The sense of an ending
Sydney L Green, January 2014.

Author

Revd Dr Sidney Green is a retired Anglican Priest living in Adelaide and still active in many ways in the diocese. He is an adjunct lecturer for Charles Sturt University. His ThD thesis, now published as Beating the bounds: A symphonic approach to orthodoxy in the Anglican Communion by Wipf & Stock, is available from Amazon.
This article is based on a presentation delivered at COSAC July 2013.

Abstract

This article was written to fit with the COSAC 2013 theme of ‘Faith, Hope and Quarks: Scientific and Theological Perspectives on the Future’. With that eschatological theme in mind it seeks to examine the prognosis for humanity in the light of the exponential growth and influence of technology in human life. It is especially concerned with the increasing adaptations of the human body through technology.

These developments have raised fears for some and excited vision for others as they contemplate what it means to be human and what it means to be god-like. It examines particularly the notion of theosis or divinization as presented by some of the early church fathers and the present day Eastern Orthodox Church.
It calls upon the church to take note of these developments and their influence on believers and to prepare suitable pastoral programs to help Christians in this complex moral maze.

Key words

Orthodoxy, eschatology, transhumanism, theosis, Christian perfection, ousia, image of God, emerging church

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