7th BLB Meeting, 30th May. 2017: "Augustine's Doctrine of Deification of Emotions: Confronting the Eastern Orthodox View of Theosis

Organizer: Department of Philosophy (Zhuhai)，Sun Yat-sen University

Topic: Augustine's Doctrine of Deification of Emotions: Confronting the Eastern Orthodox View of Theosis

Speaker: Dr Gao Yuan (Research Associate at the Dept. of Philosophy, Zhuhai)

Moderator: Dr Rodrigues (Research fellow at the Dept. of Philosophy, Zhuhai)

Time: June 2nd, 2017

Venue: Rm 114, No. 16 Building at Haibin Honglo

Abstract

Deification (θεοποιεῖν; theōsis; becoming god) occupies a central position not only in the Orthodox teachings but also in Augustine’s theology. This article analyses Augustine’s theoretical position on deification and his approach to divinization of humans and their emotions, inquiring whether humans could become God by participating in the Trinitarian divinity. Attending to the newly discovered theosis sermons of Augustine, this paper will evaluate the validity of the critics’ claim that Augustine does not offer a correct deification theory, as his major concern is merely the fulfilment of humanity rather than a genuine deificatory transformation and this absence is due to his blind to the Greek doctrine of the divine essence/energy distinction. Evaluating this discussion, this article will suggest that while Augustine refers to God’s essence as simplicity and indivisibility, he stresses another level of the divine operation of the Spirit that shapes the humans’ divinised life toward the final consummation, in which the human substance transforms into a better form and participates into the divine spiritual nature by the bond of the Spirit, as a hallmark of the deification of emotions. It is more than the human beatitude as it is claimed from the Orthodox point of view.

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