Do They Really Teach That?

It is well known that New “Age” Spirituality teaches the pantheistic view that we are all God.  However, you would be surprised by who else teaches this.

Though hidden in the massive text of the Catechism, the Roman Catholic Church teaches that we can become God or gods:

The Word became flesh to make us “partakers of the divine nature”:  “For this is why the Word became man, and the Son of God became the Son of man: so that man, by entering into communion with the Word and thus receiving divine sonship, might become a son of God” “For the Son of God became man so that we might become God.” “The only-begotten Son of God, wanting to make us sharers in his divinity, assumed our nature, so that he, made man, might make men gods. (460) [emphasis mine]

This paragraph is made up of several quotations.  In the footnotes, it shows 2 Peter 1:4 as the reference for the first statement.

Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises:  that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. [KJV]

This verse is used by other groups to teach that man can become God.  However, this is twisting the verse to say something that it doesn’t.  The Greek word translated “partake” may be familiar to you.  It is “koinonos” and it means “a partner, associate, comrade, or companion.”  It is translated as “partake or partaker” in four other Scripture passages, and it never means that they become what they are partaking of.

Matt. 23:30  “…partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.”
1 Cor. 10:18 “…are they which eat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar?”
2 Cor. 1:7 “…as ye are partakers of the sufferings…”
1 Peter 5:1 “…and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed.”

The partakers in Matthew—did not become the blood of the prophets.  The partakers of the altar—did not become the altar.  The partakers of the sufferings—did not become sufferings.  The partakers of the glory—did not become the glory.  To partake of something, never means to become what you are partaking of.

The second quotation from the Catechism is from St. Irenaeus:

“For this is why the Word became man, and the Son of God became the Son of man: so that man, by entering into communion with the Word and thus receiving divine sonship, might become a son of God”

There is nothing wrong with this statement, because believers do become sons of God.  However, it does nothing to support the other statements.

The third quotation is given as from St. Athanasius in De Incarnatione:

“For the Son of God became man so that we might become God.”

The fourth quotation is from St. Thomas Aquinus:

“The only-begotten Son of God, wanting to make us sharers in his divinity, assumed our nature, so that he, made man, might make men gods.”

It is quite possible that these are being taken out of context and their translation into English may be faulty, but there is no explanation in the Catechism to indicate anything different, and it has never been modified since first published, so we have no choice but to take it at its word—the Catechism teaches man can become gods or God.