THE IDEAL OF DEIFICATION IN 17TH CENTURY ENGLAND: THE WHICHCOTE-TUCKNEY DEBATE

Abstract:

The present paper aims to offer a brief account of the epistolary exchange between two seventeenth century Cambridge theologians, the latitudinarian Benjamin Whichcote and the Puritan Anthony Tuckney, focusing on their respective soteriological views. More specifically, I am concerned with highlighting how each construed man’s reconciliation with God in terms of deification or participation in the divine nature. Considering this objective, the main issues I will touch upon are: the importance accorded by each of the two divines to Christ as both mediator and internal principle of grace; the emphasis placed on man’s role in the process of salvation; and the function of faith and reason in this process.

Keywords:

Christ, deification, faith, participation, reason