Naturally Human, Supernaturally God

Deification in Pre-Conciliar Catholicism

Naturally Human, Supernaturally God focuses upon a theological subject matter whose provenance not only spans both periods of the twentieth century, but the whole history of Christianity. It seeks to open a small window upon an odd case of theological convergence between three of the most diverse yet important theologians of the pre-Conciliar period, each of whom played a vital role in the Second Vatican Council—Réginald Garrigou-Lagrange O.P., Karl Rahner S.J., and Henri de Lubac S.J. It is widely acknowledged that the differences between these three figures, and the traditions subsequently associated with them, sometimes run so deep as to defy resolution. Yet, this book will argue they were strangely united in a shared conviction: today’s Church urgently needs to renew its acquaintance with an ancient Christian theme, namely, the doctrine of deification. Only in a self-transcending, supernaturally-wrought participation in the life of God do human beings reach their proper fulfillment. These three theologians are significant figures in the modern recovery of the doctrine of deification, receiving its official adumbration in the Christocentric and Trinitarian anthropological vision outlined in Vatican II’s Pastoral Constitution, Gaudium et Spes. This book tells the story of that recovery and the contribution these rather different theologians played, adding an oft-neglected stream to the contemporary discussion of this important topic.