Mormonism and the nature of God/Deification of man

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Criticism

Critics claim that the doctrine of human deification is unbiblical, false, and arrogant.

Related claims include:

Mormons believe they will 'supplant God'
Belief in theosis, or human deification, implies more than one "god," which means Mormons are "polytheists."

Source(s) of the Criticism

Walter Martin, Kingdom of the Cults (Minneapolis: Bethany House Publishers, 1997), 226 and elsewhere.

Supplanting God?

The first thing we must realize when we study this principle is that

The Father is the one true God. This thing is certain: no one will ever ascend above Him; no one will ever replace Him. Nor will anything ever change the relationship that we, His literal offspring, have with Him. He is Elohim, the Father. He is God. Of Him there is only one. We revere our Father and our God; we worship Him. ^[1]

A belief in human deification does not mean that the LDS believe their worship is or will be properly directed at anyone but God the Father, and His Son, Jesus Christ.

UnChristian?

Critics insist that the doctrine of theosis is unBiblical and unChristian. Unfortunately for the critics, a review of Christian history illustrates that this doctrine was and is a common belief of many Christians; modern critics are perhaps the exception, rather than the rule.

Irenaeus

Saint Irenaeus (AD 180), who may justly be called the first Biblical theologian among the ancient Christians, was a disciple of the great Polycarp, who was a direct disciple of John the Revelator.^[2] Irenaeus is not a heretic or unorthodox in traditional Christian circles, yet he shares a belief in theosis:

While man gradually advances and mounts towards perfection; that is, he approaches the eternal. The eternal is perfect; and this is God. Man has first to come into being, then to progress, and by progressing come to manhood, and having reached manhood to increase, and thus increasing to persevere, and persevering to be glorified, and thus see his Lord. ^[3]

Like the LDS, Irenaeus did not believe that this belief in any way displaced God, Christ, or the Holy Ghost:

there is none other called God by the Scriptures except the Father of all, and the Son, and those who possess the adoption....Since, therefore, this is sure and stedfast, that no other God or Lord was announced by the Spirit, except Him who, as God, rules over all, together with His Word, and those who receive the Spirit of adoption.^[4]

Yet, Irenaeus—whom it is absurd to exclude from the ranks of orthodox Christians—believed in theosis in terms which agree with LDS thinking on the matter:

We were not made gods at our beginning, but first we were made men, then, in the end, gods.^[5]

Also:

How then will any be a god, if he has not first been made a man? How can any be perfect when he has only lately been made man? How immortal, if he has not in his mortal nature obeyed his maker? For one's duty is first to observe the discipline of man and thereafter to share in the glory of God.^[6]

And:

Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Word of God, of his boundless love, became what we are that he might make us what he himself is.” ^[7]

And:

But of what gods [does he speak]? [Of those] to whom He says, "I have said, Ye are gods, and all sons of the Most High." To those, no doubt, who have received the grace of the "adoption, by which we cry, Abba Father."” ^[8]

And, Irenaeus considers the doctrine clearly Biblical, just as the LDS do:

For he who holds, without pride and boasting, the true glory (opinion) regarding created things and the Creator, who is the Almighty God of all, and who has granted existence to all; [such an one, ] continuing in His love and subjection, and giving of thanks, shall also receive from Him the greater glory of promotion, looking forward to the time when he shall become like Him who died for him, for He, too, "was made in the likeness of sinful flesh,"to condemn sin, and to cast it, as now a condemned thing, away beyond the flesh, but that He might call man forth into His own likeness, assigning him as [His own] imitator to God, and imposing on him His Father's law, in order that he may see God, and granting him power to receive the Father; [being] the Word of God who dwelt in man, and became the Son of man, that He might accustom man to receive God, and God to dwell in man, according to the good pleasure of the Father.^[9]

Further quotes from Irenaeus available here.

