By Design And In God S Image

Revised Edition available: See Self-Esteem: By God's Design ISBN #978-0-9635021-00

What is a knowledgeable, faithfully biblical response to transgenderism? In Affirming God's Image, J. Alan Branch takes a fair, respectful, and factual tone in addressing this complex issue through a biblical lens. You'll learn: scientific research around the transgender experience, an overview of the history of transgenderism, important terminology surrounding gender issues, why people pursue gender reassignment surgery, and what happens after, how to navigate conversations around this topic. The book ends with two practical chapters for families and churches, giving you guiding principles for how to address this issue in a loving, Christ-honoring way. The first step to responding well to any situation is understanding it. Affirming God's Image equips you with the biblical, scientific, and practical knowledge you need for a wise response.

ccording to Scripture, humankind was created in the image of God. Hoekema discusses the implications of this theme, devoting several chapters to the biblical teaching on God's image, the teaching of philosophers and theologians through the ages, and his own theological analysis. Suitable for seminary-level anthropology courses, yet accessible to educated laypeople. Extensive bibliography, fully indexed.

The question "What is human nature?" is in vogue today. Like everything else, this concept is being deconstructed in the context of the reigning ideology of individualistic materialism. Is there a fixed human nature, or is this simply a manipulatable social construct with no objective reference? This book says: "Yes, there is: the imago Dei: man/woman created in the image of God." Hobson argues that this text from Genesis 1:26-28 is a God-given anthropological revelation that establishes the relational bond of human beings with their Creator and also with his creation, for which the imago equips us to be responsible stewards. Many of Hobson's essays were delivered as talks in parishes. They explore from multiple angles the import of the imago Dei for theological and sacramental reflection, apologetics, aesthetics, art, and, at a hands-on practical level, for pastoral counseling and inner healing. His texts, one of which opens with a discussion of genocide, contain incisive critiques of the dark side of modernity alongside wide-ranging demonstrations of the pertinence of the imago Dei to the current debates about human dignity and rights. His book is a ringing call to the church to take the measure of the value of this anthropological revelation for its proclamation of the gospel.

Why is God's beauty often absent from our theology? Rarely do theologians take up the theme of God's beauty—even more rarely do they consider how God's beauty should shape the task of theology itself. But the psalmist says that the heart of the believer's desire is to behold the beauty of the Lord. In The Beauty of the Lord, Jonathan King restores aesthetics as not merely a valid lens for theological reflection, but an essential one. Jesus, our incarnate Redeemer, displays the Triune God's beauty in his actions and person, from creation to final consummation. How can and should theology better reflect this unveiled beauty? The Beauty of the Lord is a renewal of a truly aesthetic theology and a properly theological aesthetics.

Artificial intelligence (AI) permeates Google searches, the personal assistants in our smartphones, and is all over our newsfeeds. Watson’s machine learning has already started to revolutionize many important industries including oncology, law, finance, and entertainment. The idea that man is about to increase his immediate surroundings with exponential gains in the level of intelligence over the coming generations is based upon a technological revolution and the potential for artificial superintelligence (ASI). It is within this context that there is a prevailing need for a discussion of its ethical implications. As a Christian ethicist, Paul Golata believes that the need for this conversation to be informed by Christian principles is imperative. ASI is a move toward the proper handling of information. However, how a society interprets and applies this information is actually more pertinent than the raw amount of information it possesses. This important ethical conversation is being led by humanistic thinkers who assume that all of reality is just matter in motion and that mind is nothing more than electrochemical activity in the “wetware” of human brains. The Ethics of Superintelligent Design critically examines and challenges some of the most important trajectories of ASI while upholding the authority and inerrancy of the Bible, the supernatural creation account, a realistic view of the state of humanity, and biblical ethics.

God, Sex, Science, Gender: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Christian Ethics is a timely, wide-ranging attempt to rescue dialogues on human sexuality, sexual diversity, and gender from insular exchanges based primarily on biblical scholarship and denominational ideology. Too often, dialogues on sexuality and gender devolve into the repetition of party lines and defensive postures, without considering the interdisciplinary body of scholarly research on this complex subject. This volume expands beyond the usual parameters, opening the discussion to scholars in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences to foster the development of Christian sexual ethics for contemporary times. Essays by prominent and emerging scholars in the fields of anthropology, sociology, psychology, philosophy, literary studies, theology, and ethics reveal how faith and reason can illuminate our understanding of human sexual and gender diversity. Focusing on the intersection of theology and science and incorporating feminist theory, God, Science, Sex, Gender is a much-needed call for Christian ethicists to map the origins and full range of human sexual experience and gender identity. Essays delve into why human sexuality and gender can be so controversial in Christian contexts, investigate the complexity of sexuality in humans and other species, and reveal the implications of diversity for Christian moral theology. Contributors are Joel Brown, James Calcagno, Francis J. Catania, Pamela L. Caughie, Robin Colburn, Robert Di Vito, Terry Grande, Frank Fennell, Anne E. Figert, Patricia Beattie Jung, Fred Kniss, John McCarthy, Jon Nilson, Stephen J. Pope, Susan A. Ross, Joan Roughgarden, and Aana Marie Vigen.