Element contents
Series: Elements in Christian Doctrine
The Imago Dei
A Holistic Account
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 February 2026
Summary
What does it mean to say that the human being is the imago Dei? This Element leverages the Reformed thinking of archetype-ectype to constructively develop a holistic account of the imago. That is, the image of God refers to both the signifier of God–human stories and the stories of ethical performances towards others and the motivator within the psychosomatic human person for the narration of these stories that have been unfolding since Genesis 2. Furthermore, this Element will argue that the religious and ethical implications of the imago Dei are not confined to the contexts of the Christian faith but bear upon the quotidian lives of all humankind, including atheists. To illustrate this, neuroscience and empathic AI will serve as two case studies, demonstrating how the psychosomatic human person as the imago Dei bears the unique role in the narration of both religious and ethical stories.
Information
- Type
- Element
- Information
- Series: Elements in Christian DoctrineOnline ISBN: 9781009642569Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication: 05 March 2026
References
Alogna, Victoria K., Bering, Jesse, Balkcom, Evan, and Halberstadt, Jamin. 2019. ‘Religious Intuitions and the Nature of “Belief”’. Studia Humana 8 (3): 58–68.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Aquinas, Thomas. 2012. Summa Theologiae. Translated by Fr. Laurence Shapcote. Latin/English Edition of the Works of St. Thomas Aquinas, 13–20 vols., edited by The Aquinas Institute. Green Bay, WI: Aquinas Institute.Google Scholar
Ashbrook, James B. 1984. ‘Neurotheology: The Working Brain and the Work of Theology’. Zygon: Journal of Religion & Science 19 (3): 331–350.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ashbrook, James B. 1996. ‘Making Sense of God: How I Got to the Brain’. Zygon: Journal of Religion & Science 31 (3): 401–420.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Augustine, . 1963. The Trinity. Translated by Stephen McKenna. The Fathers of the Church, vol. 45, edited by Dressler, Hermigild. Washington: The Catholic University of America Press.Google Scholar
Augustine, . 2002. ‘The Literal Meaning of Genesis’. In On Genesis, edited by Rotelle, John E., In Works of Saint Augustine, vol. I/13, 155–506. New York: New City Press.Google Scholar
Bainbridge, William Sims. 2010. ‘Cognitive Science and the New Atheism’. In Religion and the New Atheism: A Critical Appraisal, edited by Amarasingam, Amarnath. 79–93. Leiden: Brill.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barbour, Ian G. 1993. Ethics in an Age of Technology: The Gifford Lectures 1989–1991, vol. 2. New York: HarperSanFrancisco.Google Scholar
Barr, James. 1968. ‘The Image of God in the Book of Genesis – A Study of Terminology’. Bulletin of the John Rylands Library 51: 11–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barrett, Justin L. 2004. Why Would Anyone Believe in God? Lanham, MD: Altamira.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barrett, Justin L. 2010. ‘The Relative Unnaturalness of Atheism: On Why Geertz and Markússon Are Both Right and Wrong’. Religion 40: 169–172.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barrett, Justin L. 2011. Cognitive Science, Religion, and Theology. West Conshohocken, PA: Templeton Press.Google Scholar
Barrett, Justin L., and Greenway, Tyler S.. 2017. ‘Imago Dei and Animal Domestication: Cognitive-Evolutionary Perspectives on Human Uniqueness and the Imago Dei’. In Human Origins and the Image of God: Essays in Honor of J. Wentzel van Huyssteen, edited by Lilley, Christopher and Pedersen, Daniel J., 64–81. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.Google Scholar
Barrett, Justin L., and Lanman, Jonathan A.. 2008. ‘The Science of Religious Beliefs’. Religion 38: 109–124.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barrett, Justin L., and Trigg, Roger. 2014. ‘Cognitive and Evolutionary Studies of Religion’. In The Roots of Religion: Exploring the Cognitive Science of Religion, edited by Trigg, Roger and Barrett, Justin L., 1–15. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Barth, Karl. 2004. Church Dogmatics. 5 vols., edited by Bromiley, Geoffrey W. and Torrance, Thomas F.. London: T&T Clark.Google Scholar
Bauckham, Richard. 2010. Bible and Ecology: Rediscovering the Community of Creation. London: Darton, Longman and Todd.Google Scholar
Bavinck, Herman. 2004. Reformed Dogmatics, Volume 2: God and Creation. Translated by John Vriend, edited by Bolt, John. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker.Google Scholar
