scholarly journals Imago Dei og kroppsliggjort væren: En funksjonshemmingsteologi i lys av Thomas Aquinas

2020 ◽  
pp. 269-286
Author(s):  
Therese Marie Ignacio Bjørnaas
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Immanuel Kant ◽  
Thomas Aquinas ◽  
Image Of God ◽  
Imago Dei ◽  
Christian Theology ◽  
Augustine Of Hippo ◽  
God's Image ◽  
God's Grace ◽  
The Image Of God

Theologians and philosophers have historically privileged the faculty of rationality in their exegesis of what it means to be created in the image of God. They have argued that we were made in God’s image when we were endowed with a rational soul. This argument is contested by contemporary disability theologians. They argue that by equating the imago Dei with the faculty of rationality Christian theology effectively strips people with cognitive disabilities of their human rights. It justifies elevating the cognitively able over the cognitively disabled in the same way that it justifies elevating the human species over other species. In this article, I will first show that the contemporary Western conviction that ability and independence are normal while disability and dependence are deviant owes much to definitions of the human first proposed by Augustine of Hippo, Thomas Aquinas, and Immanuel Kant. I will then propose that Aquinas himself offers us a way out of these destructive binarisms. He defines the imago Dei as an embodied soul, an imperfectly intelligent substance that can fulfill its destiny only if it receives the support of society and the intervention of God’s grace. Aquinas’s theology of embodiment does not merely expose false assumptions about ability and disability; it compels us to appreciate the radical dependency and vulnerability of human nature.

scholarly journals Formed in the Image of God: The Theological Status of Neanderthals

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan Stueve
Keyword(s):  
Social Networking ◽  
Homo Sapiens ◽  
Image Of God ◽  
Imago Dei ◽  
Archaeological Record ◽  
Homo Neanderthalensis ◽  
God's Image ◽  
Adaptive Nature ◽  
The Image Of God

A thorough examination of the various theological interpretations of imago Dei shows that Homo sapiens are not the only species to be created in the image of God.  While maintaining their uniqueness in the eyes of the Lord, Homo sapiens also share this gift with another species, Homo neanderthalensis.  The archaeological record proves that Neanderthals qualify for imago Dei under each of the four main interpretations of the biblical term.   Based on their rationality and adaptive nature, their compassion through use of medicine, their social networking and their symbolic use of art, it can be concluded that Neanderthals were also created in God’s image. 

scholarly journals Are we special? A critique of imago Dei

2017 ◽  
Vol 73 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wessel Bentley
Keyword(s):  
Science And Religion ◽  
Image Of God ◽  
Imago Dei ◽  
Christian Theology ◽  
Christian Anthropology ◽  
The Image Of God

‘Are we special?’ In response to this question, Christian theology has traditionally sought comfort in the notion that humanity is created in the image of God. In light of modern scientificknowledge, is this self-understanding still feasible? Are there different ways in which imago Dei can be understood? Is it possible for imago Dei to be both grounded in its Christian heritage,while also being helpful in the science and religion conversation? This article criticallyexamines the notion of  imago Dei and proposes an interpretation that could be credible andacceptable to both science and Christian anthropology.

scholarly journals Evolutionary theory, human uniqueness and the image of God

2012 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gijsbert Van den Brink
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary Theory ◽  
Human Dignity ◽  
Image Of God ◽  
Imago Dei ◽  
Christian Theology ◽  
Christian View ◽  
Human Uniqueness ◽  
The Image Of God

