IMAGO DEI AND HUMAN RATIONALITY

There is a pervasive trend in Western theology to identify imago Dei with human intellectual and cognitive capacities. However, several contemporary theologians have criticized this view because, according to the critics, it leads to a truncated view of humanity. In this article, I shall concentrate on the question of rationality, first, through theologies of Thomas Aquinas and contemporary Lutheran Robert Jenson, and second, in some branches of recent cognitive psychology. I will argue that there is a significant overlap between contemporary scientific interpretations of rationality and both a traditional Thomistic view and a contemporary ecumenical interpretation of imago Dei. Consequently, it is possible to give an account of imago Dei which takes structural features as central and which is in accord with contemporary science, without falling prey to the dangers that the critics of structuralism point out.     

THE IMAGO DEI AS THE MIND OF JESUS CHRIST

In this essay I examine David Clough's interpretation of the imago Dei and his use of “creaturely” language in his book On Animals: Volume 1, Systematic Theology. Contrary to Clough, I argue that the imago Dei should be interpreted as being uniquely human. Using a neuroscientific approach, I elaborate on my claim that while Jesus is the image of God perfected, the imago Dei is best understood as having the mind of Christ. In regards to language, I make the case that using terms such as “creature” when referring to nonhuman animals is problematic in that it can serve to alienate human beings from their capacity to image God. In addition I argue that “creaturely” language raises concerns for the African American community given Western Christianity's history as it relates to their valuation of black bodies and human enslavement.     

HUMAN UNIQUENESS,THE OTHER HOMINIDS,AND “ANTHROPOCENTRISM OF THE GAPS” IN THE RELIGION AND SCIENCE DIALOGUE

Abstract. The concept of human uniqueness has long played a central role within key interpretations of the hominid fossil record and within numerous theological understandings of the imago Dei. More recently, the status of humans as evolutionarily unique has come under strong criticism owing to the discovery of certain nonhuman hominids who, as language and culture‐bearing beings, lived as contemporaries with early anatomically modern humans. Nevertheless, many scholars, including those in the field of religion and science, continue to interpret the remains of these other hominids in light of empirically ungrounded implicit assumptions about human uniqueness, which the author calls “anthropocentrism of the gaps.” This paper argues that “anthropocentrism of the gaps” is philosophically unwarranted and thus should not be assumed by scholars in religion and science when evaluating contemporary findings in paleoanthropology.     

Closer to the Shifting Ground: The Rise of Relationship in God‐Talk

Abstract :  The article argues that God‐talk has changed significantly over the last fifty years and identifies the rise of the notion of relationship (reflecting postmodern dissatisfaction with modernity) as a key factor in this change. That factor is cited in Trinitarian studies, the Creator's relationship with and to the creatures, the science and religion conversation, the connection with context, and the increasing recognition of the adjectival character of theology. In closing the author looks ahead to further relational work in soteriology, anthropology and metaphysics.     

青少年心理行为问题与专业心理求助态度：父母知晓的中介作用

摘 要 对831名中学生施测青少年自评量表、父母知晓量表、专业心理求助态度问卷,考察青少年心理行为问题、父亲知晓、母亲知晓与专业心理求助态度的关系。结果发现：（1）青少年的专业心理求助态度与心理行为问题、父母知晓呈显著相关。（2）父亲知晓在青少年心理行为问题与专业心理求助态度的关系中起部分中介作用,母亲知晓的中介作用不显著。研究结果对青少年专业心理求助的干预有着重要意义。     

父亲情绪表达与儿童社会适应:气质的调节作用

通过对341名学前儿童进行问卷调查和任务测查,考察了父亲情绪表达、儿童气质与儿童社会适应的关系。结果表明:(1)父亲积极情绪表达对儿童社会能力有正向预测作用;父亲消极情绪表达对儿童社会能力具有负向预测作用,而对外显、内隐行为问题有正向预测作用。(2)儿童的积极情绪性对其外显行为问题与社会能力均有显著正向预测作用;消极情绪性对其社会能力有负向预测作用,而对其外显行为问题有正向预测作用;儿童的努力控制对其外显行为问题有较强地负向预测作用,对其社会能力具有正向预测作用。(3)父亲情绪表达与儿童努力控制、消极情绪性对儿童社会适应有显著交互作用,父亲情绪表达对不同气质特点儿童的社会适应具有不同的预测作用。     

Maternal and paternal infant-directed speech to girls and boys: An exploratory study

ABSTRACT

We compared systematically the structure and the content of maternal and paternal speech to infant boys and girls while we also investigated the effect of infant’s age. Six girls and five boys were observed in the interaction with their mothers and their fathers (dyads came from the same families) at home from the second to the sixth month after birth at 15- day intervals. Detailed analysis of time revealed that fathers favour systematically the temporal structure of their speech to both girls and boys, while mothers favour boys in infant emotion/attention thematic sequences and girls in infant attention speech. Variations are counterbalanced in the way mothers and fathers respond sensitively to known marked changes in infant- parent communication over the first 6 months of life. These results are discussing in relation to the theory of innate intersubjectivity and the complementary company and care both parents give to developing infant girls and boys.     

Empathetic Computers: The Problem of Confusing Persons and Things

As computers become both more intelligent and ubiquitous we increasingly rely on them for forms of companionship. We are relational beings, instinctively drawn to those who relate back to us, an instinct that is rooted in our creation in the image of a triune, and thus relational, God. Relationships with computers, which necessarily displace relationships with other humans, have so far been shown to be dissatisfying. This dissatisfaction arises because a computer cannot be truly empathetic. It cannot feel emotion due to its lack of a body; it can only simulate emotion. This makes relationship with a computer similar to relationship with a sociopath and can isolate us from both others and our true selves.     

Do we image God on-line? The opportunities and challenges for authentic relationships in cyberspace

ABSTRACT

Genesis 1 states that we are created in the image of God. While Biblical scholars have taken a performative approach, viewing God's image in our actions, systematic theologians have viewed God's image in relational terms. Thus, the quality of our relationships is crucial, not only for the health of our day to day lives but for our very identity. What makes a relationship authentic? Karl Barth suggests four criteria: that we look the other in the eye, speak to and hear the other, aid the other, and do it gladly. We look ?rst at how our authentic relationships function to make God present among us and then use Barth's criteria to examine the quality of relationships that exist primarily in cyberspace. Social media, in particular, present unique opportunities and challenges for forming authentic relationships and raise fundamental questions about who we are and where God is found among us.