Embodied, Relational, Desiring, Vulnerable – Reconsidering Imago Dei

Summary God is always experienced in the mode of representations. The fundamental representation of God is Jesus Christ, the true image of God. In order to specify this designation further, with reference to all of humanity, it is suggested that the basic features of such representation can be identified in the features of desire and vulnerability, as manifestations of interconnectedness and dependence. These features are not only expressing themselves as that with which humans need to come to terms, but they also manifest the deeply relational character of humanity and its internal connection to goodness. They also make it possible to specify further how God and the human being are intrinsically connected, and make it possible to see why love is so important in the realization of imago Dei : It is love that secures that both desire and vulnerability can contribute to human flourishing, and thus precludes sin from manifesting itself.