Iago Dei

In the previous two major sections of this paper, I discussed some aspects of Moltmann’s theological anthropology, primarily looking at his view of the imago Dei and offering a critical evaluation of his approach in the selected works. This section of the paper will offer my perspective of the imago Dei. Due to limited space, and in relation to Moltmann’s perspective discussed here, I will only discuss a few aspects of the imago Dei.
Creation
A primary starting point for discussing the imago Dei is the creation of the human in the biblical narrative. The created state of the human being is at the center of what it means to be the imago Dei. Since God appoints humans to be the image of God, several theological questions such as how is one the image and likeness of God and what part of the human, if any, makes one the imago Dei emerge and all potential answers to these questions have been debated throughout …show more content…
Both approaches have relevance for the imago Dei, but for this discussion I will primarily focus on the topic of original sin. During the early Church period, the concept of original sin developed and its importance for the imago Dei has been debated ever since. Moreover, how one views the relevance of sin for the imago Dei, whether sin damages the image, destroys it completely or does not affect it at all is important for one’s theology of the imago Dei. In traditional theology, there are several reasons that original sin is important for the discussion the imago Dei: 1) original sin is what causes the divide between God and humanity, 2) the entrance of sin has possible ontological significance for humanity, including death and 3) that original sin causes a divide within human relationships. Therefore, the Fall of humanity has direct bearing on our understanding of the human being as the imago