The Image of God

by Glenn S. Sunshine

The Image of God is the centerpiece of the Bible's teaching about what it truly means to be human. In this book, Glenn Sunshine discusses fourteen aspects of the Image of God, what it has meant in history, and its implications for today. By exploring the story of the creation in Genesis, Sunshine details what the Bible says about human purpose and abilities, the effects of sin on humanity, the impact of redemption, and the restoration of humanity's original calling in Christ. Questions offered at the end of each chapter make The Image of God ideal for personal or group study.

Genres: Christian

106 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 1, 2013

Reviews

[Daniel Kolb · Rating 2 out of 5]

Might make for a good Bible study but many of these kinds of books feels as though it wants to go in way too many simultaneous directions and lacks scholarly definition. It doesn't even know whether it wants to approach the subject matter from a progressive or fundamentalist perspective and so in its effort to appeal to the various sects of Protestant Christians it ends up being bland and equivicating.

A big 'fail' is when talking about Original Sin it says as an explanation for why Jesus doesnt have Original Sin in a footnote, "This probably has something to do with the virgin birth though how sin is transmitted is not explained in Scripture." Wow very profound.

It talks about how Christianity has very modern beliefs about women compared to other religions and blamed all misogyny on the ancient Greeks. Honestly despite this claim it doesnt really give very much evidence that this is the case. The one thing that the author points out is that Eve is formed from Adams side implying that men and women should be side by side and thus equal. Whereas there is a nugget of insight there, the author then goes on to mention the part where Adam 'names' Eve and subjugates her like he does when he names animals...

There's no God-Images for women to aspire to as Mary's spirituality is de-emphasized as is the feminine aspect of God (Sophia/Wisdom in Proverbs) like all books that tend to be written in modern Protestant Evangelical based perspective. Jesus and the Father are emphasized and very little thought is given to the Holy Spirit and how it influences the Imago Dei.
It sees God as the just this summum bonum and fails to see the nature of the Divine with any sort of sophistication.
I believe that this is rather the author's Image of God but he presents a pretty generic imagine as it turns out.

[Joy L · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m waffling between 3 and 4 stars because much of the book is excellent content, but there were several moments where I would have liked to see biblical backing for comments that seemed more informed by white conservative male culture. It felt a bit like a draft or an outline for a book.

Overall, it was a thought provoking little book on a topic I’d love to see discussed more among Christians.

[Stephen Bedard · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short examination of what the image of God means for every aspect of life. Each chapter has questions that can be used for group study or self-reflection. I'm not necessarily convinced by his specific view of the image of God but that doesn't take away from the value of the book.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Concise and clear

Glenn presents a well argued and thoughtfully organized presentation of the implications of Genesis 1:26-27. It is a compact volume that should be on every believer's list of books to be frequently reread.

[Jack Dekkinga · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good stuff. Make it a significant study by spending significant time with the chapter questions.