Bavinck, Herman 2006. Reformed Dogmatics, Volume 3: Sin and Salvation in Christ. Translated by John Vriend, edited by Bolt, John. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker.Google Scholar
Beauregard, Mario. 2024. ‘Neuroimaging and Spiritual Practice’. In The Oxford Handbook of Psychology and Spirituality, edited by Miller, Lisa J., 632–653. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beauregard, Mario, and O’Leary, Denyse. 2007. The Spiritual Brain: A Neuroscientist’s Case for the Existence of the Soul. Portland, ME: HarperOne.Google Scholar
Beauregard, Mario, and Paquette, Vincent. 2006. ‘Neural Correlates of a Mystical Experience in Carmelite Nuns’. Neuroscience Letters 405 (3): 186–190.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bering, Jesse. 2002. ‘Intuitive Conceptions of Dead Agents’ Minds: The Natural Foundations of Afterlife Beliefs as Phenomenological Boundary’. Journal of Cognition and Culture 2 (4): 263–308.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berkouwer, Gerrit Cornelis 1962. Man: The Image of God. Translated by Dirk W. Jellema. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.Google Scholar
Berry, Robert James 2012. ‘Biology since Darwin’. In Darwinism and Natural Theology, edited by Robinson, Andrew. 12–38. Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars.Google Scholar
Bimson, John J. 2009. ‘Doctrines of the Fall and Sin after Darwin’. In Theology after Darwin, edited by Northcott, Michael and Berry, Robert James. 106–122. Milton Keynes: Paternoster.Google Scholar
Blenkinsopp, Joseph. 2011. Creation, Un-Creation, Re-Creation: A Discursive Commentary on Genesis 1–11. London: T&T Clark.Google Scholar
Boyer, Pascal. 2022. ‘The Cognitive Study of Religious Activity: Beyond Religion and Belief’. In The Oxford Handbook of the Cognitive Science of Religion, edited by Barrett, Justin L., 48–64. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Braaten, Carl E., and Braaten, LaVonne. 1976. The Living Temple: A Practical Theology of the Body and the Foods of the Earth. Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock.Google Scholar
Braddock, Matthew. 2018. ‘An Evidential Argument for Theism from the Cognitive Science of Religion’. In New Developments in the Cognitive Science of Religion: The Rationality of Religious Belief, edited by van Eyghen, Hans, Peels, Rik, and van den Brink, Gijsbert. 171–198. Cham: Springer.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Briggs, Richard S. 2010. ‘Humans in the Image of God and Other Things Genesis Does Not Make Clear.’ Journal of Theological Interpretation 4 (1–2): 111–126.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brink, David O. 2007. ‘The Autonomy of Ethics’. In The Cambridge Companion to Atheism, edited by Martin, Michael, 149–165. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Brueggemann, Walter. 2005. Theology of the Old Testament: Testimony, Dispute, Advocacy. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress.Google Scholar
Burdett, Michael. 2020. ‘Niche Construction and the Functional Model of the Image of God’. Philosophy, Theology and the Sciences 7 (2): 158–180.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burdett, Michael S. 2015. ‘The Image of God and Human Uniqueness: Challenges from the Biological and Information Sciences’. The Expository Times 127 (1): 3–10.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Calvin, John. 2011. Institutes of the Christian Religion, Volume 1 & 2. Translated by Ford Lewis Battles, edited by McNeill, John T.. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.Google Scholar
Churchland, Patricia S. 2011. Braintrust: What Neuroscience Tells Us about Morality. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clines, David J. A. 1968. ‘The Image of God in Man’. Tyndale Bulletin 19: 53–103.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Coin, Allen, and Dubljević, Veljko. 2021. ‘Carebots for Eldercare: Technology, Ethics, and Implications’. In Trust in Human-Robot Interaction, edited by Nam, Chang S. and Lyons, Joseph B., 553–569. London: Academic Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cortez, Marc. 2010. Theological Anthropology: A Guide for the Perplexed. New York: T&T Clark International.Google Scholar
Crisp, Oliver. 2015. ‘A Christological Model of the Imago Dei’. In The Ashgate Research Companion to Theological Anthropology, edited by Farris, Joshua Ryan and Taliaferro, Charles, 217–229. Farnham: Ashgate.Google Scholar
