IV. Salvation

1
IV. Salvation

• in Orthodoxy

2
IV.A. Incarnation

• and Atonement

3
IV.A. Incarnation, Atonement

• Some questions
• Would the incarnation have been necessary if
  humanity had not fallen?
• Would the incarnation have taken place even if it
  had not been necessary?
• What did God seek to accomplish through the
  incarnation/atonement?
• What kind of God-man did Christ have to be to
  accomplish this?

4
IV.A. Incarnation, Atonement

• Eastern Orthodoxys answers
• What did God seek to accomplish through the
  incarnation/atonement?
• Victory over the powers of sin and death
• Restoration to humanity of the capacity for
  theosis
• Guidance along the pathway to theosis

5
IV.A. Incarnation, Atonement

• Eastern Orthodoxys answers
• What kind of God-man did Christ have to be to
  gain victory over the powers of sin and death?
• Who holds power over these powers?
• Who can defeat death?
• God alone, so the emphasis in Christs person
  must fall on his deity. He is God living as a man.

6
IV.A. Incarnation, Atonement

• Eastern Orthodoxys answers
• What kind of God-man did Christ have to be in
  order to restore the capacity for theosis and
  give guidance as people walked the pathway?
• Who can guide human beings?
• Who can blaze a trail for other human beings?
• Only another human being, so the emphasis has to
  fall on Christs humanity.

7
IV.A. Incarnation, Atonement

• A Great Tension
• 2-act scheme 3-act scheme
• Salvation as elevation Salvation as restoration
• Path to theosis Forgiveness, relationship
• Christ as trailblazer Christ as sacrifice,
  victor
• Christ as MAN-God Christ as GOD-man

8
IV.A. Incarnation, Atonement

• A Great Tension
• 2-act scheme 3-act scheme
• Salvation as elevation Salvation as restoration
• Path to theosis Forgiveness, relationship
• Christ as trailblazer Christ as sacrifice,
  victor
• Christ as MAN-God Christ as GOD-man

9
IV.B. Theosis

10
IV.B. Theosis

• Theosis before the fall a refresher
• Literally deification (see Ps. 826, 2 Pet.
  14)
• Better transformation,
• transfiguration,
• union with God

11
IV.B. Theosis

• Theosis before the fall a refresher
• Theosis does not mean
• A denial of Gods transcendence
• That we become gods in essence
• That we possess God
• That we become equal with God in any way

12
IV.B. Theosis

• Theosis before the fall a refresher
• Three aspects of theosis
• Developing godly qualities (2 Pet. 15-9)
• Participation in Gods immortality (2 Tim. 110,
  2 Pet. 14)
• Communion with God (1 Jn. 48)

13
IV.B. Theosis

• Theosis after the fall
• The union of divine and human in Christ restores
  to us the capacity for union with God (theosis).
• Christs victory over sin, death, and the devil
  means that we are no longer enslaved to these
  powers and are able to pursue union with God.

14
IV.B. Theosis

• Theosis after the fall
• By grace through the action of the Holy Spirit
• But

15
IV.B. Theosis

• Theosis after the fall
• Grace and the Holy Spirit play more of an
  assisting role in theosis, not the primary role.
• The human side of theosis is the task of seeking
  union with God through purity of heart, good
  works, sacraments, etc.

16
IV.B. Theosis

• Theosis after the fall
• A process which is not complete at death
• Further purification possible
• But no full-fledged doctrine of purgatory

17
IV.C. Salvation

• and the Communion of Saints

18
IV.C. Communion of Saints

• Some reminders
• The Eastern mindset is corporate.
• Theosis is a cosmic process, not an individual
  one.
• The Orthodox do not distinguish the living from
  the dead.
• Saints are saints because of their relationship
  to Christ.

19
IV.C. Communion of Saints

• Some caveats
• The Orthodox distinguish between worship and
  veneration.
• The Orthodox distinguish between mediation and
  intercession.

20
IV.C. Communion of Saints

• The role of the saints in Orthodoxy
• They are the ones most fully united to God.
• They are able to lift up others who are walking
  the path of theosis.
• They do this primarily through their prayers and
  their example.

21
IV.C. Communion of Saints

• The prayers of the saints
• All mankind is involved in the process of
  deification and the saints are those who, having
  advanced nearer to the ultimate goal, can uplift
  the rest.
• -- Nicholas Zernov

22
IV.C. Communion of Saints

• The special role of Mary
• The most fully deified person
• The Theotokos

23
IV.C. Communion of Saints

• The example of the saints
• Icons are representations of the incarnation.
• The incarnation is emblematic of the deification
  to which all of us are called.
• The saints are those who have been deified in
  Christ and the Holy Spirit.
• Therefore, icons represent and convey to us the
  qualities of the deified saints.

24
IV.C. Communion of Saints

• The ideal and its distortions
• Loss of the distinction between veneration and
  worship
• Loss of the distinction between intercession and
  mediation
• Treatment of icons as possessors of spiritual
  power in and of themselves

25

• Eastern Orthodoxy
• Conclusions

26
Conclusions

• Strengths of Orthodoxy
• Personal approach to the Trinity
• Clarity and precision in christology (God the Son
  lived as a man on our behalf)
• Emphasis on community
• Emphasis on mystery?

27
Conclusions

• Weaknesses of Orthodoxy
• Unacceptable doctrine of Scripture/
  authority/church
• Essence/energies distinction (crisis of
  confidence about Gods character)
• Lack of emphasis on the beginning of salvation
• Too much stress on the human side of salvation?