The Social God and the Relational Self: A Trinitarian Theology of the Imago Dei

by Stanley Grenz

In this volume, Stanley Grenz creatively extends the insights of contemporary Trinitarian thought to theological anthropology. The Social God and the Relational Self is an example of theological construction as an ongoing conversation involving biblical texts, the theological heritage of the Christian tradition, and the contemporary historical/social context. Grenz develops a communal understanding of the imago dei in the face of the demise of the centered self. He delineates the biblical/theological foundation for a new social conception of the divine image and reformulates an understanding of the self in a postmodern context, a context characterized by the loss of the self coupled with the quest for relationality in community. Grenz concludes by identifying the basis of the Trinitarian theological foundation for Christian anthropology and opens the door for the examination of other anthropological questions to be considered in light of the postmodern condition.

Genres: Theology, Nonfiction

360 pages, Paperback

First published April 15, 2001

Reviews

[Joyce del Rosario · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grenz explores the contours of the historical, contemporary and biblical anthropological theology of the trinity and the relationship to the imago dei but did so from a particular location. The irony of Grenz’s postmodern treatment of this topic is that it lacks the kind of diversity that the postmodern perspective should allow. Grenz’s social location as a Western male theologian has an impact on the approach to this discussion. His final chapter on the self within community lacks a robust conversation that could be had in a diverse and multicultural dialogue. The way we see community varies between cultural groups and an inclusion of those conversations could widen and bolster Grenz’s postmodern efforts.

[Daniel Im · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow. A fascinating and deep read to understand self, the formation of identity, the image of God in us, and the trinity. The only reason the book isn’t a 5 out of 5 is because of how difficult it was to read.

[Sabrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was deep. I had to stop to rest my brain throughout reading this book. It took me 7 months to read

[Mr. Dokkie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Super tough read. But quality content

[Jason Kanz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read The Social God and the Relational Self: A Trinitarian Theology of the Imago Dei (2001) by Stanley Grenz on the recommendation of Larry Crabb. When I attended his School of Spiritual Direction, there were several books and authors that he mentioned. Other than CS Lewis, who he mentions frequently, Crabb often spoke fondly about this book.

The Social God is an ambitious academic text. In seeking to explore the relationship between the Trinity, our notions of self, and the Imago Dei, Grenz covered a lot of ground. Briefly, he discusses numerous theologians from Iranaeus to Calvin to Barth to Moltmann. He also dives deeply into the psychological literature of the self from William James to Sigmund Freud to Abraham Maslow. Throw in discussions of Nietzsche, Kant, and Locke and you have a broad exploration of God in relation to the self.

I will confess that this was a challenging read for me. Academic neuropsychology is often difficult enough, not to mention a broad-ranging academic theology that relies, in some cases, on reference to original Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic. He also seemed to be balanced in his approach. Regardless, I found my thinking challenged, trying to understand topics like Rahner's Rule, the LaCugna Corollary, and the economic versus immanent Trinity. At at a more base, or practical level, this book was helpful to me in terms of understanding the importance of relating as a component of the Imago Dei. The penultimate chapter on The Imago Dei and Human Sexuality deserves a second read as it explores how the Imago Dei may be specifically expressed in our maleness and femaleness. I suspect that in what he wrote, both conservatives and liberals could find something with which to be offended.

I would recommend this book, but it is not for the faint of heart.

[Joseph Sverker]

It is very impressive to follow the sheer scope of Grenz's reading for this book. He covers an immensely broad ground and manage to do this with his credibility intact. I would recommend anyone who is interested to read about how the view of the "self" has changed through the history of time from Plato to now to read Grenz section on this. He bases his thought on Charles Taylor a fair bit, but he manages to cover the ground in about 100 pages rather than 500 and also Grenz include more of literature and contemporary psychology than what I can remember Taylor did. As such I think Grenz paints a fuller picture of the history of ideas behind the change from an communal to an inward individualistic self. Grenz's section on the human person in the Bible is somewhat dense in detail even though it is of great interest to me since I do research in the area. However, everything is neatly and succinctly tied up and analyzed in the final chapters. I was very impressed reading this book and it left me feeling a little bit superfluous if I was going to write simply about theological anthropology.

[Rodger · Rating 4 out of 5]

I will not lie to you. This is a very difficult book to understand. The parts I could understand were great and insightful. My reason for reading this book was to search my thesis on relationships. "The Image of God, in which we are created, is the basis for all the relationships of our lives." For that, Grenz was very helpful.

[Alfred · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome book, a great place to start for delving into Christian anthropology on what it means to be human. He offers three major perspectives on the meaning of the imago dei and how Christ is the perfect imago dei as the source and goal for a restored humanity.

[G Walker · Rating 2 out of 5]

See notes from his previous volume _The Named God_.

[Dennis Podryadchikov · Rating 5 out of 5]

A detailed approach to the problem of the lost and disintegrated self be focusing on the relationality of the Triune God who set an example in Jesus Christ.