THE CONCEPT OF THE IMAGO DEI: COHERENCE WITH EVOLUTIONARY SCIENCE?
Abstract
Gen 1:26-27 has traditionally been interpreted as implying that humankind was uniquely created in the image of God. However, cumulative scientific developments following on Darwin’s theory of evolution have conclusively proved the evolutionary and genetic continuity between more ancient forms of life and homo sapiens sapiens. Wentzel van Huyssteen poses the question whether the “heart of the tradition” of the imago Dei can be recovered and revisioned? This article considers firstly what the image of God of the original author of Gen 1:26-27 was, and secondly whether such a concept could be coherent with our current scientific knowledge. To address the first question, the exegesis as understood by an author who lived as close as possible to the time of origin of the text, viz. Philo of Alexandria, is examined. The second question is approached by means of the post-foundationalist interdisciplinary epistemology as advocated by Van Huyssteen.Downloads
Authors retain copyright and grant the Journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this Journal.
This is an open access journal, and the authors and journal should be properly acknowledged, when works are cited.
Authors may use the publishers version for teaching purposes, in books, theses, dissertations, conferences and conference papers.
A copy of the authors’ publishers version may also be hosted on the following websites:
- Non-commercial personal webpage or blog.
- Institutional webpage.
- Authors Institutional Repository.
The following notice should accompany such a posting on the website: “This is an electronic version of an article published in Scriptura, Volume XXX, number XXX, pages XXX–XXX”, DOI. Authors should also supply a hyperlink to the original paper or indicate where the original paper (http://scriptura.journals.ac.za/pub) may be found.
Authors publishers version, affiliated with the Stellenbosch University will be automatically deposited in the University’s’ Institutional Repository SUNScholar.
Articles as a whole, may not be re-published with another journal.
The following license applies:
