To Become Like God: Ancient and Modern Witnesses of Man's Divine Potential

by Andrew C. Skinner

Overview

Although LDS doctrine has sometimes been criticized for maintaining that human beings can, through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, ultimately share in the divine nature (see 2 Peter 1:4) and become like God, scripture and historical theology affirm this Latter-day Saint belief. In fact, passages in the Old and New Testaments as well as certain ancient, medieval, and modern theologians witness that the ultimate purpose of creation is to bring men and women back into the presence of God and be united with Him—even enjoy the kind of life God enjoys. As the fourth-century church father Athanasius declared, “God became man so that man could become God.” For Latter-day Saints, the doctrine of deification (or theosis as it is called in classical Christian theology) is a profound manifestation of our belief in and gratitude for the infinite saving power of Jesus Christ.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781629721989
Publisher:	Deseret Book Company
Publication date:	02/29/2016
Pages:	176
Sales rank:	1,019,590
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Andrew C. Skinner is a professor of ancient scripture and Near Eastern studies and holder of the Richard L. Evans
Professorship of Religious Understanding at Brigham Young University, where he served as dean of Religious Education and as the first executive director of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship. A member of the international editorial group that translated the Dead Sea Scrolls and author or coauthor of more than two hundred articles and books on religious and historical topics, Dr. Skinner taught at the BYU Jerusalem Center and was its associate director. He and his wife, Janet Corbridge Skinner, are the parents of six children and grandparents of seven.