

 

7. Three widely divergent scriptural quotes will suffice to demonstrate the point: [Ecclesiastes 12:14] "for God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil." [Matthew 16:27] "For the Son of Man Shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works." [Revelation 20:12-13] "And I saw the dead, small and great stand before God: and the books were opened: and another book was opened which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works."

 

8. That perfection can be achieved in the sense of the Savior's command is illustrated in the following two passages. Genesis 6:9 (see also Moses 8:27) "these are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God." Doctrine and Covenants 107:43, "Because he (Seth) was a perfect man, and his likeness was the express likeness of his father, in so much that he seemed to be like unto his father in all things, and could be distinguished from him only by his age."

 

9. William Ralph Inge, Christian Mysticism, Charles Schreiber's sons, London, 1899, pp 12-13.

 

10. Ibid., p. 4.

 

11. Ibid., p. 358.

 

12. Georgios I. Mantzaridis, The Deification of Man, St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, 1984, pp. 12-13. Translated from the Greek by Liadain Sherrard (notes 13 through 15 are in the original.)

 

13. See J. Gross, La divinisation du chrétien d'après les Pères grecs (Paris, 1938), p. 344.

 

14. Archimandrite Kiprian, Antropologija sv. Grigorija Palamy (Paris, 1950), p. 394.

 

15. Doxastikon at the Praises, Feast of the Annunciation.

 

16. Op. Cit., The Deification of Man, pp. 12-13. Mantzaridis continues with the references as follows: "The most extensive and notable of these is J. Gross, La divinisation du chrétien d' après les Pères grecs, contribution historique á la doctrine de la grâce (Paris, 1938). The theme has been explored among the Orthodox theologians by Andreas Theodorou in his work entitled The Teaching on the Deification of Man of the Greek Church Fathers up to St. John of Damascus (in Greek: Athens, 1956), and by M. Lot-Borodine, down to the eleventh century, in La doctrine de la déification dans l'Eglise grecque jusqu'au XIe siècle," in Revue de l'Historie des Religions 105, (Paris 1932), pp. 5-43; 106 (1932), pp. 525-574; 107 (1933), pp. 8-55."

 

17. Dialogue with Trypho, cxxiv, as found in Ante-Nicene Fathers 1:262.

 

18. Theophilus to Autolycus xxvii, as found in Ante-Nicene Fathers 2:105.

 

19. Irenaeus Against Heresies, book V., Preface, as found in Ante-Nicene Fathers, 1:526.

 

20. Irenaeus Against Heresies, as quoted in J. N. D. Kelly, Early Christian Doctrines, Revised edition, 1960, p. 172.

 

21. Clement of Alexandria, Stromata 5:10, as found in Ante-Nicene Fathers, 2:459.

 

22. Clement, as quoted in Christian Mysticism, p. 357.

 

23. Hippolytus, The Refutation of All Heresies, Book x., Chap. xxx., as found in Ante-Nicene Fathers 5:153.

 

24. Hippolytus, as quoted in Christian Mysticism, pp. 357-358.

 

25. Origen, De Principiis Book III., Chap. vi, as found in Ante-Nicene Fathers 4:344.

 

26. Athanasius, Incarnation, 54:3, as quoted in Christian Mysticism, p 7. The quote is variously translated as "He became man that we might be deified," ibid. p. 358 and "He [Christ] was made man that we might be made divine." Williston Walker, A History of the Christian Church, Charles Schreiber's Sons, Revised Edition, 1959, p. 110.

 

27. Basil the great, as quoted in Christian Mysticism, p. 7.

 

28. Pseudo-Hippolytus as quoted in Christian Mysticism, p. 358.

 

29. An examination of Palamas' teachings on the subject can be found in Mantzaridis, Op. Cit. The comments made here are adapted from pages 13, 26-27, 38 and 42.

 

30. The Editor's Introduction to this publication containes the following Supplemental Bibliography on Divinization by William J. Hamblin.

 

Allclhin, A. M. Participation in God: A Forgotten Strand in Anglican Tradition (Wilton, Conn.: Morehouse-Barlow, 1988).

 

Balas, D. L. Metousia Thou: Man's Participation in God's Perfection according to St. Gregory of Nyssa (Rome Pontificium Institutum S. Anselmi, 1966).

 

Benz, Ernst W. "Imago Dei: Man in theImage of God," Reflections on Mormonism: Judaeo-Christian Parallels, edited by Truman G. Madsen (Provo, Utah: BYU Religious Studies Center, 1978), 201-21.

 

Bonner, G. "Augustine's Conception of Deification." Journal of Theological Studies n.s., 37 (1986): 369-86.

 

Chrestou, Panagiotes, Partakers of God (Brookline, Mass.: Holy Cross Orthodox, 1984).

 

Clendenin, Daniel B. Eastern Orthodox Christianity, A Western Perspective (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Books, 1994), 117-37.

 

De Andia, Y. HOMO VIVENS: Incorruptibilité et divinisation de l'homme selon Irénée de Lyon (Paris: Etudes Augustiniennes, 1986).

 

Des Place, É., I.-H. Dlamais, and G. Bardy. "Divinisation." Dictionnaire de spiritualite (1957): 3:1370-98.

 

Gross, J. La Divinization du chrétien d'après les Pères grecs (Paris: Gabalda, 1938).

 

Harris, Murray J. Jesus as God: The New Testament Use of Theos in Reference to Jesus (Grand Ralpids, Mich.: Baker Books, 1992).

 

Lossky, Vladimir. In the Image and Likeness of God (Crestwood, N.Y.: St. Valdimir's Seminary Press, 1974).

 

Lot-Borodine, M. La Deification de l'homme selon la doctrine des Pères grecs (Paris: Cerf, 1970).

 

Louth, A. "Manhood into God: The Oxford Movement, the Fathers and the Deification of Man," in Essays Catholic and Radical, edited by K. Leech and R. Williams (London: Bowerdean Press, 1983), 70-80.

 

Mantzaridis, Georgios I. The Deification of Man: St. Gregory Palamas and the Orthodox Tradition, translated by Laidain Sherrard (Crestwood, N.Y.: St. Valdimirs Seminary Press, 1984).

 

Nellas, Panayiotis, Deification in Christ (Crestwood, N.Y.: St. Valdimir's Seminary Press, 1987).

 

Peterson, Daniel C., and Stephen D. Ricks;, Offenders for a Word: How Anti-Mormons Play Word Games to Attack the Latter-day Saints (Salt Lake City: Aspen Books, 1992), 75-92.

 

Rakestraw, Robert V. "Becoming Like God: An Evangeical Doctrine of Theosis." Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 40/2 (June 1997): 257-69.

 

Rius-Camps, J. El dinamismo trinitario en la divinización de los seres racionales según Origenes (Rome: Pontificum Institutum Orientalium Studiorum, 1970).

 

Stavropoulos, Christoforos. Partakers of Divine Nature (Minneapolis: Light and Life, 1976.

 

Wild, P. T. The Divinization of Man according to St. Hilary of Poitiers (Mundelein: St Mary of the Lake Seminary, 1950).

 

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