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The Imago Dei

A Holistic Account

Expected online publication date:  16 March 2026

Ximian Xu
Affiliation:
University of Cambridge

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.

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Online ISBN: 9781009642569
Publisher: Cambridge University Press

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The Imago Dei
  • Ximian Xu, University of Cambridge
  • Online ISBN: 9781009642569
Available formats No formats are currently available for this content.
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The Imago Dei
  • Ximian Xu, University of Cambridge
  • Online ISBN: 9781009642569
Available formats No formats are currently available for this content.
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Save element to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

The Imago Dei
  • Ximian Xu, University of Cambridge
  • Online ISBN: 9781009642569
Available formats No formats are currently available for this content.
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