In His Image
Relational God, Relational Humanity
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32862/k.16.2.3Keywords:
Imago Dei, Trinity, resemblance, actualization, community, relationship, development, ontological transformationAbstract
One of the classic tools in Christian theological anthropology for dealing with the intricacies of human identity is the Imago Dei concept. Approaching the concept holistically, by exploring the structural, behavioral, teleological, communal, and hospitality perspectives, this article asserts that at the very core of Imago Dei is a relational design that the Creator God had in mind for humanity – his opera Magna. Theological insights drawn from the relational doctrine of Trinity, as revealed in the comprehension of J. Moltmann, W. Pannenberg, J. Zizioulas, M. Volf, and D. Augustine, are applied to the anthropological dimension of existence, unveiling what it means to be a human being made in the image of God. In the end, Imago Dei is perceived to have not only a developmental but also a fundamentally transformative function.
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