Preface
An article by Thomas G. Weinandy titled “St. Irenaeus and the Imago Dei: The Importance of Being Human” explores the emergence of a Christian spiritual anthropology in the writings of Irenaeus, an early father of the Church, and enables us to contemplate the deep significance of the biblical concept of the human person as created in the image of God, surely the foundational concept for any biblically grounded anthropology. Weinandy shows that Irenaeus wrestled with Gnostic teachings, drawing on the revelation inherent in the incarnate Word to reach a theological understanding of what it means to be made in God’s image: “Irenaeus perceived the biblical truth that it is first and foremost God the Son who is the perfect image and likeness of God the Father, and thus for us to be created in the image and likeness of God is to be created in the image and likeness of the Son.” This understanding of the human person brings us “to appreciate and even rejoice in our bodily existence.” A trinitarian understanding of the human person enables us to capture the dynamic complexity and beauty of the human person as a creature of high dignity: we are created in the image of the Son, we find our hearts filled with love of the Father, and we discover that we are capable of participating in the life of the Father and the Son through the Holy Spirit dwelling within us.
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