Identity and Idolatry (NSBT): The Image Of God And Its Inversion (New Studies in Biblical Theology)

Dr Richard Lints

ISBN 10: 1783593067 / ISBN 13: 9781783593064

Editore: Apollos 2015-07-17, 2015

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Codice articolo 6666-GRD-9781783593064

Dati bibliografici

• Titolo: Identity and Idolatry (NSBT): The Image Of God And Its Inversion (New Studies in Biblical Theology)
• Editore: Apollos 2015-07-17
• Data di pubblicazione: 2015
• Lingua: Inglese
• ISBN 10: 1783593067
• ISBN 13: 9781783593064
• Rilegatura: Paperback
• Condizione: New

Descrizione articolo

Riassunto

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them' (Genesis 1:27). Genesis 1:26-27 has served as the locus of most theological anthropologies in the central Christian tradition. However, Richard Lints observes that too rarely have these verses been understood as conceptually interwoven with the whole of the prologue materials of Genesis 1. The construction of the cosmic temple strongly hints that the 'image of God' language serves liturgical functions. Lints argues that 'idol' language in the Bible is a conceptual inversion of the 'image' language of Genesis 1. These constructs illuminate each other, and clarify the canon's central anthropological concerns. The question of human identity is distinct, though not separate, from the question of human nature; the latter has far too frequently been read into the biblical use of 'image'. Lints shows how the 'narrative' of human identity runs from creation (imago Dei) to fall (the golden calf/idol, Exodus 32) to redemption (Christ as perfect image, Colossians 1:15-20). The biblical-theological use of image/idol is a thread through the canon that highlights the movements of redemptive history. In the concluding chapters, Lints interprets the use of idolatry as it emerges in the secular prophets of the nineteenth century, and examines the recent renaissance of interest in idolatry with its conceptual power to explain the 'culture of desire'.

Recensione

In 'Identity and Idolatry', Richard Lints shows himself to be an exceptional thinker who combines the sensitivities of a theologian with that of a philosopher and interpreter of the Bible. He not only speaks of ideas in the abstract but shows how these ideas forge the way we think and act. I recommend this book to all thoughtful Christians --Tremper Longman III Robert H. Gundry Professor of Biblical Studies, Westmont College

Those who know him have long appreciated the ability of Richard Lints to think creatively while remaining soaked in joyful confessionalism. Begin with the imago Dei, which in times past has often been thought of in terms of essential characteristics or attributes, but which is here thought of in terms of a mirror reflecting God and of subtle differences that stand over against God, making relationship with God possible in short, establishing our identity with respect to God. Work that out across the canon, and you discover that light shines on many topics, not least the nature of idolatry. This book manages to blend some elements of systematic theology with careful biblical theology to produce a study that is wonderfully evocative --Don Carson - Preface