Clement of Alexandria

Clement (AD 150-215), an early Christianleader in Alexandria, also taught the doctrine of deification:

yea, I say, the Word of God became a man so that you might learn from a man how to become a god.^[10]

And:

...if one knows himself, he will know God, and knowing God will become like

God.....His is beauty, true beauty, for it is God, and that man becomes god, since God wills it.^[11]

Those who have been perfected are given their reward and their honors. They have done with their purification, they have done with the rest of their service, though it be a holy service, with the holy; now they become pure in heart, and because of their close intimacy with the Lord there awaits them a restoration to eternal contemplation; and they have received the title of "gods" since they are destined to be enthroned with the other "gods" who are ranked next below the savior.^[12]

Justin Martyr

Justin the Martyr said in 150 A.D. that he wishes

to prove to you that the Holy Ghost reproaches men because they were made like God, free from suffering and death, provided that they kept His commandments, and were deemed deserving of the name of His sons... in the beginning men were made like God, free from suffering and death, and that they are thus deemed worthy of becoming gods and of having power to become sons of the highest...^[13]

Athanasius

In 347, Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria and participant in the council of Nicea, said:

the Word was made flesh in order that we might be enabled to be made gods....just as the Lord, putting on the body, became a man, so also we men are both defied through His flesh, and henceforth inherit everlasting life...[we are] sons and gods by reason of the word in us.^[14]

He also states that Christ "became man that we might be made divine." ^[15]

Augustine

Augustine (354-430), considered on of the greatest Christian Fathers, said

but He himself that justifies also defies, for by justifying He makes sons of God. For He has given them power to become the sons of God, (John 1꞉12). If then we have been made sons of God, we have also been made gods.^[16]

Jerome

Jerome (A.D. 340-420) also described the deification of believers as an act of grace, which matches the LDS understanding precisely:

“I said 'you are gods, all of you sons of the most high.’" let Eunomius hear this, let

Arius, who say that the son of God is son in the same way we are. That we are gods is not so by nature, but by grace. “but to as many as receive Him he gave power to becoming sons of God” I made man for that purpose, that from men they may become gods. We are called gods and sons!...[Christ said] "all of you sons of the Most High," it is not possible to be the son of the Most High, unless He Himself is the Most High. I said that all of you would be exalted as I am exalted.^[17]

Jerome goes on to say that we should

give thanks to the God of gods. The prophet is referring to those gods of whom it is written: I said ‘you are gods’ and again ‘god arises in the divine assembly’ they who cease to be mere men, abandon the ways of vice an are become perfect, are gods and the sons of the most high...^[18]

Origin (185-254) wrote “everything which, without being, ‘God in Himself’ is deified by participation in his Godhead, should strictly be called ‘God’, not ‘The God’. The firstborn of all creation, since He by being with God first gathered Godhood to Himself, is therefore in every way more honored than others besides himself, who are ‘gods’ of whom God is the god, as it is said, ‘God the Lord of gods spoke and called the world’. For it was through His ministry that they became gods, since He drew divinity from God for them to be deified, and of His kindness generously shared it with them. God, then, is the true God, and those who through Him are fashioned into gods are copies of the prototype.” (The Early Christian Fathers, pg. 324)

	He also wrote “The Father, then, is proclaimed as the one true God; but besides the true

God are many who become gods by participating in God.” (ibid) Origin commented on that by saying “"Every one who participates in anything, is

unquestionably of one essence and nature with him who is partaker of the same thing” (Origin,
De Principiis, 4:1:36, Ante-Nicene Fathers 4:381)

Lactantius (about 325 A.D.) ,an ancient Christian scholar and apologist, affirms that the chaste man will become ‘identical in all respects with God’ (The Mystery Religions and Christianity, S. Angus, pg. 106-107) Tertullian (160-230 A.D.) ,who was a Christian Apologist, and Theologian, wrote: “If, indeed, you follow those who did not at the time endure the Lord when showing Himself to be the Son of God, because they would not believe Him to be the Lord, then call to mind along with them the passage where it is written, "I have said, Ye are gods, and ye are children of the Most High;" and again, "God standeth in the congregation of gods;" in order that, if the Scripture has not been afraid to designate as gods human beings, who have become sons of God by faith, you may be sure that the same Scripture has with greater propriety conferred the name of the Lord.

on the true and one-only Son of God.” (The Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 3, p. 608.)

