Wednesday, October 01, 2008

An Anastiform gospel

"In chapter 3 [of Philippians], the believer's re-formation or conformation begins with sharing in Christ's sufferings and death, and then with participation in resurrection. Conformity with Christ, then, is first 'cruciform,' and then 'anastiform,' to coin a term derived from ANASTASIS, resurrection. Theosis has to do with 'anastiform' experience, both in this life and the next. If we want to call Paul's gospel 'cruciform,' as Michael Gorman does, we must also call it 'anastiform,' or we leave out half his message."—Stephen Finlan in Partakers of the Divine Nature, pages 74-75

<idle musing>
And that is the problem with what passes for the gospel in many places. We miss the second half; we preach a decapitated gospel. Why is there no transformation? Because most of us don't believe it can happen. Paul would not recognize what we have done to the gospel!
</idle musing>

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