Here are some systematics‑level prompts keyed to the earlier table.
### Systematics-level discussion questions
1. **Metaphysics of participation**
Compare Barth’s rejection of essence–energies with Evangelical Calvinism’s Torrance‑style “ontological” account of union with Christ. Does either model offer a coherent alternative to the Eastern metaphysics of theosis, or do they risk collapsing God’s being and act?[1][2][3]
2. **Election as theotic structuring principle**
How does Barth’s doctrine of election “in Christ” structurally relate to deification, and in what ways does Evangelical Calvinism radicalize this linkage (e.g., Christ‑conditioned election ordered to theosis)? Does Bavinck’s more classical account of election permit an equally robust deification grammar, or does it function more as a backdrop to an *ordo salutis* framed in other terms?[3][4][5][6][1]
3. **Forensic and participatory soteriology**
Assess whether Evangelical Calvinism’s theotic, ontological atonement genuinely integrates forensic justification or effectively relativizes it. How would Bavinck’s more classically forensic categories evaluate this move, and can Barth’s participatory account accommodate a non‑reductive forensic dimension?[2][5][7][8][3]
4. **Normativity of patristic theosis for Reformed dogmatics**
Evangelical Calvinism explicitly retrieves Athanasius/Cyril and Eastern theosis as normative for Reformed theology, whereas Barth and Bavinck are more selective. To what extent should patristic theosis function as a dogmatic norm for Reformed systematics, and where (if at all) should Reformed commitments correct or revise patristic/Orthodox trajectories?[5][7][9][1][3]
Sources
[1] Karl Barth’s Reformed Doctrine of Theosis in Contradistinction to the … https://growrag.wordpress.com/
[2] Karl Barth’s Doctrine of Theosis in Convergence with the Eastern … https://growrag.wordpress.com/
[3] Theosis in the Theology of Thomas Torrance | Myk Habets https://www.taylorfrancis.com/
[4] The Doctrine of Election in Evangelical Calvinism: T. F. Torrance as … https://journals.sagepub.com/
[5] Dennis Greeson: Herman Bavinck, Theosis & T.F. Torrance https://thelaymenslounge.com/
[6] A Telling of an Evangelical Calvinism [contra Westminster Calvinism … https://growrag.wordpress.com/
[7] Theosis in the Theology of Thomas Torrance: A Review | https://jasongoroncy.com/2010/
[8] The Ontological Theory of the Atonement and Evangelical Calvinism https://growrag.wordpress.com/
[9] TF Torrance and Reformed-Orthodox Dialogue https://orthodoxbridge.com/
