Page 174 - EMCAPP-Journal No. 8

Forum

fails in its quest to describe the complexity, dimensionality, emotionality
and intimacy associated with a human person. My heart reacts; but I am
left speechless gazing at Vollmer’s drawings that defy simplistic summa-
tion.

Persons in Theodrama
Christianity gives deep and earnest consideration to the human person
for a very good reason. God’s story depicts persons as central to what the
Creator is doing in his world. According to theologian Kevin Vanhoozer,
the good news is theodramatic: it is God’s doing in speech and action.
In the beginning, God places human persons in his grand and ongoing
production as dialogue partners and performers who reflect (image) his
very nature. This theodramatic surround contributes a useful theologi-
1
cal context to the previously mentioned aspects of human persons.

Now the stage is set for this succinct response to the posed query. A per-
son is a living soul with a distinctive voice to act out one’s part as a com-
munitive agent in covenantal relations. Soul (OT nephesh/NT psyche) is
a broad biblical term that in this context captures the sense of a person’s
total being with visible and invisible characteristics. Our destiny is to
be an expressive contributor to the fulfillment of cosmic history. Per-
sons exhibit a “personal identity that is first and foremost a matter of our
answerable agency” to the Lord of the universe. Persons speak and act
2
in ways that portray our characteristic response to the word and call of
God.

The biblical text uses imago Dei to convey the dynamic, pulsating forces
that give humankind its exceptional urgency to be in face-to-face relati-
onships and conversation. The metaphor of ‘image’ suggests that a per-
son mirrors God’s nature as a corporeal icon. Our lifetime occupation as
a person is to be active, deliberate and intentional to reflect our loving
Creator and Lord. Image bearers crave proximity, recognition and com-
munication with the One who is being represented. Humans echo divine
speech as rational and relational urges burst from within to bond with
others. Speech is the divine gift that equips human beings for communi-
on, that is, enjoyable and rewarding dialogue with the Triune God and
one another. 3

1 Kevin J. Vanhoozer, The Drama of doctrine: A canonical-linguistic approach to Chris-
tian theology. (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox, 2005). For a brief review of
theodrama with implications for Christian psychology, see Kevin J. Vanhoozer’s “For-
ming the performers: How Christians can use canon sense to bring us to our (Thoedra-
matic) senses in Edification: The Transdisciplinary Journal of Christian Psychology,
4 (1), 5-16. [http://www.christianpsych.org/wp_scp/wp-content/uploads/Edification-
4.1.pdf]
2 Kevin J. Vanhoozer, Faith-Speaking Understanding: Performing the drama of doctri-
ne. (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Know Press, 2014, p. 117).
3 Stephen P. Greggo, “Theodramatic anthropology and the ‘significant’ self: Implica-
tions for therapeutic relating.” Paper presented at the 66th Annual Meeting of the Evan-
gelical Theological Society (ETS), San Diego, CA, November 20, 2014. Submitted for
publication.

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