"Let books be your dining table, / And you shall be full of delights. / Let them be your
mattress,/
And you shall sleep restful nights" (St. Ephraim the Syrian).


Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Created in the Image of God

The Catholic University of America Press recently sent me their catalogue for 2013, and there are numerous books in it that I look forward to seeing in print, including a collection edited by Thomas Albert Howard, Imago Dei: Human Dignity in Ecumenical Perspective (CUA Press, July 2013), 144pp.

Eastern Christians will be pleased to note that this collection includes an Orthodox perspective from one of Orthodoxy's leading theologians today, John Behr of St. Vladimir's Seminary. 

About this book the publisher tells us:
What does it mean when we speak of human dignity? What challenges does human dignity confront in our culture today? What is the relationship between contemporary understandings of human dignity and the ancient Christian doctrine of imago Dei, the view that human beings are created in "the image and likeness of God"? This book pursues these and related questions in the form of an ecumenical "trialogue" by leading scholars from the three major Christian traditions: John Behr from the Eastern Orthodox tradition, Russell Hittinger from the Catholic, and C. Ben Mitchell from the Protestant tradition. The book is the first of its kind to foster an ecumenical conversation around teachings of imago Dei and present-day understandings of human dignity. The three chapter-essays, the editor's introduction, and the afterword by Lutheran theologian Gilbert Meilaender draw from a wide array of sources, including Scripture, patristic works, ancients creeds, medieval and Thomistic writings, papal encyclicals, Protestant confessional statements, the works of modern theologians, and more.
Imago Dei will serve as an indispensable resource for those wishing to deepen their grasp of the theological bases for Christian views of human dignity, as well as for those who believe that Christ's words "that they be one" (John 17:21) remain a theological imperative today. The combination of ethical inquiry and ecumenical collaboration makes this timely book a unique and compelling contribution to present-day Christian thought.

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