Gunnlaugur A. Jonsson, The Image of God. Genesis 1:26-28 in a Century of Old Testament Research, Almqvist & Wiksell International, Lund 1988 (Coniectanea Biblica. Old Testament Series 26) XVI u. 253 S.

I argue that a strand of biblical tradition, represented in Genesis 1:26–29, depicts a nonviolent relationship between humans and nonhumans—indicated by the practice of vegetarianism—as a moral ideal that represents the divine intention for the Earth community. This argument is supported by four claims. First, the cultural context of Genesis 1 suggests that the “image of God” entails a democratized royal charge of all humans to make God present in a unique manner in the created order. Second, this functional role must be understood in light of the unique deity (Elohim) in Genesis 1, a deity whose peaceful and other-affirming creative act is distinctive from violent creative acts of deities in other ancient Near Eastern cosmologies such as the Enuma Elish. Third, Genesis 1 provides an exegesis of humanity's dominion over animals in verse 29, which limits humanity's food to vegetation. Finally, juxtaposing Genesis 1 with Genesis 9 reveals a nefarious shift from human dominion, which is meant to be peaceful and other-affirming, to something altogether different—a relationship that is built upon terror.

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Image (of God) as ethical injunction: A social-scientific perspective

HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies ◽

10.4102/hts.v51i2.1382 ◽

1995 ◽

Vol 51 (2) ◽

Author(s):

P. Van Staden

Keyword(s):

New Testament ◽

Old Testament ◽

Jesus Christ ◽

Image Of God ◽

Religious Symbol ◽

Metaphorical Language ◽

The New Testament ◽

Social Scientific ◽

The Image Of God

Taking cognizance of the fact that language - especially metaphorical language - can be expressive of deeplying cultural or religious symbol sets in man, the study explores the possible original content of the syntagma εἰΚὼν ΤΟῦ θεΟῦ in both the Old and the New Testament. It is argued that there is a definite shift in the symbol set of which the concept (metaphor) 'image of God' is expressive. Whilst the Old Testament usage of the term probably attests to the conviction that humankind is part of the genus God and may even resemble him physically, the New Testament substitutes Jesus Christ for man as the primary carrier of the 'image of God'. Humankind in general does not reflect that image any more. It is only to be found in those who through faith in Jesus Christ regain the image of God. Our thesis is that the concept of 'image' is to be regarded as much an ethical injunction as it is an ontological state-ment. The faith of adherents to the community of believers finds expres-sion in distinctive behavior - that is, in conduct that clearly identifies them as reflecting the image of God.

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Karl Barth’s male-female order: A kingpin of dogmatic disparity

HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies ◽

10.4102/hts.v63i4.266 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 63 (4) ◽

Author(s):

Yolanda Dreyer

Keyword(s):

Gender Disparity ◽

Image Of God ◽

Human Beings ◽

Reformed Theology ◽

Gender Perspective ◽

Early Christian ◽

The Enlightenment ◽

Genesis 1 ◽

Gender Perspectives ◽

The Image Of God

Karl Barth’s gender perspective is often analysed with reference to his so-called “theoethics” or “creational theology”. This perspective perpetuates an asymmetry in gender relations that was prevalent in Biblical times, throughout Christianity and to some extent still is visible today. He based his view on the subordination of women on an exegesis of Genesis 1:27 as “intertext” of Ephesians 5:22-23. Barth’s asymmetrical gender perspective is a product of his embedment in Western Christian tradition which in turn, is rooted in early Christian patriarchal theology. The aim of this article is to focus on Barth’s ontological reframing of the traditional understanding of the Biblical notion of human beings as created in the “image of God”. The article consists of four sections: (a) Luther’s and Calvin’s gender perspectives; (b) the Enlightenment failure to achieve emancipation; (c) gender disparity in Reformed theology; and (d) a feminist alternative.

