scholarly journals The Understanding of God’s Image by Anthony Hoekema

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 2084-2089
Author(s):  
Reymand Hutabarat ◽  
Franklin Hutabarat ◽  
Deanna Beryl Majilang

Introduction : Anthony Hoekema was active in his works as a preacher, teacher, and writer.[1] He is one of the most outstanding reformed theologians which authored several books such as Created in God’s Image, The Four Major Cults, What About Tongue-Speaking? The Bible and the Future, and Saved By Grace.   Method : Hoekema’s theology as a whole is a reformed theology. The core and the very foundation of reformed theology is the sovereignty of God. Hoekema sees that the creation of man in God’s image is “the most distinctive feature of a biblical understanding of man.” This is why he understands that “the concept of the image of God is the heart of Christian anthropology.”   Result & Discussion : His concept of the image of God in man is examined in this section, which is divided into the following five parts: the meaning of being created in the image of God, the structural and functional aspects of God’s image, Jesus as the true image of God, the image of God in man’s threefold relationship, and the image of God in four different stages.    

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (6) ◽  
pp. 5-11
Author(s):  
Franklin Hutabarat ◽  
Reymand Hutabarat ◽  
Deanna Beryl Majilang

It is only in the Bible whereby precise details in regards to humanity's origin from the conservative Christian point of view, are recorded. The Bible clearly states that in God's image, man was made (Gen 1:27). This statement reflects the belief that the essence of human beings was created in the likeness of God, and demonstrated that man did not merely turn out to be in God's image but was carefully crafted to be so. However, despite the exalted position of man among creatures, theologians still have questions and debates about the image of God is, and what does it consists of. Many scholars have wrestled with the precise sense of the image of God from the time of the Early Church until the Medieval Era. This research uses qualitative method, whereby the early works of the fathers of the medieval church are analyzed. The research is carried out on a descriptive basis. It is the aim of this research to offer a structural and systematic understanding of the image of God, based on the perception of the early church and medieval church fathers. As a result, a conclusion is formed.


1972 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Prins

‘The image of God in Adam and the restoration of man in Jesus Christ’ is a formulary title, preserving in so far as possible both the manner in which Calvin discusses the image and the progression of this paper. The contrasts of ‘image’ to ‘restoration’, ‘Adam’ to ‘man’, and the latent contrast of ‘Adam’ to ‘Christ’ are therefore purposeful ones, for they are the contrasts in which the structure and movement of Calvin's thought on the image of God can be seen most clearly. They are also the product of a patient and occasionally frustrating reduction of the hill country of Calvin's prose into a passable road. Not every facet of the image according to Calvin is brought into play. In fact, many have been weeded out as too narrowly confined to a particular context, too superfluous, or even too general or ambiguous to be of help in delineating the core of this part of his theology and the tensions within it. Thus, for example, while Calvin often speaks about a restoration of God's image in man, this phrase is meaningless in itself. Then, once we find that Calvin's understanding of this phrase is split into two opposing emphases, there is no benefit in returning to the general expression, and so it is not employed in our discussion of man's restoration. It is also true that the second half of the title indicates an abandonment of the image for a more embracing statement of all that our renewal involves.


2009 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
A. L. Rheeder

The worth of human dignity in bioethics Bioethicists and jurists put forward that the notion of “human dignity” adds nothing to the field of bioethics and is essentially a meaningless term. Against this presupposition the view is put forward that the notion of “human dignity” belongs to the heart of the Bible and can therefore be used as a valuable notion in bioethics. Human dignity is founded in the fact that man is created in the image of God. The fact that man is created in God’s image, and therefore has human dignity, undoubtedly has implications for bioethics. Human dignity by and towards man in bioethics has the meaning that one must strive for the healing of disease; that man must act and be treated as a psychosomatic unit; that reproduction may occur exclusively within marriage; and that all human life has to be maximally protected. Where the aforementioned does not occur, God- given human dignity is impinged upon.


2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-64
Author(s):  
Adi Putra

This study discusses the analysis and evaluation of Thomas Aquinas's view of the "image of God". Through qualitative research with a literature review approach, the following conclusions are obtained Aquinas's view of God's image is very unbiblical. Because it is more inclined to the philosophy of Plato and Aristotle. This is a characteristic of scholastic group theology. Because scholastic theologians tend to place ratios more dominant in theology than the Bible. Furthermore, the image of God carried by humans is not only in the ratio but in the totality of human existence in the earth as God's representative. The image of God in humans experiences severe damage after the fall of man in sin. The ratio is no better than the body. In other words, all parts of human beings, whether spirit, ratio, morals, body, when created in a noble or very good state. This rejects Aquinas's view that there are inferior forces. Finally, through this research, we want to stress that the image of the true God is in Christ. This has the effect that it is only through Christ that the image of God that has been badly damaged can be repaired.


Diacovensia ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 637-651
Author(s):  
Wiesław Przygoda

Charity diaconia of the Church is not an accidental involvement but belongs to its fundamental missions. This thesis can be supported in many ways. The author of this article finds the source of the obligation of Christians and the whole Church community to charity service in the nature of God. For Christians God is Love (1 John 4, 8.16). Even though some other names can be found, (Jahwe , Elohim, Adonai), his principal name that encapsulates all other ones is Love. Simultaneously, God which is Love showed his merciful nature (misericordiae vultus) in the course of salvation. He did it in a historical, visible and optimal way through his Son, Jesus Christ through the embodied God’s Son, Jesus Christ, who loved the mankind so much that he sacrificed his life for us, being tortured and killed at the cross. This selfless love laid the foundations for the Church, which, in essence, is a community of loving human and God’s beings. Those who do not love, even though they joined the Church through baptism, technically speaking, do not belong to the Church since love is a real not a formal sign of belonging to Christ’s disciples (cf. John 13, 35). Therefore, charitable activity is a significant dimension of the Church’s mission as it is through charity that the Church shows the merciful nature of its Saviour. A question that needs to be addressed may be expressed as follows: in what way the image of God, who is love, implies an involvement in charity of an individual and the Church? An answer may be found in the Bible, writings of the Church Fathers of and the documents of Magisterium Ecclesiae and especially the teachings of Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis.