Davis, Stephen T. 2015. ‘Redemption, the Resurrected Body, and Human Nature’. In The Ashgate Research Companion to Theological Anthropology, edited by Farris, Joshua Ryan and Taliaferro, Charles, 293–302. Farnham: Ashgate.Google Scholar
De Cruz, Helen. 2016. ‘The Naturalness of Religious Belief: Epistemological Implications’. In The Blackwell Companion to Naturalism, edited by Clark, Kelly James, 481–493. Chichester: Wiley Blackwell.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cruz, De, Helen, and De Smedt, Johan. 2013. ‘Reformed and Evolutionary Epistemology and the Noetic Effects of Sin’. International Journal for Philosophy of Religion 74: 49–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cruz, De, Helen, and De Smedt, Johan 2015. A Natural History of Natural Theology: The Cognitive Science of Theology and Philosophy of Religion. Cambridge, MA: MIT.Google Scholar
Mettrie, De La, Offray, Julien. 1996. ‘Machine Man’. In Machine Man and Other Writings, edited by Thomson, Ann, 1–40. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smedt, De, Johan, and De Cruz, Helen. 2014. ‘The Imago Dei as a Work in Progress: A Perspective from Paleoanthropology’. Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science 49, 1: 135–156.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Deane-Drummond, Celia E. 2012. ‘Response: Homo Divinus–Myth or Reality?’ In Darwinism and Natural Theology: Evolving Perspectives, edited by Robinson, Andrew. 39–46. Cambridge: Cambridge Scholars.Google Scholar
Deane-Drummond, Celia E. 2014. The Wisdom of the Liminal: Evolution and Other Animals in Human Becoming. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.Google Scholar
Deane-Drummond, Celia E. 2017. ‘In Adam All Die?: Questions at the Boundary of Niche Construction, Community Evolution, and Original Sin’. In Evolution and the Fall, edited by Cavanaugh, William T. and Smith, James K. A., 23–47. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.Google Scholar
Decety, Jean, Bartal, Inbal Ben-Ami, Uzefovsky, Florina, and Knafo-Noam, Ariel. 2016. ‘Empathy as a Driver of Prosocial Behaviour: Highly Conserved Neurobehavioural Mechanisms’. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B. Biological Sciences 371 (1686): 20150077.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dietrich, Jan. 2023. ‘Anthropologies of the Hebrew Bible’. In T&T Clark Handbook of Anthropology and the Hebrew Bible, edited by Pfoh, Emanuel, 245–262. London: T&T Clark.Google Scholar
Sandra, Dixon, and Wilcox, Charles T.. 2016. ‘The Counseling Implications of Neurotheology: A Critical Review’. Journal of Spirituality in Mental Health 18 (2): 91–107.Google Scholar
Emery, Gilles. 2007. The Trinitarian Theology of Saint Thomas Aquinas. Translated by Francesca Aran Murphy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Fergusson, David. 2009. Faith and Its Critics: A Conversation. text. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fergusson, David 2013. ‘Humans Created according to the Imago Dei: An Alternative Proposal’. Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science 48 (2): 439–453.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fergusson, David 2017. ‘Are We Alone? and Does It Matter?: The Narrative of Human Particularity’. In Human Origins and the Image of God: Essaysin Honor of J. Wentzel van Huyssteen, edited by Lilley, Christopher and Pedersen, Daniel J., 236–249. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.Google Scholar
Fergusson, David 2018. The Providence of God: A Polyphonic Approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fergusson, David 2024. ‘Is Religion Natural? Boyle Lecture 2024’. Zygon: Journal of Religion & Science 59 (4): 1154–1171.Google Scholar
Foerst, Anne. 1998. ‘Cog, a Humanoid Robot, and the Question of the Image of God’. Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science 33 (1): 91–111.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gerhard, Johann. 2009. On the Nature of Theology and on Scripture. Translated by Richard J. Dinda, edited by Mayes, Benjamin T. G.. Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House.Google Scholar
Cristina, Gonzalez-Liencres, Shamay-Tsoory, Simone G., and Brüne, Martin. 2013. ‘Towards a Neuroscience of Empathy: Ontogeny, Phylogeny, Brain Mechanisms, Context and Psychopathology’. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews 37: 1537–1548.Google Scholar
Graystone, Andrew. 2021. ‘Sextech: Simulated Relationships with Machines’. In The Robot Will See You Now: Artificial Intelligence and the Christian Faith, edited by Wyatt, John and Williams, Stephen N., 151–165. London: SPCK.Google Scholar