In this article, I examined what might be called the evolutionary argument against human uniqueness and human dignity. After having rehearsed briefly the roots of the classical Judeo- Christian view on human uniqueness and human dignity in the first chapters of Genesis, I went on to explore and delineate the nature of the evolutionary argument against this view. Next, I examined whether Christian theology might widen the concept of imago Dei so as to include other beings as well as humans, thus giving up the idea of human uniqueness. I concluded, however, that this move is deeply problematic. Therefore, I turned to a discussion of some recent attempts to define both human uniqueness and the image of God in theological rather than empirical terms. One of these, which is based on the concept of incarnation, is found wanting, but another one is construed in such a way that it enables us to reconcile the idea of human uniqueness as encapsulated in the doctrine of the imago Dei with contemporary evolutionary theory. Thus, this article can be seen as an exercise in bringing classical Christian theology to terms with evolution, further highlighting this theology’s ongoing vitality.Evolusieteorie, menslike uniekheid and die beeld van God. In hierdie artikel ondersoek ek die sogenaamde evolusionêre argument teen menslike uniekheid en menswaardigheid. Na ‘n kort oorsig oor die oorsprong van die klassieke Joods-Christelike siening van menslike uniekheid en menswaardigheid soos uit die eerste vyf hoofstukke van Genesis blyk, ondersoek en beeld ek die aard van die evolusionêre argument hierteenoor uit. Vervolgens word die vraag ondersoek of die Christelike teologie die konsep van imago Dei sodanig kan verbreed dat dit ook ander wesens behalwe mense kan insluit, waardeur die idee van menslike uniekheid dus prysgegee word. Ek kom egter tot die slotsom dat hierdie skuif hoogs problematies is. Daarom wend ek my tot ’n bespreking van onlangse pogings om menslike uniekheid en die beeld van God eerder in teologiese as empiriese terme te definieer. Een hiervan, gebaseer op die konsep van inkarnasie, is te lig bevind. ‘n Ander poging is egter sodanig vertolk dat dit ons in staat stel om die idee van menslike uniekheid, soos ingesluit in die leerstelling van die imago Dei, met die hedendaagse evolusieteorie te versoen. Hierdie artikel kan dus gesien word as ‘n poging om die klassieke Christelike teologie in ooreenstemming te bring met evolusie en om hierdie teologie se voortgaande lewenskragtigheid te beklemtoon.

scholarly journals Church and state in South Africa and human rights

2015 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Piet J. Strauss
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Human Dignity ◽  
Church And State ◽  
Second World War ◽  
Image Of God ◽  
World War ◽  
Central Tenet ◽  
The Image Of God ◽  
Second World

After the Second World War, there was a universal rise and greater acknowledgement of human rights, which entered churches and ecumenical organisations’ way of thinking. Human rights influenced the church’s understanding of justice and human dignity both internally and externally. The concept of human dignity came from the biblical believe that man is created in the image of God. In South Africa human rights were also increasingly recognised and respected. A charter of human rights was included as chapter 2 of the 1996 Constitution and churches regard human dignity as a central tenet of their approach to members and non-members. Differences between church and state on the issue have arisen as the result of differences on the freedom of religion. Church and state in South Africa can complement each other in the promotion of human dignity.Opsomming: Kerk en staat in Suid-Afrika en menseregte. Na die Tweede Wêreldoorlog is menseregte wêreldwyd erken en aanvaar. Dit was ook die geval in kerke en ekumeniese organisasies. Menseregte het kerke se siening van geregtigheid en menswaardigheid in hulle interne sowel as eksterne optrede beïnvloed. Die begrip menswaardigheid het ontstaan uit die bybelse oortuiging dat die mens na die beeld van God geskape is. In Suid-Afrika is menseregte ook toenemend erken en aanvaar. ’n Verklaring van menseregte is as hoofstuk 2 in die 1996-grondwet ingesluit en kerke beskou menswaardigheid as toonaangewend in hulle benadering van mense binne en buite die kerk. Verskille tussen die kerk en die staat in Suid-Afrika oor menseregte het ontstaan as gevolg van verskille oor die inhoud van die vryheid van godsdiens. Teen hierdie agtergrond kan kerk en staat mekaar egter aanvul in die bevordering van menseregte.

scholarly journals Çoğulcu Kamusal Alanda Dini Kimliklerin Özgürlüğü ve Demokrasi İletişimi

Etkileşim ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (7) ◽  
pp. 98-127
Author(s):  
Ali Demir
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
Immanuel Kant ◽  
Thomas Hobbes ◽  
Image Of God ◽  
Public Communication ◽  
Emile Durkheim ◽  
Religious Identities ◽  
Communication Interaction ◽  
Basic Concepts ◽  
The Image Of God

Pluralistic public sphere is where sociological categories such as action, interests and identities, and the basic concepts of philosophy such as freedom, democracy, equality and difference, are connected with each other. Communication here has always been in interaction with personalities and identities. However, in time, public communication of social belongings based on difference or equality has led to some conflicts. Thinkers such as Thomas Hobbes, Immanuel Kant and Jürgen Habermas have studied miscommunication in public within the framework of the concept of pluralism, which is historically and sociologically related to religious identities. In the article, this connection of communication, interaction and relationships will be covered by the image of God in Gilgamesh, the function that Emile Durkheim attributed to religion, and some sociological examples.

