Page 52 - EMCAPP-Journal No. 13

William L. Hathaway (USA)
The Imago Dei & William L.

Embodied Cognition Hathaway, Ph.D.
is dean of the
School of Psycho-
logy & Counse-
Theological anthropology is a central issue for ling and interim
a robust integration project in the psycholo- dean of the Col-
gy and theology. What are the implications of lege of Healthcare
humans being made in the image and likeness Sciences at Regent
of God for Christian psychology? This is an is- University. He is
sue that engages perennial theological debates also an adjunct professor of philosophy at
about the imago Dei such as the ontic-axiologi- Old Dominion and Saint Leo University. He
cal pre-conditions for human dignity, the mind- is a clinical psychologist who has spent his
body problem, the nature of the soul, explaining career persuing the integration of Christia-
consciousness, personal identity, or even escha- nity and psychology.
tological concerns. Three major approaches willhat@regent.edu
to the imago Dei theology are examined: sub-
stantive-structural, functional, and relational.
Some additional strategies are also considered has been a subject of Christian theological spe-
such as eclectic combinations of the three ma- culation since the patristic period (Berkouwer,
jor approaches or teleological models that see 1962, Erickson, 2013, McGrath, 2017). In this
the imago Dei as connected with the broader paper, the major theological views of the imago
canonical treatment of the Imago including Dei will be examined in light of interdiscipli-
Christological themes. Problems with each of nary work in the behavioral sciences on embo-
these approaches persist. The paper concludes died and enacted cognition and the philosophy
by exploring how the developing area of embo- of mind.
died cognition, particularly in the areas of per- The imago Dei can be approached theologi-
ception psychology, consciousness studies, and cally at different levels. It presents an exegeti-
psychological linguistics might point towards a cal challenge that concerns Biblical theology
synthesis of productive insights and suggest a (Berkouwer, 1962, Briggs, 2010, Crouch, 2010,
path forward for integrative approaches on the Krause, 2005, Miller, 1972). But also, it has been
imago Dei. a project for other areas ranging from pastoral
psychology to systematic theology (Dayringer,
2012, Driver, 2013, Erickson, 2013, MacDo-
The Imago Dei and Embodied Cognition nald, 2008, Peterson, 2016). A cardinal passage
Christians behavioral scientists engaged in the for the imago Dei is Genesis 1:27-27:
project of integrating faith and learning find a 26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our
point of connection with a relevant endeavor image, according to Our likeness; and let them
from theological anthropology. Cortez (2010) rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds
defines theological anthropology as “…that area of the [a]sky and over the cattle and over all the
of Christian reflection that seeks to understand earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps
the mystery of humanity by reflecting theologi- on the earth.” 27 God created man in His own
cally and, thus, Christologically-on the human image, in the image of God He created him;
person in constant and critical dialogue with male and female He created them.- NASB.
the other anthropological disciplines” (n.p). A Contemporary Biblical theologians have typi-
central issue in theological anthropology con- cally claimed that while the phrase “image of
cerns what is meant by the Biblical concept of God” is found in this passage, what the image
the image of God. This notion, frequently refer- actually denotes is not to be found there (Briggs,
red to by its Latin phrasing as the imago Dei, 2010, Cortez, 2010). Despite its influential im-

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