A Christian anthropology

1. A Christian anthropology Persons in relation

2. Humans in the Divine Image • ‘So God created humankind in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. Genesis 1.27 • What does it mean for humans to be created in the image of a Trinitarian God? • For God to exist in himself is to exist in relation • That relation is extended to his creation • Humans are inherently relational but maintain their particularity • Cf. Works of the Spirit (unity in diversity)

3. While the West upholds a form of individualism, it is, at the same time afraid of affirming particularity (especially at the expense of social cohesion) • Especially in America, the homogenizing and generalizing influences in the world tend to ‘smooth away distinctiveness and particularity.’ • A truly Trinitarian Christianity does justice to the person (I exist with the other as someone distinct but in relation to the other) as opposed to individualism (I exist apart from the other).

4. Individualism make all desires equal - and in so doing denies individual differences • it is a suppression of personal particularity thus individualism morphs into collectivism • Colin Gunton traces the root of this problem to the failure to consider relationality • in other words, it is necessary to both affirm the particular - that we are not the other - and at the same time to affirm our relatedness to one another in our particularity • We do not relate despite our differences but we relate because of and in our relations to one another • Our particularity is affirmed in relationship

5. Positive model • Relationships which respect particularity and the ‘otherness’ of the partner • Boundaries are respected but permeable • Mutual transformation • Result: affirmation of identity & personhood • Negative model • Failure to respect particularity • Absorption of the one into the other • Result: loss of identity • E.g. Spousal abuse