Green, Joel B. 2015. ‘Why the Imago Dei Should Not Be Identified with the Soul’. In The Ashgate Research Companion to Theological Anthropology, edited by Farris, Joshua Ryan and Taliaferro, Charles, 179–190. Farnham: Ashgate.Google Scholar
Gregory, Nazianzen. 1894. ‘Select Orations of Saint Gregory Nazianzen’. In S. Cyril of Jerusalem, S. Gregory Nazianzen, edited by Schaff, Philip and Wace, Henry, In Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, 203–434. New York: Christian Literature Company.Google Scholar
Gregory, Nazianzen 2001. On God and Man: The Theological Poetry of St Gregory of Nazianzus. Translated by Peter Gilbert. Crestwood, NY: St Vladimir’s Seminary Press.Google Scholar
Gregory, Nazianzen 2003. Select Orations. Translated by Martha Vinson. Vol. 107 The Fathers of the Church, edited by Halton, Thomas P.. Washington, DC: The Catholic University of America Press.Google Scholar
Grenz, Stanley J. 2001. The Social God and the Relational Self: A Trinitarian Theology of the Imago Dei. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.Google Scholar
Gunton, Colin. 1991. ‘Trinity, Ontology and Anthropology: Towards a Renewal of the Doctrine of the Imago Dei’. In Persons, Divine and Human: King’s College Essays in Theological Anthropology, edited by Schwöbel, Christoph and Gunton, Colin E., 47–61. Edinburgh: T&T Clark.Google Scholar
Harris, Mark. 2024. ‘A Scientist-Theologian’s Perspective on Science-Engaged Theology: The Case for “Theology of Science” as a Sub-Discipline within Science and Religion’. In God and the Book of Nature: Experiments in Theology of Science, edited by Harris, Mark, 13–39. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Hefner, Philip. 2000. ‘Imago Dei: The Possibility and Necessity of the Human Person’. In The Human Person in Science and Theology, edited by Gregersen, Niels Henrik, Drees, Willem B., and Ulf, Görman, 73–94. Edinburgh: T&T Clark.Google Scholar
Hendel, Ronald. 2024. Genesis 1–11: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary. The Anchor Yale Bible, IA. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Heppe, Heinrich. 2007. Reformed Dogmatics. Translated by George Thomas Thomson, edited by Bizer, Ernst. Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock.Google Scholar
Herring, Stephen L. 2013. Divine Substitution: Humanity as the Manifestation of Deity in the Hebrew Bible and the Ancient Near East. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Herzfeld, Noreen. 2012. ‘In Whose Image? Artificial Intelligence and the Imago Dei’. In The Blackwell Companion to Science and Christianity, edited by Stump, J. B. and Padgett, Alan G., 500–509. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Herzfeld, Noreen L. 2002. In Our Image: Artificial Intelligence and the Human Spirit. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress.Google Scholar
Hogue, David A. 2006. ‘Sensing the Other in Worship: Mirror Neurons and the Empathizing Brain’. Liturgy 21 (3): 31–39. http://doi.10.1080/04580630600642742.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Irenaeus, . 1885. ‘Irenaeus against Heresies’. In The Apostolic Fathers with Justin Martyr and Irenaeus, edited by Roberts, Alexander and Donaldson, James, In The Ante-Nicene Fathers. Buffalo: Christian Literature, 315–567.Google Scholar
Jastrzebski, Andrzej K. 2018. ‘The Neuroscience of Spirituality: An Attempt at Critical Analysis’. Pastoral Psychology 67: 515–524.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jeeves, Malcolm. 2017. ‘The Testimony of the Spirit: Insights from Psychology and Neuroscience’. In The Testimony of the Spirit: New Essays, edited by Geivett, R. Douglas and Moser, Paul K., 127–150. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jones, Paul Dafydd. 2019. ‘Human Being’. In The Oxford Handbook of Karl Barth, edited by Jones, Paul Dafydd and Nimmo, Paul T., 389–406. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Junius, Franciscus. 2014. A Treatise on True Theology: With the Life of Franciscus Junius. Translated by David C. Noe. Grand Rapids, MI: Reformation Heritage Books.Google Scholar
Kelsey, David H. 2009. Eccentric Existence: A Theological Anthropology. 2 vols. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox.Google Scholar
Kurian, Nomisha. 2025. ‘AI’s Empathy Gap: The Risks of Conversational Artificial Intelligence for Young Children’s Well-being and Key Ethical Considerations for Early Childhood Education and Care’. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood 26 (1): 132–139.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lanman, Jonathan A. 2013. ‘Atheism and Cognitive Science’. In The Oxford Handbook of Atheism, edited by Bullivant, Stephen and Ruse, Michael, 483–496. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Levenson, Jon D. 1988. Creation and the Persistence of Evil: The Jewish Drama of Divine Omnipotence. Princeton: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
