363: Carmen Joy Imes and Understanding Imago Dei

Does how we think about humanity—ourselves included—really matter? 

A bad understanding of the human person has led to everything from indifference to unspeakable atrocities. Worse still, some theological camps look at human beings so negatively that it shows in their interactions with others. 

Fortunately, the Bible gives us a way of viewing humanity through God's lens. Our guest today reminds us how to see humanity as the image of God that the Bible reveals us to be and what it means for us.

Dr. Carmen Joy Imes is associate professor of Old Testament at Biola University. She is the author of Being God’s Image: Why Creation Still Matters and Bearing God’s Name: Why Sinai Still Matters. Today, Dr. Imes shares with us the deep sense of calling she had as a girl, where it took her around the world, and how she entered biblical studies. She shares what the Bible says about the image of God and why it may not be what you've been told.

Dr. Imes' reminds us to treat everyone with the respect the image of God in them deserves.

Listen to the episode wherever you get your podcasts!

Stories Carmen shared:

• Growing up in Colorado in a Christian family
• Having a deep desire to learn new languages as a child
• Her parent’s sense of stewardship for her heart
• Feeling called to missions as a girl
• Preaching the message on a mission trip and getting sick
• How we lost the idea of the image of God in society
• Going to the Philippines as missionaries to Muslim communities
• Returning and going to seminary only to realize she needed a PhD
• What imago dei really means and why that matters
• Why we need to recognize ourselves a fully human

Great quotes from Carmen:

My worth does not come from what I do or what I produce.

We are fully embodied, three-dimensional people with loves and desires, and we need to actually attend to our loves and desires; those say much more about us than the doctrinal statements we affirm.

There is something that is truer and goes further back [than sin] and that is the imago dei.

Resources we mentioned:

• Carmen’s website 
• Being God’s Image: Why Creation Still Matters by Dr. Carmen Joy Imes
• Bearing God’s Name: Why Sinai Still Matters by Dr. Carmen Joy Imes
• You Are What You Love by James K.A. Smith
• Lectio 365

Related episodes:

• Beth Allison Barr and Christian Curiosity
• James Bryan Smith and Loved Beyond Imagination
• Kristin Kobes Du Mez and Knowing Christian History