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This was the third and final in a series of three study days on the doctrine of humanity.
In July 2020 the annual Oak Hill School of Theology was hosted live online. The theme of the event was 'Image bearers', looking at the questions: How do we exercise power in ways that honour the image of God in others? How should the church uphold the most vulnerable in our society? What should we make of attempts to “upgrade” humanity with new technologies and the rise of artificial intelligence?
The sessions of the day were:
Session 1: The Image of God in Scripture and Theology – David Shaw
The foundation for the day was laid in the first session, drawing together the biblical and theological accounts of the image of God from previous years, and establishing a framework for our ethical reflection in the rest of the day.
Session 2: The Image of God and Tech - John Wyatt
We are witnessing an explosion of interest and investment in “upgrading” humanity with new technologies and in the development of artificial intelligence systems to support and serve us. Theological and ethical issues abound, and so our second session introduced us to the debates and reflect on how a biblical anthropology speaks to them.
- John Wyatt is Emeritus Professor of Neonatal Paediatrics, Ethics & amp; Perinatology at University College London. He is also a senior researcher at the Faraday Institute for Science and Religion, Cambridge.
Session 3: The Image of God and Life – Andrew Nicholls
If the church is only just beginning to frame an answer to uses of biotechnologies, we have given much more thought to the human embryo as human, made in the image of God and so worthy of protection. But how does the church engage on this emotive issue most effectively and plausibly? Andrew Nicholls helped us with that urgent question.
Session 4: The Image of God and Power – Mark Meynell
We are all horribly familiar with the abuse of power in our culture and, tragically, in the church. As evangelicals we are beginning to wrestle with the many issues involved. One strand will be to recover a biblical anthropology, and so in our final session Mark Meynell helped us explore what humanity’s creation in the image of God means for the communities we create and the power we exercise.
- Mark Meynell is Director (Europe & Caribbean) for Langham Preaching and is the author of A Wilderness of Mirrors (Zondervan) and When Darkness Seems My Closest Friend (IVP). He is currently co-editing a volume of essays on Christian Ministry and Power Abuse.