MacIntyre, Alasdair. 2007. After Virtue: A Study in Moral Theory. 3rd ed. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press.Google Scholar
Maibom, Heidi L., ed. 2014. Empathy and Morality. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McCauley, Robert N. 2011. Why Religion Is Natural and Science Is Not. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
McFarland, Ian A. 2001. ‘When Time Is of the Essence: Aquinas and the Imago Dei’. New Blackfriars 82 (963): 208–223.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McGilchrist, Iain. 2009. The Master and His Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
McGilchrist, Iain 2022. The Matter with Things: Our Brains, Our Delusions and the Unmaking of the World. 2 vols. London: Perspectiva.Google Scholar
Messer, Neil. 2017. Theological Neuroethics: Christian Ethics Meets the Science of the Human Brain. London: T&T Clark.Google Scholar
Middleton, J. Richard. 2005. The Liberating Image: The Imago Dei in Genesis 1. Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos.Google Scholar
Moltmann, Jürgen. 1985. God in Creation: An Ecological Doctrine of Creation. London: SCM.Google Scholar
Moritz, Joshua M. 2011. ‘Evolution, the End of Human Uniqueness, and the Election of the Imago Dei’. Theology and Science 9 (3): 307–339.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moritz, Joshua M. 2020. ‘Are Hominins Special? Human Origins as the Image and Likeness of God’. Theology and Science 18 (4): 537–551.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Joshua, Mugg, and Turner, James T.. 2017. ‘Why a Bodily Resurrection?: The Bodily Resurrection and the Mind/Body Relation’. Journal of Analytic Theology 5: 121–144.Google Scholar
Muller, Richard A. 2003. Post-Reformation Reformed Dogmatics, Volume One: Prolegomena to Theology. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Baker.Google Scholar
Newberg, Andrew B., and Waldman, Mark Robert. 2009. How God Changes Your Brain: Breakthrough Findings from a Leading Neuroscientist. New York: Ballantine Books.Google Scholar
Newberg, Andrew B., Pourdehnad, Michael, Alavi, Abass, and D’Aquili, Eugene G.. 2003. ‘Cerebral Blood Flow during Meditative Prayer: Preliminary Findings and Methodological Issues’. Perceptual and Motor Skills 97 (2): 625–630.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Noort, , Ed. 2016. ‘Taken from the Soil, Gifted with the Breath of Life: The Anthropology of Gen 2:7 in Context’. In Dust of the Ground and Breath of Life (Gen 2:7): The Problem of a Dualistic Anthropology in Early Judaism and Christianity, edited by van Ruiten, Jacques T. A. G. M. and Van Kooten, George H., 1–15. Leiden: Brill.Google Scholar
Pannenberg, Wolfhart. 1985. Anthropology in Theological Perspective. London: T&T Clark.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pannenberg, Wolfhart 1991. Systematic Theology, vol. 2. Translated by Geoffrey William Bromiley. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.Google Scholar
Pasnau, Robert. 2004. Thomas Aquinas on Human Nature: A Philosophical Study of Summa theologiae Ia 75–89. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Paul, John II. 1988. Apostolic Letter, Mulieris Dignitatem. Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana.Google Scholar
Peels, Rik, van Eyghen, Hans, and van den Brink, Gijsbert. 2018. ‘Cognitive Science of Religion and the Cognitive Consequences of Sin’. In New Developments in the Cognitive Science of Religion: The Rationality of Religious Belief, edited by van Eyghen, Hans, Rik, Peels, and van den Brink, Gijsbert, 199–214. Cham: Springer.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pelau, Corina, Dabija, Dan-Cristian, and Ene, Erina. 2021. ‘What Makes an AI Device Human-like? The Role of Interaction Quality, Empathy and Perceived Psychological Anthropomorphic Characteristics in the Acceptance of Artificial Intelligence in the Service Industry’. Computers in Human Behavior 122: 106855.Google Scholar
Perry, John, and Leidenhag, Joanna. 2021. ‘What Is Science-Engaged Theology?’ Modern Theology 37 (2): 245–253.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Polkinghorne, John. 1994. Science and Christian Belief: Theological Reflections of a Bottom-Up Thinker. London: SPCK.Google Scholar
Polkinghorne, John C. 2010. Encountering Scripture: A Scientist Explores the Bible. London: SPCK.Google Scholar
