In my reading and research for my Old Testament essay, out of which came my pondering post on Karl Barth on Sexual Difference in the Imago Dei, I was encouraged to read 'The Liberating Image' by Richard Middleton. This is a careful, thoughtful, academic book coming in at around 300 pages, and builds on his article of the same name, which I included in my 'Four Helpful Articles on the Imago Dei' post. Middleton is associate professor of biblical studies at Roberts Wesleyan College and associate professor of Bible and culture at Northeastern Seminary, both of which are in Rochester, New York, in the US.
The focus of this book is admirable, and contributes to it being so useful. Rather than looking at the theme of the Imago Dei in Christian theology, or biblical studies, or even in the Old Testament, Middleton restricts the scope of this study to Genesis 1. It is, as Middleton notes at the outset, the fruit of years of academic reflection, but this is a reflection done in concert with what the author calls 'my own life-long struggle with the question of identity'. Middelton's is an interesting story; 'extreme introversion and shyness I experienced as a child... and the fact that I grew up white in predominatnly black Jamaica', and sees the concept of the Imago Dei as being 'the single most seminal theological concept for my own developing self-image'. It is unusual, but refreshing, to have an academic book begin this way, and and is just the start of this being a very readable book.
After the aforementioned, intriguingly personal/biographical preface, Middleton proceeds to the meat of his book. 'The Liberating Image' is divided into three sections, 'The Meaning of the Image', 'The Social Context of the Image', and 'The Ethics of the Image'. The first and third parts comprise of two chapters, whilst the central part has three.
The first part of this book, then, 'The Meaning of the Image', is a careful look at the issues arising regarding the etymology and meaning of the Imago Dei. The first chapter, 'The Challenge of Interpreting the Imago Dei', and Middleton is a capable guide. We are walked through various historical understandings/engagements, across the disciplines of Old Testament Theology and Systematic Theology. Middleton has an interesting critique of Barth, noting that 'it is not clear that he fares any better than the interpreters he critiques'. His observation regarding the reception of Barth's 'relational reading', in my mind, creates a fruitful space for an approach combing relationality with something else. It is this that I explore in my summary of Anthony Thiselton's work, and hope to research further, building on a conference paper I presented recently. The second chapter, 'The Imago Dei in the Symbolic World of Genesis 1', reflects the authors word on attempting to understand 'the meaning of the Imago Dei in its primary literary context', which he identifies as being Genesis 1:1-2:3 in general, and 1:26-8 in particular. Middelton compares meanings of the Hebrew for selem (image) and demut (likeness), and finds this as being inconclusive for his overall project. This chapter contains overviews and explorations of key concepts such as the relevance of male/female, the role of rule, and the command of God to be frutiful.
The second part of this book, as noted, comprises three chapters under the heading 'The Social Context of the Image'. I found this immensely helpful for my own understanding of Genesis in context, though it was not directly related to my essay topic. The third chapter of the book, and first in this section, 'An Ancient Near Eastern Background for the Imago Dei', is a superb overview of all the different ideas and concepts that could have been loaded in/onto the term, and what that might mean for modern interpretation. The fourth chapter, 'The Matrix of Mesopotamian Ideology' deals with a range of ANE creation myths, and what (if any) aid they bring to a study of the Imago Dei in Genesis 1. The fifth chapter, 'Genesis 1-11 as Ideology Critique', is a helpful and powerful reminder of what God is doing through the human author of Genesis, and indeed in creation, in the 'articulation of an alternative construal of the human condition'. Middelton notes that this requires covering wider ground than Genesis 1 alone, but this is done carefully.
The third part of Middelton's work, then, 'The Ethics of the Image', moves from analysis and survey to what readers might see as the originally constructive elements of the project. Chapter 6, 'Created in the Image of a Violent God?', examining what the rule of humans over the earth might look like, in relation to the kind of God we see in the Old Testament. The author closes this chapter in tantalising fashion, pointing towards 'a positive paradigm or model for the exercise of human historical power in a world filled with violence...'. The seventh, and final, chapter, 'Imaging God's Primal Generosity' closes the book. Here Middleton answers the challenge he set at the end of chapter six, working through the structure of Genesis 1, with his notion of the Liberating Image coming into play, as he writes of God (in relation to humanity) 'inviting them to participate (as they are able) in the creative process itself'. The book ends with a powerful reflection of where Middleton is coming from; 'the liberating character of the imago Dei is grounded in the nature of God who calls the world into being as an act of generosity. This means that we cannot artificially separate our vision of God's redemptive love from an understanding of God's creative power...'. Middleton points from creation to new creation, winsomely challenging us that 'A careful reading of Genesis 1:1-2:3 thus converges on John 3:16'.
In conclusion, then, this is a powerful, careful, and almost prophetic piece of theology. Middleton is a helpful guide to the myriad of interpretative difficulties around this fundamental text, and his generally close focus on only Genesis 1 is helpful. Whilst my main area of interest is systematic, and not purely biblical (in the sense that I'm not doing my Dissertation on the Old or New Testament text), this will serve as a helpful companion as I continue to engage with and study the concept of the Imago Dei. This is not a book for everyone, but as an insight into a crucial academic area, The Liberating Image is an excellent piece of writing.
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