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Theosis vocabulary

In short
  • T18.1 Deification by grace (‘became what we are, that we might become what he is’) from Era II (high)
  • T18.2 God is known from his operations, not his essence (Basil, Letter 234): consensus on the epistemic point; Palamas’s distinction is post-750 (medium–high)

Two separate measures, shown side by side; neither is combined with the other (confidence-weighted, out of 4; counts show how many of this doctrine's 2 questions each rests on; ⚠ marks coverage more than 10 points below the median, a less certain rank). This doctrine is third-order (tier weight 1). How scoring works · Scripture and tradition · Glossary · Every score with its citation

Closeness to Scripture

1 Anabaptist⚠ 1/2 cells · low coverage 100% 1/2 q
2 Catholic2/2 cells 88% 2/2 q
3 Oriental Orthodox2/2 cells 88% 2/2 q
4 Lutheran2/2 cells 88% 2/2 q
5 Anglican2/2 cells 88% 2/2 q
6 Presbyterian2/2 cells 88% 2/2 q
7 Reformed Baptist2/2 cells 88% 2/2 q
8 General Baptist2/2 cells 88% 2/2 q
9 Orthodox⚠ 1/2 cells · low coverage 75% 1/2 q

Closeness to the fathers

1 Orthodox⚠ 1/2 cells · low coverage 100% 1/2 q
2 Anabaptist⚠ 1/2 cells · low coverage 100% 1/2 q
3 Catholic2/2 cells 85% 2/2 q
4 Oriental Orthodox2/2 cells 70% 2/2 q
5 Lutheran2/2 cells 70% 2/2 q
6 Anglican2/2 cells 70% 2/2 q
7 Presbyterian2/2 cells 70% 2/2 q
8 Reformed Baptist2/2 cells 70% 2/2 q
9 General Baptist2/2 cells 70% 2/2 q
Charts: closeness to the fathers by question, and timeline
Closeness to the fathers, by question (0–4). Hatched = not assessed in the category file. Click a question for its verdict.
01234Catholic · T18.1: 3/4 — Used (Aquinas; Catechism tradition), not central in Trent3Orthodox · T18.1: 4/4 — Central (Palamas)4Oriental Orthodox · T18.1: 2/4 — Shenouda III, *Man's Deification!!* part 1: on 2 Pet 1:4, 'The apostle's words mean that we take part with the Divine Nature in work, in will, and in edification of God's Kingdom, not that we take the Divine nature' (verified, PDF of the English edition); he calls 'man's deification' a heresy2Lutheran · T18.1: 2/4 — Union with Christ; deification language rare in the confessions2Anglican · T18.1: 2/4 — Not used in the Articles2Presbyterian · T18.1: 2/4 — Union with Christ (WCF XXVI); no deification language2Reformed Baptist · T18.1: 2/4 — Union with Christ (1689 27)2General Baptist · T18.1: 2/4 — Not used2Anabaptist · T18.1: not assessedT18.1conf. highCatholic · T18.2: 4/4 — Incomprehensibility (e.g. WCF II.1 'incomprehensible')4Orthodox · T18.2: not assessedOriental Orthodox · T18.2: 4/4 — Incomprehensibility (e.g. WCF II.1 'incomprehensible')4Lutheran · T18.2: 4/4 — Incomprehensibility (e.g. WCF II.1 'incomprehensible')4Anglican · T18.2: 4/4 — Incomprehensibility (e.g. WCF II.1 'incomprehensible')4Presbyterian · T18.2: 4/4 — Incomprehensibility (e.g. WCF II.1 'incomprehensible')4Reformed Baptist · T18.2: 4/4 — Incomprehensibility (e.g. WCF II.1 'incomprehensible')4General Baptist · T18.2: 4/4 — Incomprehensibility (e.g. WCF II.1 'incomprehensible')4Anabaptist · T18.2: 4/4 — Incomprehensibility (e.g. WCF II.1 'incomprehensible')4T18.2conf. medium–high
CatholicOrthodoxOriental OrthodoxLutheranAnglicanPresbyterianReformed BaptistGeneral BaptistAnabaptistnot assessed
When the cited witnesses spoke (approximate dates) and where later traditions fixed their positions. Filled dot = consensus question; hollow orange = a question on which the fathers varied. Each item links to its source note or post-750 note.
1002003004005006007001000125015001700post-750 (compressed)Irenaeus (c. 180) · T18.1Irenaeusc. 180 · T18.1Athanasius (c. 335) · T18.1Athanasiusc. 335 · T18.1Basil (c. 370) · T18.2Basilc. 370 · T18.2Westminster Confession (1646) · CatholicWestminster Confession1646 · CatholicWestminster Confession (1646) · Oriental OrthodoxWestminster Confession1646 · Oriental OrthodoxWestminster Confession (1646) · LutheranWestminster Confession1646 · LutheranWestminster Confession (1646) · AnglicanWestminster Confession1646 · AnglicanWestminster Confession (1646) · PresbyterianWestminster Confession1646 · PresbyterianWestminster Confession (1646) · Reformed BaptistWestminster Confession1646 · Reformed BaptistWestminster Confession (1646) · General BaptistWestminster Confession1646 · General BaptistWestminster Confession (1646) · AnabaptistWestminster Confession1646 · Anabaptist
  1. c. 180 Irenaeus T18.1
  2. c. 335 Athanasius T18.1
  3. c. 370 Basil T18.2
  4. 1646 Westminster Confession Catholic
  5. 1646 Westminster Confession Oriental Orthodox
  6. 1646 Westminster Confession Lutheran
  7. 1646 Westminster Confession Anglican
  8. 1646 Westminster Confession Presbyterian
  9. 1646 Westminster Confession Reformed Baptist
  10. 1646 Westminster Confession General Baptist
  11. 1646 Westminster Confession Anabaptist

