Theosis

Discussion

Alexander Beiner:

"When things fall apart, the promise of control hits like a drug. But what if there’s a better high? Namely, Theosis.

The pendulum swing in cultural values we’re living through might be part of a deeper trend in the Western psyche. In his recent session on Sensemaking 102, cognitive scientist John Vervaeke argued that Western culture pendulums so wildly because of an inability to reconcile two aspects of human agency rooted in the Christian worldview: Autonomy and Heteronomy.

Autonomy is the position that our actions affect the world and change it. Heteronomy is the stance that our actions are governed by external forces. If we see these two aspects of our agency as mutually exclusive, we swing between nihilism (I have no control) and narcissism (I am the source of control).

As Vervaeke pointed out, there is another concept in Christian theology that can reconcile these: Theosis. Theosis is a complex theological concept, but involves an active participation with the divine, one that combines both autonomy and heteronomy. It is the idea that human beings can become like God through grace."

(https://beiner.substack.com/p/welcome-to-peak-fragmentation)