New Book Announcement: Being God's Image: Why Creation Still Matters

 

Being God's Image: Why Creation Still Matters
(IVP) official releases on June 6.

Bearing God's Name: Why Sinai Still Matters has a prequel! Being God's Image: Why Creation Still Matters is my attempt to demonstrate what the Bible teaches about being human in God's world. 

Like the first book, this one is accessible and easy to read. It's a work of biblical theology that traces a theme through the entire Bible. Like the first book, this one is neatly divided into 10 chapters of roughly equal length making it ideal for a small group study or classroom use. Like the first book, this one includes discussion questions and QR codes that link to relevant videos from the Bible Project for each chapter. 

Unlike the first book, this one is not based on my dissertation research. Instead, I'm introducing you to the work of other brilliant scholars who have taught me so much.

Here are some of the key ideas in Being God's Image:

• Every human is the image of God.
• Our identity as God's image cannot be lost or destroyed.
• The imago Dei is the basis for human dignity.
• Our status as God's image comes with responsibility to benevolently rule creation.
• This responsibility is shared by both men and women, who are equally God's image.
• Our embodiment is the key marker of our human identity.
• The fact that Christ became an embodied human reaffirms the goodness of creation.
• Christ's bodily resurrection signals that in the new creation, our bodies will still matter.
• We await resurrection, too, and eternal life in the new creation.

Throughout the book, I consider the implications of these doctrinal claims for a host of issues: creation care, sexuality, pornography, gender roles, race, ability/disability, work, prayer, suffering, healing, human emotion, the quest for meaning, and more. Because these are controversial issues, readers may find themselves disagreeing with my conclusions now and then. This book is not meant to be the final word on anything, but I hope it furthers the conversation on issues that matter if we're serious about living in alignment with Scripture.

The book will also be available on June 6 in Kindle format, for Logos Bible software, and as an audiobook, read by yours truly!

Until June 5, you can pre-order physical copies directly from InterVarsity Press for 30% off and FREE shipping using the discount code IMES30. The books have already arrived in the warehouse, so you should get yours right away!