https://youtubetranscript.com/?v=Py6tzgW27ow
Manuel Monteel says, What are your thoughts of the Protestant doctrine of sanctification and its extinction from theosis? It seems the Protestant doctrine of sanctification takes theosis and divides it into two separate things, sanctification and salvation, and then distinguishes salvation as a sort of one-time event, when saved, always saved, and sanctification as a growth towards God. And so I would say it actually really depends on Protestants, for sure. You know, there are actually some Protestants that seem to have more of a sense of theosis, and there are also some Protestants that have a more mystical tradition, but let’s say something like Calvinism, for example, at least certain strands of Calvinism that I’ve encountered, they definitely… I had an argument with a Calvinist pastor once, which I regret, just because I should never have gotten into it, but nonetheless, it happened. So I got this argument with a Calvinist minister, and I was really impressed because he understood theosis, and he said that salvation is a moral change and is not as ontological transformation. And I was surprised because he was really insisting on this fact. He was insisting on how salvation is… and in salvation and sanctification, both of them participate in a moral change in the person. It makes you a better person, but there is no going up the ontological ladder. There is no transformation of the being itself. And I was really… I was amazed that he was so clear, that he really believed that, but I also believe that… why would anybody want that once you have the doctrine of theosis? Because the doctrine of theosis, the notion of theosis, makes sense of the entire cosmos. It makes sense of everything. Because without it, you have this arbitrary God that creates beings for his glory, and then we are supposed to be good, but we can’t, so God makes us good, so we can kind of become good beings, so that we can praise God, and it’s all very arbitrary. And so in the doctrine of theosis, you have this very powerful image of a God that creates his creatures out of love, because he wants to ultimately be united with them, and that the incarnation is the very impetus of creation, that he wants to be united with them, he wants to transform them and make them participate in his very being. And it’s like, that is so beautiful and powerful, and so much fuller. And so to me, it was astounding. And it’s like, there’s no way anybody could ever convince me to go back to that. Like, why would I ever go back to that world? There’s nothing you could say. There’s no verse you could quote, there’s nothing you could say, which would make me leave the powerful image of a loving God that exists in love, and that wants to make us one with him. Truly, truly one with him. As much as possible, as St. Maximus says, as much as that is possible for a created being to be God, that is what God wants from us, for us. That’s his desire, that’s why he created us. And so he wanted us to share in all his glory, he wanted us to bring us in and make us participate in the divine council. It’s like, that’s awesome. But so, you know, I don’t know. There’s nothing anybody could say to bring me back to that other place. Sorry. you