Augustine’s Theology of Deification: His Christian Response to the Platonic Concept of Deification

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· 저자명 : 조동선

초록

Augustine’s theology of deification (i.e., becoming like God) is his Christian response to the Platonic concept of deification. Before his conversion to Christianity, Augustine initially developed his theology of deification through the influence of the Platonists’ writings. However, Augustine as a Christian theologian critically evaluated the Platonic concept of deification in light of Scripture. For Augustine, the Christian concept of deification begins with the incarnation of Christ as an exchange between humanity and divinity. Christ is the way to and goal of deification. Unlike Platonists, the bishop of Hippo emphasizes deification by the grace of adoption, not by nature or philosophical contemplation. Christians are made gods but not the god -making God. Participation in God presupposes both sharing and inequality. Therefore, Christians cannot be equal to God or Christ in divinity even after the completion of their deification. Augustine’s theology of deification includes the immortality of the body, which Platonists cannot accept. The resurrection of the body is the final stage of deification. A proper understanding of Augustine’s theological critique of Platonism on deification will help his Protestant readers better appreciate not only the theology of deification, the common patristic heritage of the Greek and Latin churches, but also the positions of Catholic and Orthodox Churches on salvation.

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