T18 · Theosis vocabulary

Deification language or union with Christ.

Tier: Third-order (scoring weight 1). How the tiers were set: theological triage. Method: conventions. Traditions’ sources: confessional sources.

In short

Many fathers described salvation as ‘deification’: Athanasius wrote that God ‘was made man that we might be made God’, meaning by grace, not by nature. Scripture speaks of sharing in the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4). The Orthodox keep this language at the centre; Protestant confessions speak instead of union with Christ.

Plan

Question: T18.1: is ‘deification’ (theosis) a proper way to describe salvation? Scripture: 2 Pet 1:4; Ps 82:6 / John 10:34–35; Rom 8:29; 2 Cor 3:18; 1 John 3:2. Fathers: Irenaeus, Against Heresies V preface; Athanasius, On the Incarnation 54. Question: T18.2: Is God known by his operations but not in his essence?

Questions

  • T18.1 Theosis vocabulary
  • T18.2 Is God known by his operations but not in his essence?

Verdicts and trace

Weighed under the source-proximity principle: Scripture first, then the father eras I–IV.

T18.1 · Theosis vocabulary

QuestionVerdictConfidenceReasoningKey sourcesScripture (benchmark)
T18.1Deification by grace (‘became what we are, that we might become what he is’) from Era IIHighT18.1.1 · T18.1.3 weighingirenaeus-t18-s1 · athanasius-t18-s1T18.1.4: medium

T18.2 · Is God known by his operations but not in his essence?

QuestionVerdictConfidenceReasoningKey sourcesScripture (benchmark)
T18.2God is known from his operations, not his essence (Basil, Letter 234): consensus on the epistemic point; Palamas’s distinction is post-750Medium-highT18.2.1 · T18.2.3 weighingbasil-t18-s1T18.2.4: medium

Post-750 development

Which of this doctrine’s questions each tradition stays closest to, or departs from. Each row links to the tradition’s notes; exact scores and bases are in the reasoning.

TraditionClosest to the fathers onDeparts or sharpens on
Catholicpartly T18.1, T18.2—
OrthodoxT18.1, T18.2—
Oriental OrthodoxT18.1, T18.2—
LutheranT18.1, T18.2partly T18.1
AnglicanT18.1, T18.2partly T18.1
PresbyterianT18.1, T18.2partly T18.1
Reformed BaptistT18.1, T18.2partly T18.1
General BaptistT18.1, T18.2partly T18.1
AnabaptistT18.1, T18.2partly T18.1

Overall verdict

Deification is consensus patristic vocabulary from Era II and has a biblical basis in 2 Pet 1:4; the Orthodox keep it most; Protestant confessions speak of union with Christ instead. T18.2: consensus on God’s incomprehensibility.

Verification status

Status from the score data: 0 tradition cells cite a text checked against an online source (marked verified); 15 cite the named article or practice without a separate check in this project (see each tradition’s section); 3 are not assessed (T18.1 Oriental Orthodox, T18.1 Anabaptist, T18.2 Orthodox), with the reason given in the reasoning page.