Known by God: C. S. Lewis and Dietrich Bonhoeffer

2005 ◽  
Vol 77 (4) ◽  
pp. 343-352
Author(s):  
Brian S. Rosner
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Image Of God ◽  
The Other ◽  
Christian Theology ◽  
Human Relationship ◽  
Dietrich Bonhoeffer ◽  
Introductory Essay ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Pastoral Value ◽  
The Image Of God

Whereas knowing God is central to every version of Christian theology, little attention has been paid to the other side of the divine-human relationship. This introductory essay approaches the subject via the brief but poignant remarks of two twentieth-century authors appearing in a work of fiction and in a poem. If C. S. Lewis recognizes the primacy of being known by God, Dietrich Bonhoeffer helps define it and underscores its pastoral value. Both authors accurately reflect the main contours of the Bible’s own treatment. Calvin’s view of the image of God, which T. F. Torrance defines as ‘God’s gracious beholding of man as his child,’ may be of assistance in defining what it means to be known by God.

LEGAL POLYCENTRISM: A CHRISTIAN THEOLOGICAL AND JURISPRUDENTIAL EVALUATION

2017 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 383-405
Author(s):  
David VanDrunen
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Good Reason ◽  
Image Of God ◽  
Christian Theology ◽  
Single Source ◽  
Multiple Sources ◽  
Christian Perspective ◽  
Moral Economic ◽  
The Image Of God ◽  
Civil Government

AbstractLegal theorists have long debated whether law originates from a single source (the actions of state officials) or from multiple sources (including the innumerable communities and associations that constitute broader civil society). In recent years, proponents have defended polycentrism—and its critics have tried to refute it—from various moral, economic, and historical angles. But no contemporary writer has examined polycentrism from a Christian perspective. In the absence of such a study heretofore, this article attempts to evaluate legal polycentrism from a Christian theological and jurisprudential perspective. The Christian scriptures and Christian theology do not directly address whether law is polycentric or monocentric. Nevertheless, appealing to a number of biblical-theological issues—including the image of God, the Noahic covenant (Genesis 8:21–9:17), wisdom, and the purpose of civil government—I argue that Christians have good reason to regard polycentrism as a more satisfactory view of law.

scholarly journals The Image of God in Reformed Orthodoxy. Soundings in the Development of an Anthropological Key Concept

Perichoresis ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 81-96
Author(s):  
Gijsbert van den Brink ◽  
Aza Goudriaan
Keyword(s):  
Natural Law ◽  
Theological Anthropology ◽  
Image Of God ◽  
Imago Dei ◽  
Human Being ◽  
Close Proximity ◽  
The Image Of God

Abstract One of the less well-researched areas in the recent renaissance of the study of Reformed orthodoxy is anthropology. In this contribution, we investigate a core topic of Reformed orthodox theological anthropology, viz. its treatment of the human being as created in the image of God. First, we analyze the locus of the imago Dei in the Leiden Synopsis Purioris Theologiae (1625). Second, we highlight some shifts of emphasis in Reformed orthodox treatments of this topic in response to the budding Cartesianism. In particular, the close proximity of the unfallen human being and God was carefully delineated as a result of Descartes’s positing of a univocal correspondence between God and man; and the Cartesian suggestion that original righteousness functioned as a barrier for certain natural impulses, was rejected. Third, we show how, in response to the denial of this connection, the image of God was explicitly related to the concept of natural law. Tying in with similar findings on other loci, we conclude that Reformed orthodox thought on the imago Dei exhibits a variegated pattern of extensions, qualifications, and adjustments of earlier accounts within a clearly discernable overall continuity.

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