Emerging Scholars Blog

InterVarsity's Emerging Scholars Network

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Imago Dei: An Introduction (New Series)

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Imago Dei: An Introduction (Part 1 of 5)

Imago Dei. These two Latin words hold centuries of theological reflection, numerous perspectives, and potentially world-changing implications. The idea that humanity is made in the image of God and somehow bears that divine image is a bold, revolutionary doctrine. The specifics of what this means, however, are more difficult to nail down and sometimes even more difficult to apply practically. Theologians throughout the history of the church have proposed various understandings of the image of God and how it is present in humanity, but this is not a topic for religious scholars only.

The Image of God in an Image Driven Age: Explorations in Theological Anthropology. Edited by Beth Felker Jones and Jeffrey W. Barbeau (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2016).
The Image of God in an Image Driven Age: Explorations in Theological Anthropology. Edited by Beth Felker Jones and Jeffrey W. Barbeau (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2016).

This is to be the first in a series of five blog posts on the subject of the imago Dei, focusing particularly around a book called The Image of God in an Image Driven Age: Explorations in Theological Anthropology, edited by Beth Felker Jones and Jeffrey W. Barbeau (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2016). [Read more…] about Imago Dei: An Introduction (New Series)

Book Review: Why Read?

Why Read?

Why Read? by Mark Edmundson
Bloomsbury USA, originally published in 2004

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

English departments are under attack in higher education. To be precise, courses that involve reading literature are under attack. Some people still prize being able to express oneself well in writing – maybe what we’ll have down the road is simply “Writing Departments.”

Not if Mark Edmundson has his way. Why Read? is an extended essay on the value of reading, an expansion of a widely circulated Harpers Magazine article [On the Uses of the Liberal Arts]. His answer might be quite surprising to those who have been around English Departments of late. He argues that reading is important for great writers’ exploration of the big questions of life:

  • Why are we here?
  • What is a life well lived?
  • Why should character matter?

He believes books can change us and the test of a good book is that we can live its truth.

[Read more…] about Book Review: Why Read?