Page 70 - EMCAPP-Journal No. 13

Comment to

“The Imago Dei Roland Mahler,
Dr., Theologist,
Embodied Cognition” Psychologist
MSc, Psycho-
therapist SPV,
by Roland Mahler (Switzerland)
was the Direc-
tor of the Insti-

The author starts out giving an overview of cur- tute of Christi-
rent historical and actual imago Dei concepts an Psychology,
which show mainly three different aspects of Psychotherapy
understanding: The substantive or structural and Educati- on, Switzerland, www.
approach which focusses on man’s individual icptp.ch. He is the author of “Gewissen und
constitution as a soul-gifted being an as such Gewissensbildung” in der Psychotherapie
(for Augustine) reflecting the holy trinity in his (Conscience and Forming of Conscience in
ability to remember (memory), to think (in- Psychotherapie), 2009 and of “Christliche
tellect) and to want (volition), the functional Soziale Arbeit – Menschenbild, Spiritua-
understanding as the prerogative of man’s role lität, Methoden (Christian Social Work -
in creation as god’s agent and caretaker of the Human Image, Spirituality, Methods), 2018
world and as a third aspect the relational view . From 1986 – 1998 he directed the thera-
of man being the image of God in his social be- peutic center Best Hope.
havior. All of these conceptions offer enough
possibilities for a critical offence (i.e. all of these Former articles by Roland you can see here:
imago Dei based human attributes can be ab- http://emcapp.ignis.de/2/#/116
used – and they were abused!). Although they http://emcapp.ignis.de/4/#/52
were and still are well established in christian http://emcapp.ignis.de/9/#p=42
history of theology.

Beside the three main aspects in understanding rious attempts like the one of Hoekema.
the imago Dei-theologoumenon of christian The next unit of the Hathaway’s text deals with
anthropology there are other positions to consi- anthropological ontologies as found in chri-
der. Hathaway mentions the «non-attributional stian theology (trichotomism, dualism and
view» of McKirkland (meaning that imago Dei monism). He refers to Churchhouse who says
is just a chiffre for man’s meaningful reflection that image Dei studies and human constitu-
on God) and Peterson’s identity concept which tion are distinct anthroplogical areas. So one
defines imago Dei as the unique identity given should not mingle the two in order to keep a
to man by his creator. Both of these positions clear view on the constitutional question: What
(as a critical proposition of Hathaway) seem to is humanity? Is it mental or is it physical and is
represent a kind of functionalist understanding: there any difference at all between these areas?
Man is creation’s conscience regarding and re- Classical dualism has lost acceptance since ma-
flecting the creator. But what makes them inte- terialistic science has taken over to explain the
resting is their focus on man’s potential. To be world. Though this tendency to a reductive na-
the image of God is a potential to be realized by turalism has grown over the decades there still
human development. are various defenses of dualistic aspects in a ho-
listic view in anthropological philosophy and
Eclectic views that try to combine aspects of all theology.
understandings cannot rely on a better result
than any single position, because the the faults One crucial question (also discussed by Hatha-
of this one will not necessarily be amended by way) is : What makes one human individual or
the other. That’s what Hathaway rebukes to va-

68