Essays That Enrich the Whole Body of Christ
by Jared Ortiz, co-founder
Saint Benedict Institute
When we founded the Saint Benedict Institute seven years ago, we were overwhelmed by the generous welcome we received from our Protestant Christian friends at Hope College. These faithful and committed Protestants went out of their way to make room for Catholics and a Catholic institute. They were ecumenical in the truest sense: they shared their gifts with us, they allowed us to share our gifts with them, and they moved us all one step closer to Christian unity.
Ecumenism has been an essential part of the Saint Benedict Institute from the beginning. So, when I had the opportunity to edit a collection of essays on the meaning of salvation from different Christian perspectives, I did not hesitate. And after several years of research and editing the work of top scholars (and with the help of some of our Catholic students!), I am proud to finally see published With All the Fullness of God: Deification in Christian Tradition (Lexington/Fortress Academic, 2021).
This book contains eleven essays from diverse Christian perspectives—Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran, Reformed, Anabaptist, Anglican, Baptist, and Wesleyan—on the ancient Christian vision of salvation called “deification.” This funny and strange word is, we maintain, a deeply biblical and deeply Christian vision of salvation. It is a vision that takes seriously the Bible’s claim that we become sons and daughters of God. It is a vision that takes seriously St. Paul’s prayer “that you may be filled with all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:19).
God made us so that we cannot find peace in anything but himself. We are restless until we rest in him. God made us for communion with him. This communion with God makes us (as St. Peter says) “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4). And this communion transforms us. It gives us a new source of life beyond our human life. It gives us God’s very own life in us. This may sound too exalted a destiny, and it is! That is why the title of the last essay in the book is: “More Than You Could Ever Imagine.”
I particularly love the cover of this book. The image comes from a beautiful Ethiopian Orthodox icon painted by a former Hope College student. It hangs in one of our campus buildings. I love the vibrant colors, the unity of the apostles with Mary, and the divine flames “filling them with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:4). I also love how their feet are firmly planted on the earth, but how they seem to rise to heaven and are collectively illuminated by a divine light. This striking Orthodox icon that hangs at a Protestant college is a perfect image for our ecumenical book!
I know I edited this volume but let me brag on my fellow contributors: this is rich collection of essays! There are so many surprising points of convergence in our different traditions. And each tradition contains treasures that enrich the whole Body of Christ. I hope that people will feast on these essays and learn about the best-kept secret of our faith: God shares in our humanity so that we could share in his divinity.
Note: The publisher is offering a 30% discount by ordering from them directly. Use code LEX30AUTH21 when ordering.
Related Reading: Turning Worshipers Into Gods: Liturgy and Salvation in the Early Church