Puddefoot, John C. 1996. God and the Mind Machine: Computers, Artificial Intelligence, and the Human Soul. London: SPCK.Google Scholar
Ramachandran, Vilayanur S., and Blakeslee, Sandra. 1998. Phantoms in the Brain: Probing the Mysteries of the Human Mind. New York: William Morrow.Google Scholar
Reich, K. Helmut. 2009. ‘A Critical View of Cognitive Science’s Attempt to Explain Religion and its Development’. In The Oxford Handbook of the Sociology of Religion, edited by Clarke, Peter B., 280–299. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Reinhardt, Karoline. 2022. ‘Trust and Trustworthiness in AI Ethics’. AI and Ethics 3: 735–744 https://doi.org/10.1007/s43681-022-00200-5.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rhonheimer, Martin. 2014. ‘Moral Reason, Person and Virtue: The Aristotelian-Thomistic Perspective in the Face of Current Challenges from Neurobiology’. Journal of Moral Theology 3 (1): 1–17.Google Scholar
Richert, Rebekah A., and Lesage, Kirsten A.. 2022. ‘The Nature of Humans’. In The Oxford Handbook of the Cognitive Science of Religion, edited by Barrett, Justin L., 90–109. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rizzolatti, Giacomo, and Sinigaglia, Corrado. 2023. Mirroring Brains: How We Understanding Others from Inside. Translated by Frances Anderson. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rosenberg, Stanley P., Burdett, Michael, Lloyd, Michael, and Van den Toren, Benno, eds. 2018. Finding Ourselves after Darwin: Conversations on the Image of God, Original Sin, and the Problem of Evil. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic.Google Scholar
Safdari, Abootaleb. 2025. ‘Toward an Empathy-based Trust in Human-otheroid Relations’. AI & Society 40: 3123–3138.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schellenberg, John L. 1993. Divine Hiddenness and Human Reason. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
Schellenberg, John L. 2015. The Hiddenness Argument: Philosophy’s New Challenge to Belief in God. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tatjana, Schnell, and Keenan, William J. F.. 2013. ‘The Construction of Atheist Spirituality: A Survey-Based Study’. In Constructs of Meaning and Religious Transformation: Current Issues in the Psychology of Religion, edited by Westerink, Herman, 101–118. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.Google Scholar
Shank, John B. 2019. ‘Between Isaac Newton and Enlightenment Newtonianism: The “God Question” in the Eighteenth Century’. In Scientific without God?: Rethinking the History of Scientific Naturalism, edited by Harrison, Peter and Roberts, Jon H., 77–96. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sharkey, Noel, and Sharkey, Amanda. 2010. ‘Living with Robots: Ethical Tradeoffs in Eldercare’. In Close Engagements with Artificial Companions: Key Social, Psychological, Ethical and Design Issues, edited by Wilks, Yorick, 245–255. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shults, F. LeRon. 2003. Reforming Theological Anthropology: After the Philosophical Turn to Relationality. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.Google Scholar
Slattery, John P. 2020. ‘Introduction’. In T&T Clark Handbook of Christian Theology and the Modern Sciences, edited by Slattery, John P., 1–11. London: T&T Clark.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sonderegger, Katherine. 2015. Systematic Theology, Volume 1: The Doctrine of God. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Srinivasan, Ramya, and González, Beatriz San Miguel. 2022. ‘The Role of Empathy for Artificial Intelligence Accountability’. Journal of Responsible Technology 9: 1–7 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrt.2021.100021.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stahl, Bernd Carsten. 2020. Artificial Intelligence for a Better Future: An Ecosystem Perspective on the Ethics of AI and Emerging Digital Technologies. Cham: Springer.Google Scholar
Stone, Peter, Brooks, Rodney, Brynjolfsson, Erik, et al. September 2016. Artificial Intelligence and Life in 2030: One Hundred Year Study on Artificial Intelligence 2015 Study Panel Report. Stanford University (Stanford). https://ai100.stanford.edu/sites/g/files/sbiybj18871/files/media/file/ai100report10032016fnl_singles.pdf.Google Scholar
