This series (1st post, 2nd post, 3rd post) was prompted by some reader questions on the blog, but in parallel I was discussing some of the same issues via e-mail with theologian Mike Stell. Mike is an ESN contributor. He and I met in person at last summer's BioLogos conference, and we struck up a correspondence on some of the topics that came up at that meeting. For a change of pace, I thought I'd address the image of God question with some excerpts from that e-mail conversation. … [Read more...] about Science Reader Question: Becoming Made in God’s Image
image of God
Devotions: Bearing the Image of God (4)
“Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven” (1 Corinthians 15:49). The goal of a redeemed image of God in humans is complete and final restoration into the image of Christ. In Jesus as the “second Adam” we see human likeness to God as it was intended to be (1 Corinthians 15:45). Those “in Christ” therefore, are chosen by God to be “conformed to the image of his son” (Romans 8:29) so that, “when he appears we shall be like him” (1 John 3:2). This is not only … [Read more...] about Devotions: Bearing the Image of God (4)
“Uncommon Decency” in the context of Pluralism
Christian hearts must be open to other people. God wants that of us. That is what I have just been arguing. But just how open are we supposed to be? We live today in the midst of many lifestyles, many systems of thought--don't we run the risk of having our hearts pulled in so many different directions that we finally have no center of our own?" -- Richard J. Mouw, Uncommon Decency: Christian Civility in an Uncivil World (Revised and Expanded, InterVarsity Press, 2010), 80. It's not surprising that Richard J. Mouw … [Read more...] about “Uncommon Decency” in the context of Pluralism
Devotions: Bearing the Image of God (3)
The Scriptures tell us that as Christians we have a new nature that is “being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator” (Colossians 3:10). And Paul points out in 2 Corinthians 3:18 we are progressively being transformed into the “same image,” or as The Message puts it, “our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him.” Redemption is not just deliverance from eternal destruction or merely moral reformation. It involves a re-orientation of our thoughts, … [Read more...] about Devotions: Bearing the Image of God (3)
Cultivating empathic sensitivies vital to “Uncommon Decency”
Civility requires that we reduce the psychological distance between ourselves and others. We need to develop a sense of commonality with people who initially strike us as very different from ourselves. One important means of doing this is by cultivating empathy. "Empathy" literally means "in-feeling" -- it is to project myself into another person's feelings so that I begin to understand what it is like to have his experiences. If I want to gain empathy for a neighbor who is consistently defensive and insulting, I can … [Read more...] about Cultivating empathic sensitivies vital to “Uncommon Decency”