He also said "The first-born of all creation, who is the first to be with God . . . is a being

of more exalted rank than the other gods beside Him, of whom God is the God, as it is written,
"The God of gods, the Lord, hath spoken and called the earth.' It was by the offices of the first-

born that they became gods, for He drew in generous measure that they should be made gods,

and He communicated it to them according to His own bounty. . . . Now it is possible that some
may dislike what we have said representing the Father as the One true God, but admitting other
beings besides the true God, who have become gods by having a share of God. They may fear
that the glory of Him who surpasses all creation may be lowered.”

Clement of Alexandria wrote, "To him who has shall be added;" knowledge to faith, love

to knowledge, and love to inheritance. And this happens when a man depends on the Lord
through faith, through knowledge, and through love, and ascends with him to the place where
God is, the God and guardian of our faith and love, from whom knowledge is delivered to those
who are fit for this privilege and who are selected because of their desire for fuller preparation
and training; who are prepared to listen to what is told them, to discipline their lives, to make
progress by careful observance of the law of righteousness. This knowledge leads them to the
end, the endless final end; teaching of the life that is to be ours, a life of conformity to God, with
gods, when we have been freed from all punishment, which we undergo as a result of our
wrong-doings for our saving discipline. After thus being set free, those who have been perfected
are given their reward and their honours. They have done with their purification, they have done
with the rest of their service, though it be a holy service, with the holy; now they become pure in
heart, and because of their close intimacy with the Lord there awaits them a restoration to
eternal contemplation; and they have received the title of "gods," since they are destined to be
enthroned with other "gods" who are ranked next below the Saviour.” (Henry Bettenson, The
Early Christian Fathers, London: Oxford University Press, 1956, pp. 243-244.)

St. Cyril of Jerusalem “When thou shalt have heard what is written concerning the mysteries, then wilt thou understand things which thou knewest not. And think not that thou receivest a small thing: though a miserable man, thou receivest one of God's titles. Hear St. Paul saying, God is faithful. Hear another Scripture saying, God is faithful and just. Foreseeing this, the Psalmist, because men are to receive a title of God, spoke thus in the person of God: I said, Ye are Gods, and are all sons of the Most High. But beware lest thou have the title of "faithful," but the will of the faithless. Thou hast entered into a contest, toil on through the race: another such opportunity thou canst not have. Were it thy wedding-day before thee, wouldest thou not have disregarded all else, and set about the preparation for the feast? And on the eve of consecrating thy soul to the heavenly Bridegroom, wilt thou not cease from carnal things, that thou mayest win spiritual?” (St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Prologue to the Catechetical Lectures) Hippolytus said "The Deity (by condescension) does not diminish anything of the dignity

of His divine perfection having made you even God unto his glory." (Hippolytus, The Refutation
of All Heresies X, 30)

He also said “Now in all these acts He offered up, as the first-fruits, His own manhood,

in order that thou, when thou art in tribulation, mayest not be disheartened, but, confessing thyself
to be a man (of like nature with the Redeemer,) mayest dwell in expectation of also receiving
what the Father has granted unto this Son. (Hippolytus, Refutation of All Heresies 10:29, in
Ante-Nicene Fathers 5:152)

Modern Christian exegesis

The Westminister Dictionary of Christian Theology describes "deification" thusly:

Deification (Greek Theosis) is for orthodoxy the goal of every Christian. Man, according to the Bible, is ‘made in the image and likeness of God’...it is possible for man to become like God, to become deified, to become God by grace. This doctrine is based on many passages of both O.T. and N.T. (Psalms 82 (81) .6; 2 Peter 1:4), and it is essentially the teaching both of St. Paul, though he tends to use the language of filial adoption (Rom. 8:9-17, Gal. 4:5-7)

and the fourth gospel (17:21-23).^[19]