Sutanto, Nathaniel Gray. 2025. A Sense of the Divine: An Affective Model of General Revelation from the Reformed Tradition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Te Velde, Dolf, ed. 2015. Synopsis of a Purer Theology, vol. 1. Leiden: Brill.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thiel, John E. 2011. ‘Methodological Choices in Kelsey’s Eccentric Existence’. Modern Theology 27 (1): 1–13.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thomas, Gabrielle. 2019. The Image of God in the Theology of Gregory of Nazianzus. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Turkle, Sherry. 2010. ‘In Good Company? On the Threshold of Robotic Companions’. In Close Engagements with Artificial Companions: Key Social, Psychological, Ethical and Design Issues, edited by Wilks, Yorick, 3–10. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Turretin, Francis. 1992–1997. Institutes of Elenctic Theology. Translated by George Musgrave Giger. 3 vols., edited by James T. Dennison Jr. Phillipsburg, KS: P&R Publishing.Google Scholar
Vainio, Oli-Pekka. 2014. ‘Imago Dei and Human Rationality’. Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science 49 (1): 121–134.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vallor, Shannon. 2015. ‘Moral Deskilling and Upskilling in a New Machine Age: Reflections on the Ambiguous Future of Character’. Philosophy and Technology 28: 107–124 https://doi.org/10.1007/s13347-014-0156-9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vallor, Shannon 2016. Technology and the Virtues: A Philosophical Guide to a Future Worth Wanting. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vallor, Shannon 2024. The AI Mirror: How to Reclaim Our Humanity in an Age of Machine Learning. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Asselt, Van, Willem, J. 2011. ‘Scholasticism in the Time of Early Orthodoxy (ca. 1560–1620)’. In Introduction to Reformed Scholasticism, Beeke, Joel R. and Collier, Jay T. (Eds.), 103–131. Grand Rapids, MI: Reformation Heritage Books.Google Scholar
Van Eyghen, Hans. 2016. ‘Two Types of “Explaining Away” Arguments in the Cognitive Science of Religion’. Zygon: Journal of Religion & Science 51 (4): 966–982.Google Scholar
Van den Brink, Gijsbert. 2011. ‘Are We Still Special? Evolution and Human Dignity’. Neue Zeitschrift für systematische Theologie und Religionsphilosophie 53 (3): 318–332.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van den Brink, Gijsbert 2020. Reformed Theology and Evolutionary Theory. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.Google Scholar
Van Huyssteen, J. Wentzel. 2006. Alone in the World? Human Uniqueness in Science and Theology. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.Google Scholar
Visala, Aku. 2014. ‘Imago Dei, Dualism, and Evolution: A Philosophical Defense of the Structural Image of God’. Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science 49 (1): 101–120.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Visala, Aku 2015a. ‘Cognition, Brain, and Religious Experience: A Critical Analysis’. In Handbook of Neuroethics, edited by Clausen, Jens and Levy, Neil, 1553–1568. Dordrecht: Springer.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Visala, Aku 2015b. ‘Theological Anthropology and the Cognitive Sciences’. In The Ashgate Research Companion to Theological Anthropology, edited by Farris, Joshua Ryan and Taliaferro, Charles, 57–71. Farnham: Ashgate.Google Scholar
Visala, Aku 2018. ‘Will the Structural Theory of the Image of God Survive Evolution?’ In Finding Ourselves after Darwin: Conversations on the Image of God, Original Sin, and the Problem of Evil, edited by Rosenberg, Stanley P., Burdett, Michael, Lloyd, Michael, and Van den Toren, Benno, 64–78. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic.Google Scholar
Visala, Aku, and Fuentes, Agustín. 2015. ‘Human Nature(s): Human Nature at the Crossroad of Conflicting Interests’. Theology and Science 13 (1): 25–42.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
von Rad, Gerhard. 1973. Genesis: A Commentary. Translated by John H. Marks. Revised ed. Hardcopy. Philadelphia: Westminster.Google Scholar
Vozna, Alina, and Costantini, Stefania. 2025. ‘Ethical, Legal, and Societal Dimensions of AI-Driven Social Robots in Elderly Healthcare’. Intelligenza Artificiale 19 (1): 30–40.Google Scholar
Walton, John H. 2006. Ancient Near Eastern Thought and the Old Testament: Introducing the Conceptual World of the Hebrew Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic.Google Scholar
Welker, Michael. 2021. In God’s Image: An Anthropology of the Spirit. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.Google Scholar
Wenham, Gordon J. 1987. Genesis 1–15. Vol. 1. Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 1987. Word Biblical Commentary, vol. 1. Dallas, TX: Word Books.Google Scholar
Westermann, Claus. 1994. Genesis 1–11: A Continental Commentary. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress.Google Scholar
