Michael Gorman’s New Book on Paul

I just got Mike Gorman’s new book in the post today: Inhabiting the Cruciform God: Kenosis, Justification, and Theosis in Paul’s Narrative Soteriology (Eerdmans, 2009).

Mike has already written an excellent book on Cruciformity – one of only a few books on Paul that I recommend that every Christian reads.  This new book (ICG) carries on the conversation and reasons that if cruciformity is conformity to the cross and the life-giving attitude of Christ, then it is also theoformity = theosis.

It is conformity to Christ, or holiness, understood as participation in the very life of God — inhabiting the cruciform God.

This is just a teaser.  You can expect a more thorough review of Gorman’s new book, which I am eager to read, in about a month’s time.

On a side note, having read a bit in the introduction about the book and the key themes, I wonder if it would have been interesting to do a larger book that also explored these ideas in the Gospel of John.  In the fourth Gospel we have the emphasis on holiness, on the giving up of the body of Christ, and participation in the life of God – a relationship of intimacy that is highlighted from even the first chapter.  Well….maybe I will get Mike to co-write something with me… 🙂