Joseph Fitzmyer wrote:

The language of 2 Peter is taken up by St. Irenaeus, in his famous phrase, ‘if the Word

bas been made man, it is so that men may be made gods; (adv. Haer v, pref.), And becomes the standard in Greek theology. In the fourth century St. Athanasius repeats Irenaeus almost word for word, and in the fifth century St. Cyril of Alexandria says that we shall become sons ‘by participation’ (Greek methexis). Deification is the central idea in the spirituality of St. Maximus the confessor, for whom the doctrine is corollary of the incarnation: ‘deification, briefly, is the encompassing and fulfillment of all times and ages’,...and St. Symeon the new theologian at the end of the tenth century writes, ‘he who is God by nature converses with those whom he has made gods by grace, as a friend converses with his friends, face to face...’

Finally, it should be noted that deification does not mean absorption into God, since the deified creature remains itself and distinct. It is the whole human being, body and soul, who is transfigured in the spirit into the likeness of the divine nature, and deification is the goal of every Christian.^[20]

According to Christian scholar G.L. Prestige, the ancient Christians “taught that the destiny of man was to become like God, and even to become deified.”^[21]

William R. Inge, Archbishop of Canterbury, wrote:

"God became man, that we might become God" was a commonplace of doctrinal theology at least until the time of Augustine, and that "deification holds a very large place in the writings of

the fathers...We find it in Irenaeus as well as in Clement, in Athanasius as well in Gregory of Nysee. St. Augustine was no more afraid of deificari in Latin than Origen of apotheosis in Greek...To modern ears the word deification sounds not only strange but arrogant and shocking.^[22]

Yet, these "arrogant and shocking" doctrines were clearly held by early Christians!

This view of the early Christians' doctrines is not unique to the Latter-day Saints. Many modern Christian writers have recognized the same doctrines. If the critics do not wish to embrace these ancient doctrines, that is their privilege, but they cannot logically claim that such doctrines are not "Christian." One might fairly ask why modern Christians do not believe that which the ancient Christians insisted upon?

The previous quotes show that Theosis was something that was taught, and has been taught, by many Christians through the centuries. They pulled these beliefs from the Bible itself. Matthew Brown compared a few descriptions between God and man in the following: Jesus Christ Saints

Crown Rev. 14:14 James 1:12, Rev. 2:10, 4:4, 10

White robe Mat. 17:2, Mark 9:3, Luke 9:29 Rev. 6:11, 7:9-14

Scepter Heb. 1:8 Rev. 2:26-27

Throne Rev. 3:21 Rev. 3:21

Heir of God Rom. 8:17 Rom. 8:14-21, Gal. 4:1-7

Son title Heb. 1:5, 5:5 John 3:1 Rom. 8:14, 16, John 1:12, Phil. 2:15, 2 Peter 1:4 1 John 3:1-2, Gal. 3:26

King and priest John 1:49, Heb. 3:1 Rev. 1:6, 5:10

Perfect Mat. 5:48 Mat. 5:48

One with God John 4:11, 17:20-21, 10:30 John 17:21-23

Theosis can be found in the following scriptures: Rom. 8:16-17, Luke 6:40+Heb. 12:23, Gal. 4:7, Mat. 5:48, Psalm 82:6, Psalm 8:5, Rev. 3:21, Rev. 21:7, 2 Peter 1:4, 2 Cor. 3:18, Acts 17:29, 1 Peter 3:7, and Daniel 12:3.

