[splat]

There certainly have been similar approaches in Western Christianity. An explicit attempt at synthesizing Buddhist philosophy with Christianity was made by the Catholic monk Thomas Merton back in the 1960s. Moreover there has been a long mystical tradition in Western Christianity as well. Look to saints like John of the Cross and Thomas a Kempis among others. It’s more that there’s a difference in emphasis between the two churches. The Catholic Church has historically placed more of an emphasis on developing a scholarly, logical theology whereas the Eastern Churches have put more emphasis on theosis, or obtaining a vision of God (participating in a vision of God might be a better way of phrasing that). But neither sees either approach as being in conflict with the other.

I would also claim that the idea that salvation is a process of deification has also long been present in the Catholic Church, the idea of purgatory being one important example. Both Purgatorio and Paradiso from Dante’s Comedy also point toward this idea. But the notion of deification as being a process that continues through life and into death seems to be missing in many Protestant communities.