Re: [asa] Saving Darwin: What theological changes are required?

Hi karl,

"Let me comment about the imago dei. It seems to me that, until such

time as we can all agree on exactly what the Imago dei refers to, we

must refrain from saying that it is present only in the human species."

I don't agree that "we must" do this. The Imago dei is a theological
concept derived only from the Bible and sets man apart from the rest of
creation. I view it as the aspect of our essence that allows us to *relate*
to God.

If you would like to extend this concept to other species, what you need to
do is to a) define Imago dei and b) identify the other species that fall
under the definition. Unless you can do this, I see no reason to extend it
to other species.

It is one thing to envision ways by which to reconcile theology with the
science du jour, but it's another thing to build a theology on science. Are
we going to define Imago dei, a theological concept, in scientific,
reductionist terms? How is this all that different from the atheist who
derives philosophical naturalism from methodological naturalism?

"But we cannot be as glib as Christians of yesteryear in thinking that there
is some simple

distinction between humans and the rest of the animal kingdom. Fran De
Waals recounts many provocative stories of primate behaviors that, were they
performed by humans, would be considered exemplary of kindness and
generosity."

And on the other hand, you should tread very, very carefully as many today
use these very arguments to justify a campaign of harassment and terrorism
against scientists. The construction workers building a new animal research
facility at Oxford University must hide their identities and be protected by
the police.

-MikeGene

----- Original Message -----
From: "karl.w.giberson@enc.edu" <gibersok@gmail.com>
To: "Ted Davis" <TDavis@messiah.edu>
Cc: "ASA list" <asa@calvin.edu>; "Stephen Matheson" <smatheso@calvin.edu>;
"Steve Martin" <steven.dale.martin@gmail.com>
Sent: Monday, June 09, 2008 9:22 PM
Subject: Re: [asa] Saving Darwin: What theological changes are required?

> Let me comment about the imago dei. It seems to me that, until such
> time as we can all agree on exactly what the Imago dei refers to, we
> must refrain from saying that it is present only in the human species.
> If, for example, we think that empathy or altruism are a part of the
> imago dei, then we must think about what this means for other species
> that exhibit these traits. My comment, which was not verbally
> inspired by God, was simply that we must consider this issue. Perhaps,
> upon consideration, we will do nothing. But we cannot be as glib as
> Christians of yesteryear in thinking that there is some simple
> distinction between humans and the rest of the animal kingdom. Fran De
> Waals recounts many provocative stories of primate behaviors that,
> were they performed by humans, would be considered exemplary of
> kindness and generosity.

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Received on Tue Jun 10 09:16:39 2008