Several 20th–21st‑century theologians and movements share key family resemblances with Torrance’s participatory, Christocentric, quasi‑theotic Reformed theology.
## Major figures with close resonance
– **Karl Barth**: Shares Torrance’s center in election “in Christ,” participatory soteriology (salvation as *participatio Christi*), and an implicit, Reformed‑style “deification” language tied to union with Christ rather than essence–energies.[1][2][3]
– **Herman Bavinck (as reread)**: Recent work explores Bavinck’s own theosis‑like motifs (participation, union with Christ, eschatological glorification) and explicitly compares him with Torrance’s reconstruction of Reformed theosis.[4]
## The “Evangelical Calvinism” stream
– **Myk Habets & Bobby Grow (Evangelical Calvinism)**: Self‑consciously develop Torrance’s line—Trinitarian, Christocentric, ontological atonement, universal scope of reconciliation, theosis as controlling metaphor, and union with Christ as soteriological center.[5][6][7]
– This stream explicitly contrasts itself with Westminster/federal Calvinism, echoing Torrance’s critique of limited atonement and purely forensic atonement schemes.[6][8][5]
## Conceptual kin beyond strict “Torrance school”
– **Barth‑influenced participation theology** (e.g., Adam Neder, studies on Barth and participation/theosis): Emphasize union with Christ as a real, transformative participation in God’s life, often explicitly using deification language in a Reformed key.[2][3][9][10]
– **Other Reformed theosis proposals**: Broader work on “Reformed theosis” reads classic figures (Calvin, some Scots, Bavinck) in ways convergent with Torrance’s insistence that participation/union and deification are compatible with Reformed orthodoxy.[8][11]
If you tell me which angle you care most about (Barth vs. Bavinck vs. Evangelical Calvinism), I can map out a tight comparison of their overlaps and divergences with Torrance in a table.
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] Barth and Orthodox Theosis: His For and Against https://growrag.wordpress.com/
[4] Dennis Greeson: Herman Bavinck, Theosis & T.F. Torrance https://thelaymenslounge.com/
[5] Review: “Evangelical Calvinism,” edited by Myk Habets and Bobby … https://wheatonblog.wordpress.
[6] A Telling of an Evangelical Calvinism [contra Westminster Calvinism … https://growrag.wordpress.com/
[7] Theosis in the Theology of Thomas Torrance | Myk Habets https://www.taylorfrancis.com/
[8] The Doctrine of Election in Evangelical Calvinism: T. F. Torrance as … https://journals.sagepub.com/
[9] Book Review: Participation in Christ – Torrey Gazette https://torreygazette.com/
[10] Crossing Lessing’s Ugly Ditch: Karl Barth on Union with Christ https://reformedforum.org/
[11] Theosis in the Theology of Thomas Torrance: A Review | https://jasongoroncy.com/2010/
[12] Theōsis: A Comparative Study of T. F. Torrance and Rāmānuja https://digitalcommons.butler.
[13] Forensic Wrath, Theosis, and the Harrowing of Hell – Reddit https://www.reddit.com/r/
[14] TF Torrance and Reformed-Orthodox Dialogue https://orthodoxbridge.com/
[15] [PDF] T. F. Torrance on theosis and universal salvation https://research-repository.
[16] [PDF] Theōsis: A Comparative Study of TF Torrance and Rāmānuja https://digitalcommons.butler.