2007 ◽  
Vol 63 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yolanda Dreyer

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.


Author(s):  
Stefanus Suheru

AbstractThis research addresses the problem of violence in the name of religion increasingly widespread in Indonesia. Ironically, the violence is getting legitimacy of scriptural texts, including the Bible. This means, that violence is not only driven by external motives such as political, economic and social development. Internal motives can also make a major contribution, even a major problem. Violence has theological roots, one of them, related to the interpretation of religious texts which, when understood literally, is able to present the figure of a violent religion. Solutions offered in this study is the reading of narratives of violence, with the text of Joshua 11 as an example, using the method of narrative analysis. The results showed that the text of Joshua 11 violence can not justify a Christian to be violent. The image of God as the Divine Warrior is ambiguous, kherem implementation that does not ignore the grace of salvation for outsiders to be insiders, and Israel's war put the violence in the name of religion in a position that is not relevant to the lives of Indonesia plural. Violence texts as core testimonies need to be matched with texts of peace as counter testimonies.AbstrakPenelitian ini membahas masalah kekerasan atas nama agama yang semakin marak di Indonesia. Ironisnya, kekerasan ini mendapatkan legitimasi dari teks-teks kitab suci, termasuk Alkitab. Hal ini berarti, kekerasan tidak hanya dipicu oleh motif-motif eksternal seperti kepentingan politik, ekonomi dan sosial.  Motif internal juga dapat memberikan kontribusi yang besar, bahkan merupakan masalah utama.  Kekerasan memiliki akar teologis, yang salah satunya, terkait dengan interpretasi teks-teks keagamaan yang ketika dipahami secara literal, mampu menghadirkan sosok agama yang penuh kekerasan. Solusi yang penulis tawarkan dalam penelitian ini adalah pembacaan narasi kekerasan, dengan teks Yosua 11 sebagai contoh, dengan menggunakan metode analisis naratif. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa teks kekerasan Yosua 11 tidak bisa dijadikan pembenaran orang Kristen untuk melakukan kekerasan. Citra Allah sebagai Divine Warrior yang ambigu, pelaksanaan kherem yang tidak menutup anugerah keselamatan bagi outsiders sehingga menjadi insiders, dan perang Israel yang bersifat kasuistik, menempatkan kekerasan atas nama agama pada posisi yang tidak relevan dengan kehidupan Indonesia yang majemuk.Teks-teks kekerasan sebagai core testimony perlu ditandingkan dengan teks-teks perdamaian sebagai counter testimony.


Author(s):  
Megan Stueve

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. 


2014 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Riaan Rheeder

God did not create once and then put an end to it. Testimony from Scripture shows that God continuously establishes or creates new things. Humans can therefore expect to always see and experience new things in creation. With this pattern of reasoning, one can anticipate that the human being as image of God will continuously establish new things in history. Although nature has value, it does not have absolute value and therefore it can be synthesised responsibly. The thought that humans are stewards of God is no longer adequate to, theologically put into words, the relationship human beings have with nature. New biotechnological developments ask for different answers from Scripture. Several ethicists are of the opinion that the theological construction of humans and created co-creators can help found the relationship of the human being to nature. Humans developed as God’s image evolutionary. On the one hand, this means humans themselves are a product of nature. On the other hand, the fact that humans are the image of God is also an ethical call that humans, like God, have to develop and create new things throughout history. Synthetic biology can be evaluated as technology that is possible, because humans are the image of God. However, it should, without a doubt, be executed responsibly.Sintetiese biologie eties geëvalueer: Die skeppende God en medeskeppende mens. God het nie net eenmaal geskep en daar gestop nie. Uit Skrifgetuienisse kan afgelei word dat God voortdurend nuwe dinge tot stand bring of skep. Daarom kan die mens verwag om gedurig nuwe dinge in die skepping te sien en te beleef. Hiermee saam kan verwag word dat die mens as beeld van God voortdurend nuwe dinge in die geskiedenis tot stand sal bring. Alhoewel die natuur waarde het, het dit nie absolute waarde nie en kan dus verantwoordelik gesintetiseer word. Die gedagte dat die mens rentmeester van God is, is nie meer voldoende om die mens se verhouding tot die natuur teologies te verwoord nie. Nuwe biotegnologiese ontwikkelinge vra na ander antwoorde vanuit die Skrif. Verskeie etici is van mening dat die teologiese konstruksie van die mens as geskepte medeskepper kan help om die mens se verhouding tot die natuur te begrond. Die mens het deur ’n evolusionêre proses tot God se beeld ontwikkel. Aan die een kant beteken dit dat die mens self ’n produk van die natuur is. Aan die ander kant is beeldskap ook ’n etiese oproep dat die mens, soos God, nuwe dinge in die geskiedenis moet ontwikkel en skep. Sintetiese biologie kan gesien word as tegnologie wat moontlik is omdat die mens na die beeld van God geskape is. Sonder twyfel moet sintetiese biologie egter verantwoordelik beoefen word.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document