The Doctrine of Theosis and the Reality of Purpose: Exploring the Convergence between Deification and Organismic Teleology

Abstract

Theosis is gaining significant attention in theological research. This article argues that the doctrine of theosis, as it is portrayed in Eastern Orthodox theology, mediates a profoundly teleological vision of both humanity and creation. The telos of human nature and the wider world only makes sense in the light of God’s sovereign plan. Yet, modern science is on the whole reluctant to entertain any broader teleology within or for nature. This situation seems to produce a tension between a central component of Orthodox theology and contemporary science, evolutionary biology in particular. This article seeks to resolve this tension by exploring non-reductionist accounts of evolution, as well as the possibility of grounding teleology in the nature and functions of biological organisms. Thus, it also explores the conceptual shift from “mechanism” to “organism” in biological research. Moreover, as theosis locates the nature of humanity in the light of God’s broader purpose for the world, I make the concluding argument that Eastern Orthodoxy brings with it a well-needed realism regarding the epistemic limitations of the natural sciences.