White, Claire. 2018. ‘What Does the Cognitive Science of Religion Explain?’ In New Developments in the Cognitive Science of Religion: The Rationality of Religious Belief, edited by van Eyghen, Hans, Peels, Rik, and van den Brink, Gijsbert, 35–49. Cham: Springer.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wilks, Yorick, ed. 2010. Close Engagements with Artificial Companions: Key Social, Psychological, Ethical and Design Issues. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Willard, Aiyana K., and Norenzayan, Ara. 2013. ‘Cognitive Biases Explain Religious Belief, Paranormal Belief, and Belief in Life’s Purpose’. Cognition 129: 379–391.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wong, Kam Ming. 2008. Wolfhart Pannenberg on Human Destiny. Ashgate new critical thinking in religion, theology, and biblical studies. Aldershot: Ashgate.Google Scholar
Ximian, Xu. 2017. ‘The Dialogue between Herman Bavinck and Mou Zongsan on Human Nature and Its Quality’. Journal of Reformed Theology 11 (3): 298–324.Google Scholar
Ximian, Xu 2023a. ‘Human Sustainability in the Age of Technology: A Theological Proposal on Technomoral Human Futures’. In Issues in Science and Theology: Global Sustainability, edited by Fuller, Michael, Harris, Mark, Leidenhag, Joanna, and Runehov, Anne, 187–196. Cham: Springer.Google Scholar
Ximian, Xu 2023b. ‘A Theological Account of Artificial Moral Agency’. Studies in Christian Ethics 36 (3): 642–659.Google Scholar
Ximian, Xu 2024. The Digitalised Image of God: Artificial Intelligence, Liturgy, and Ethics. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Ximian, Xu 2025. ‘Hope, Christian Morality, and the Ethics of Predictive AI’. Studies in Christian Ethics 38 (2): 183–200.Google Scholar
Yaden, David B., and Newberg, Andrew B.. 2022. The Varieties of Spiritual Experience: 21st Century Research and Perspectives. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zimmerman, Dean. 1999. ‘The Compatibility of Materialism and Survival: The “Falling Elevator” Model’. Faith and Philosophy: Journal of the Society of Christian Philosophers 16 (2): 194–212.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Accessibility standard: WCAG 2.1 AA
Why this information is here
This section outlines the accessibility features of this content - including support for screen readers, full keyboard navigation and high-contrast display options. This may not be relevant for you.Accessibility Information
The HTML of this element
complies with version 2.1 of the
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
(WCAG), covering newer accessibility requirements and improved
user experiences and achieves the intermediate
(AA)
level of WCAG compliance, covering a wider range of accessibility requirements.
Content Navigation
Table of contents navigation
Allows you to navigate directly to chapters, sections, or non‐text items through a linked table of contents, reducing the need for extensive scrolling.
Allows you to navigate directly to chapters, sections, or non‐text items through a linked table of contents, reducing the need for extensive scrolling.
Reading Order & Textual Equivalents
Single logical reading order
You will encounter all content (including footnotes, captions, etc.) in a clear, sequential flow, making it easier to follow with assistive tools like screen readers.
You will encounter all content (including footnotes, captions, etc.) in a clear, sequential flow, making it easier to follow with assistive tools like screen readers.
Short alternative textual descriptions
You get concise descriptions (for images, charts, or media clips), ensuring you do not miss crucial information when visual or audio elements are not accessible.
You get concise descriptions (for images, charts, or media clips), ensuring you do not miss crucial information when visual or audio elements are not accessible.
Visual Accessibility
Use of colour is not sole means of conveying information
You will still understand key ideas or prompts without relying solely on colour, which is especially helpful if you have colour vision deficiencies.
You will still understand key ideas or prompts without relying solely on colour, which is especially helpful if you have colour vision deficiencies.
Structural and Technical Features
ARIA roles provided
You gain clarity from ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) roles and attributes, as they help assistive technologies interpret how each part of the content functions.
You gain clarity from ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) roles and attributes, as they help assistive technologies interpret how each part of the content functions.