Conclusion

In regard to the Mormon doctrine, non-LDS scholar Ernst W. Benz has observed

One can think what one wants of this doctrine of progressive deification, but one thing is certain: with this anthropology Joseph Smith is closer to the view of man held by the ancient Church than the precursors of the Augustinian doctrine of original sin.^[23]

Endnotes

[note] Boyd K. Packer, "?," Ensign (November 1984): 69. (needs URL / links)
[note] Henry Bettenson, The Early Christian Fathers: A Selection from the Writings of the Fathers from St. Clement of Rome to St. Athanasius (Oxford University Press, 1956),16–17.
[note] Henry Bettenson, The Early Christian Fathers: A Selection from the Writings of the Fathers from St. Clement of Rome to St. Athanasius (Oxford University Press, 1956), 94.
[note] Irenaeus, "Against Heresies," in Ante-Nicene Fathers, edited by Philip Schaff (Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1886). ANF ToC off-site This volume
[note] Henry Bettenson, The Early Christian Fathers: A Selection from the Writings of the Fathers from St. Clement of Rome to St. Athanasius (Oxford University Press, 1956), 94.
[note] Henry Bettenson, The Early Christian Fathers: A Selection from the Writings of the Fathers from St. Clement of Rome to St. Athanasius (Oxford University Press, 1956),95–96..
[note] Henry Bettenson, The Early Christian Fathers: A Selection from the Writings of the Fathers from St. Clement of Rome to St. Athanasius (Oxford University Press, 1956), 106.; Citing Irenaeus, Against Heresies, 4.38 cp. 4.11.
[note] Irenaeus, "Against Heresies," in Ante-Nicene Fathers, edited by Philip Schaff (Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1886). ANF ToC off-site This volume
[note] Irenaeus, "Against Heresies," in Ante-Nicene Fathers, edited by Philip Schaff (Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1886). ANF ToC off-site This volume
[note] Clement of Alexandria, Exhortation to the Greeks, 1.^{[citation needed]}
[note] Clement of Alexandria, Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor, 3.1 see also Clement, Stromateis, 23.^{[citation needed]}
[note] Henry Bettenson, The Early Christian Fathers: A Selection from the Writings of the Fathers from St. Clement of Rome to St. Athanasius (Oxford University Press, 1956),243–244.; Stromata 7:10 (55–56).
[note] Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho, 124.
[note] Athanasius, Against the Arians, 1.39, 3.39.
[note] Athanasius, On the Incarnation, 54.
[note] Augustine, On the Psalms, 50:2.
[note] Jerome, The Homilies of Saint Jerome, 106–107.
[note] Jerome, The Homilies of Saint Jerome, 106–353.
[note] Alan Richardson (editor), The Westminster Dictionary of Christian Theology (Westminster: John Knox Press, 1983). ISBN 0664213987. (emphasis added).
[note] Joseph A. Fitzmyer, Pauline Theology: a brief sketch (Prentice-Hall, 1967), 42. AISN B0006BQTCQ.
[note] G.L. Prestige, God in Patristic Thought (London Press, 1956), 73.
[note] William Ralph Inge, Christian Mysticism (London, Metheun & Co., 1948[1899]), 13, 356.
[note] Ernst W. Benz, "Imago Dei: Man in the Image of God," in Truman G. Madsen (editor), Reflections on Mormonism: Judaeo-Christian parallels : papers delivered at the Religious Studies Center symposium, Brigham Young University, March 10-11, 1978 (Provo, Utah: Religious Studies Center , Brigham Young University and Bookcraft, 1978), 215–216. ISBN 0884943585.

Mormonism and the nature of God/Deification of man

Contents

Criticism

Source(s) of the Criticism

Supplanting God?

UnChristian?

Irenaeus

Clement of Alexandria

Justin Martyr

Athanasius

Augustine

Jerome

Modern Christian exegesis

Conclusion

Endnotes

Further reading

FAIR wiki articles

FAIR web site

External links

Printed material

Our Friends

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Main navigation

Mormonism and the nature of God/Deification of man

Criticism

Source(s) of the Criticism

Supplanting God?

UnChristian?

Irenaeus

Clement of Alexandria

Justin Martyr

Athanasius

Augustine

Jerome

Modern Christian exegesis

Conclusion

Endnotes

Further reading

FAIR wiki articles

FAIR web site

External links

Printed material

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