What does it mean to be human before God?

The image of God is examined here through human identity, dignity, relationships, embodiment, and vocation. A second group of studies asks how the soul, brain, and personal continuity relate to resurrection hope. These are connected questions, but an argument about human worth is not identical to an argument for substance dualism. Follow the shared canonical setting while assessing each philosophical and exegetical claim on its own terms.

Start Here

Questions to Explore

• How do structural, relational, and vocational accounts of the divine image fit together?
• How should human dignity shape life in community and the use of technology?
• What relationships between body, soul, and resurrection do these studies defend?

Browse the Readings

Choose a question or follow the suggested sequence above. Each link opens an article guide with a route to the complete study on Substack. Watch and Listen resources are available there where provided.

Image-bearing identity and vocation

• The Crown of the Cosmic Temple: Recovering the Ontological Identity and Vocation of the Imago Dei
• The Blueprint of Human Identity: Recovering a Hebraic Theological Anthropology within the Promise-Plan of God
• The Crown of the Cosmic Temple: Recovering the Ontological Identity and Royal-Priestly Vocation of the Imago Dei within the Promise-Plan of God
• The Divine Origin of the Ensouled Image: Theological Anthropology, Adamic Headship, and the Promise-Plan of God
• The Ontological Crown of the Cosmic Temple: Reconstructing the Imago Dei against Pragmatic Utilitarianism within the Promise-Plan of God
• The Fracture of Sacred Space and the Human Project: Reclaiming the Imago Dei against Cosmic Rebellion and Imperial Centralization within the Promise-Plan of God
• The Human Quest: Embodied Wisdom, the Imago Dei, and the Promise-Plan of God
• The Imago Dei and the Cosmic Temple
• The Visual Narrative and Ontological Architecture of the Imago Dei
• Tzelem and the Cosmic Temple

Embodiment, soul, and resurrection

• The Ensouled Image: Reconstructing Theological Anthropology, Personal Identity, and the Promise-Plan of God
• Irenaeus and the Ontological Recapitulation of Man: A Soteriological Analysis of Cosmic and Anthropological Restoration
• The Resurrected Body and the Future of Human Identity: An Exegetical, Canonical, and Promise-Plan Synthesis
• The Soul and the Brain: A Biblical-Theological and Philosophical Defense of Substance Dualism within the Promise-Plan of God
• The Case for the Immaterial Soul: Philosophical Defenses, Canonical Foundations, and Promise-Plan Integration
• The Mind-Body Interaction

Community, dignity, and cultural life

• The Beloved Community: Corporate Imago Dei, Embodied Reconciliation, and Vocational Co-Laboring within the Promise-Plan of God
• Theological Anthropology and Human Cultural Identity
• Gender, Metaphysics, and the Divine Icon
• The Ontological Foundations of Human Dignity: A Biblical-Theological and Philosophical Refutation of “Speciesism”
• The Mind, the Machine, and the Promise-Plan