The Interdisciplinary Nature of Christian Formation
One can view Christian formation as one might view the facets of a cut diamond. No one facet represents the complete gemstone. In fact, each of the facets that comprise the diamond contributes to its overall brilliance and value. The job of the gem cutter, then, is to cut the diamond in a way that maximizes the quality and integrity of the stone to reflect light, so as to create its appealing sparkle. Such is the case with Christian formation. Several facets, or dimensions, comprise the Christian life, with each one contributing to the overall character of the individual, as he or she reflects the light and life of Christ as shaped and enlivened by the Holy Spirit.
Christian formation is best described as an interactive process by which God the Father conforms believers into the image of Jesus through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit by overseeing the development of the whole person in various life dimensions for the sake of others. 1 God the Father oversees the process. As Redeemer, Jesus the Son provides the impetus and model as the perfect image of God into which followers are to be conformed. The Holy Spirit provides the divine love and power that causes the process to take place and advance.
The apostle Paul refers to this ongoing transformation process: “And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed [Gr. metamorphoomai] into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit” (2 Cor 3:18). 2 The process of Christian formation is ongoing, as well as the outcome of the Spirit’s dynamic work in and through the life of the believer. Romans 8:26–29 further attests to this process of being conformed to the likeness of God’s Son through the Spirit who assists in human weakness while also searching the heart.
Human dimensionality is robust in its composition, expression, and capacity for growth in a holistic manner into Christlikeness. Pope Benedict XVI highlighted the importance of viewing the holistic integration of human dimensions in a 2005 speech to the Pontifical Academies of Sciences and Social Sciences at the unveiling of a statue of Pope John Paul II. He noted, “According to God’s design, persons cannot be separated from the physical, psychological or spiritual dimensions of human nature.” 3 The individual reflects multiple dimensions, such that human identity is shaped across time through the interactive effects of the sovereign grace of God, personal volition, life circumstances, and interpersonal relationships and interactions.
All elements of life contribute to the shaping of individual character, attitudes, values and beliefs, habits, personal calling, vocation, and worldview. 4 From Christian anthropology, the perspective concerning what it means to be human, we intuit that humankind has capacity in several dimensions, not the least of which is the spiritual, emotional, psychological, theological, and vocational. 5 God, however, also provides humankind with opportunity for growth into Christlikeness through other conduits, including the development of morality and virtue, 6 the refining seasons of suffering, 7 participation in the body of Christ, 8 and even stewardship of one’s physical body. 9 Embodiedness, as Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen emphasizes, is a vital part of theology: “Christian theology should hold fast to both the capacity for transcendence, which also enables a personal relation to the triune God, and the embodiedness of transcendence in materiality, the bodily nature of humanity.” 10 Thus, all life dimensions are designed to converge into a life of holiness, such that the life of Christ is reflected through all facets of life for the sake of others.
What it means to be human in theological perspective has captivated scholars from various disciplines throughout the centuries. The early church fathers, such as Irenaeus in “Against Heresies” and Augustine in De trinitate and Confessiones, 11 through the medieval era with Anselm of Canterbury’s Cur Deus Homo (Lat. “Why Did God Become Man?”) and Thomas Aquinas’s Summa Theologiae to Karl Barth’s “The Basic Form of Humanity” in Church Dogmatics, all addressed these theological issues related to creation, human identity, and why these are significant. 12
While biblical theologians have addressed these issues, secular writers have added to a cacophony of voices speaking into personhood (i.e., Martin Heidegger, Jean-Paul Satre, Albert Camus, and Paul Kurtz). Calling for a welcome return to a biblical account of human identity, theologian Richard Lints notes the “radical confusion about what it means to be human has … brought an opportunity for renewed reflection on the nature of human identity” in light of the rise of humanism and naturalism in the twentieth century. 13 In light of this confusion, we must locate our identity squarely in God as Creator, Savior, and Sustainer.
Theological anthropology provides clues as to the dynamics of the human person. 14 For example, contemporary writers predictably cover perspectives related to the biblical text, philosophy, the doctrine of sin and evil, the differentiation between male and female, morality, human freedom, and human activity in the world. More recently, however, this dialogue has proliferated with conversational partners from the sciences, including biology and neuroscience, to tease out what science might add to an understanding of what it means to be human.
For example, in addressing theological anthropology, Hans Schwarz offers a Lutheran perspective, with formative content on biology, the human brain, and neuroscience. 15 In David G. Kirchhoffer’s edited book from a Catholic perspective, various theologians take up Christian anthropology by evaluating broad topics inclusive of Karl Barth’s theology, the influence of the Catholic document Gaudium et Spes, 16 and ecology. 17 Yet other human dimensions relative to loving and serving God and others through holiness involve the emotions and care of the physical body, which are dimensions addressed within this volume. 18 To augment this discussion, we briefly turn to an overview of the imago Dei, which further brings into focus human multidimensionality with a view toward Christian formation.
Insights from Perspectives on the Imago Dei
For centuries, speculation has proliferated relative to the meaning of the imago Dei, as observed in the Genesis creation narrative (Gen 1:27–28). 19 What does it mean to be created in the image of God? And how should this influence our relationship with God, as we grow more into Christlikeness? From the onset, we must begin with the premise that God is love (1 Jn 4:8) and that God demonstrated divine love by creating all living things—inclusive of humankind.
Specifically, Paul Fiddes boldly asserts that God creates out of love and that love is “at the very heart of a doctrine of creation.” 20 Likewise, Jürgen Moltmann attests: “If God creates the world out of freedom, then he creates it out of love. Creation is not a demonstration of his boundless power; it is a communication of his love, which knows neither premises nor preconditions: creatio ex amore Dei.” By the Spirit, divine love expresses the mutuality of Father, Son, and Spirit as it reaches out in self-giving. 21 By sending His Son “to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins” (1 Jn 4:10), the apostle John makes clear that through loving others, God lives within by which the love of God is perfected (vs. 12). 22
Thus, the Spirit of love beckons humanity into a relationship with Christ as Redeemer, in order to transform the individual into greater depths of Christlikeness in all life dimensions. This process of being perfected in Christ is what New Testament scholar, Michael J. Gorman, calls “cruciformity,” or the process of being conformed to the crucified Christ. 23 For Gorman, cruciformity is a more suitable term than “imitation” when describing how believers are formed in Christ (Gal 4:9), considering the reality of the cross (Phil 3:10). 24 The chapters included in this volume on various dimensions of Christian formation all interface in some way with divine love, which is perfectly manifested through the character and life of Jesus, his death on the cross, and the Spirit’s empowerment.
Perspectives on the imago Dei comprise a long history. For example, writers such as Augustine, 25 Irenaeus, Thomas Aquinas, Martin Luther, and John Calvin offered nuanced interpretations of the imago Dei. Contemporary authors such as Karl Barth emphasized God’s transcendence, Catholic theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar viewed the imago Dei solely through relationship in Christ, and Jürgen Moltmann offered a more expansive relational model of the imago Dei, emphasizing the dignity of humanity in intimate relationship with God. 26 As J. Richard Middleton concedes, interpreting the imago Dei is challenging, and interpreters retain their own set of lenses in assessing its meaning. 27 However, interpreters agree that the imago Dei culminates in the person of Christ, whom the New Testament asserts is the very image of the invisible God (cf. Col 1:15–20). In affirmation, Wolfhart Pannenberg affirms: “the Imago Dei is existence in Jesus Christ, the Wor...