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Das Alte Testament in christlicher Perspektive

Evangelische Theologie ◽

10.14315/evth-2017-0204 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 77 (2) ◽

pp. 88-100

Author(s):

Bernd Oberdorfer

Keyword(s):

New Testament ◽

Old Testament ◽

Image Of God ◽

Historical Criticism ◽

Christian Perspective ◽

Christian View ◽

The New Testament ◽

Human Reality ◽

History Of ◽

The Image Of God

Abstract According to Notker Slenczka, Jesus redefined the early Jewish understanding of God so radically that the Old Testament could not remain an adequate expression of the Christian idea of God. Moreover, in the light of historical criticism, the messianic promises of the OT could no longer be read as prophetic references to Jesus, either. The OT could hence only be seen as revelation to Jews; for Christians, however, it is valuable as paradigmatic expression of human reality and their necessity of salvation only, and to them authentic information about redemption is provided only by the New Testament. The essay discusses this position and defines a possible Christian view on the relation between Old and New Testament based on the insight that Jesus’ redefinition of the image of God can only be understood in the light of the history of God’s self-revelation to Israel, of which Jesus is a part; from a Christian perspective, the words, actions and fate of Jesus then also shed new light on the history of God’s self-revelation to Israel.

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EM BUSCA DA DRACMA PERDIDA O CINEMA ENTRE A IMAGEM DE DEUS E A DO DITADOR

História Questões & Debates ◽

10.5380/his.v38i0.2715 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 38 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Cláudio Aguiar Almeida

Keyword(s):

20Th Century ◽

Old Testament ◽

Jesus Christ ◽

Catholic Church ◽

Image Of God ◽

The Political ◽

Image Reproduction ◽

The Image Of God ◽

The Catholic Church

Proibidas pelo Antigo Testamento, a produção e a veneração de imagens se converteram em tema de amplo debate entre os cristãos para quem a encarnação de Jesus Cristo como um homem visível tornava possível, pelo menos em tese, a reprodução da imagem de Deus. Este artigo analisa esse debate, que coloca dados fundamentais à compreensão das reações da Igreja Católica ao cinema e a outros meios técnicos de reprodução de imagens que, no século XX, foram utilizados na propagação de religiões políticas como o fascismo e o nazismo. Searching for the lost dracma: cinema between the image of god and the dictator Abstract The production and veneration of images was forbidden by the Old Testament and became an important theme of discussion among Christians, for whom the incarnation of Jesus Christ as a visible man had made the reproduction of the Gods image possible, at least in theory. This article analyses this debate, which brings fundamental data to the understanding of the Catholic Church reactions to the cinema and to other technical media of image reproduction. These media were used for the propagation of the political religions such as the fascism and the nazism in the 20th century.

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Die Heidelbergse Kategismus oor die mens as beeld van God

In die Skriflig/In Luce Verbi ◽

10.4102/ids.v47i2.701 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 47 (2) ◽

Author(s):

Gabriël M.J. Van Wyk

Keyword(s):

Image Of God ◽

Imago Dei ◽

Reformed Theology ◽

Genesis 1 ◽

Critical Interpretation ◽

The Image Of God

Hierdie artikel fokus op relevante konfessionele standpunte oor die tema van imago Dei in die reformatoriese en voor-reformatoriese teologie wat as historiese en sistematiese kontekstualisering dien vir die daaropvolgende uitleg van die tema soos wat dit in die Heidelbergse Kategismus hanteer word. ’n Bondige bespreking van die histories-kritiese uitleg van Genesis 1:26–27 word aan die orde gestel om as oorgang te dien tot ’n kritiese waardering van die Kategismus vanuit die perspektief van die eietydse teologie. Die uitleg van Genesis 1:26–27 dien as die vernaamste impuls om die tema in die eietydse teologie onbevange en los van die uitsluitende dwang van tradisionele konfessionele geskille aan die orde te stel, maar met inagneming van ’n ryke teologiese tradisie. In wese is die betoog dat die mens as beeld van God geroepe is om God se heerlikheid en eer op aarde uit te dra en hierdie opvatting word ook in die Heidelbergse Kategismus teruggevind.This article focuses on the relevant confessional statements about the theme imago Dei in reformed- and pre-reformed theology that served as the historical and systematic contextualisation of the subsequent interpretation of the theme as it is treated in the Heidelberg Catechism. A concise discussion of the historical-critical interpretation of Genesis 1:26–27 follows in order to serve as a transition to the critical appreciation of the Catechism from the perspective of contemporary theology. The interpretation of Genesis 1:26–27 served as the main impetus for the open-minded discussion of the theme in contemporary theology, apart from the exclusive constraints of the traditional confessional disputes, but with appreciative consideration for our rich theological tradition. In essence, the author argues that all people, because they are created in the image of God, are called upon to glorify God on earth and that this belief is already formulated in the Heidelberg Catechism.

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