"This book examines the central role that the biblical idea the "image of God" has played in the development of Western civilization. Focusing on five themes-selfhood, freedom, conscience, equality, and meaning-it presents a cultural history of the Judeo-Christian tradition, from biblical times through modernity, suggesting also an answer for the troublesome question: Why the West?"--
The idea that all human beings were created in Gods image was core to the creation of the modern West
In Gods Image examines the central role that the idea that all people were created in the image of God played in the development of Western civilization. Focusing on five themesselfhood, freedom, conscience, equality, and meaningthe book guides the reader through a cultural history of the West, from ancient times through modernity. It explains how each of these ideals was profoundly influenced by the central biblical conception of humanitys creation in Gods image, embracing an essential equality among all people, while also emphasizing each human lifes singularity and significance.
The book argues that the West, and particularly Protestant Christianity, grew out of ideas rooted deeply in this notion, and that it played a core role in the development of individualism, liberalism, human rights discourse, and indeed the secularization process. Making the case for a cultural understanding of history, the volume focuses on ideas as agents of change and challenges the common scholarly emphasis on material conditions. Offering an innovative perspective on the shaping of global modernity, In Gods Image examines the relationship between faith and society and posits the fundamental role of the idea of the image of God in the making of the moral ideals and social institutions we hold dear today.
The idea that all human beings were created in Gods image was core to the creation of the modern West
In Gods Image presents a concise cultural history of the West through the prism of the idea that all people were created in the divine image. In contrast to other cultures in ancient Mesopotamia, early Hebrew civilization applied the idea of creation in the image of God universally, to everyone, embracing an essential equality common to all people, while also emphasizing each human lifes singularity and significance. Tomer Persico places the evolution of the individual at the core of Western civilization, explaining the development of liberalism, human rights discourse, and secularization as different conclusions of the same presumption: that all humans are essentially significant autonomous beings.
Focusing on five themesselfhood, freedom, conscience, equality, and meaningPersico guides the reader through a cultural history of the Judeo-Christian tradition, from biblical times through modernity, explaining how each of these ideals was profoundly influenced by the central notion that every human being was created in the divine image of God. In doing so, he makes the case for a cultural understanding of history, focusing on ideas as agents of change, and challenging the common scholarly emphasis on material conditions. Offering an innovative perspective on the shaping of global modernity, In Gods Image posits the fundamental role of the idea of the image of God in the making of the moral ideals and social institutions that we hold dearly today.
