Interpretations of the imago Dei

According to Entwistle, there are three main interpretations of the imago Dei: structural, functional, and relational.

• Structural interpretation sees the imago Dei as referring to some essential quality or characteristic that humans share with God. This could be something like the human capacity for reason, creativity, or moral agency.
• Functional interpretation sees the imago Dei as referring to the way in which humans are called to act in the world. This could involve things like caring for creation, exercising dominion over the earth, or reflecting God's love and compassion to others.
• Relational interpretation sees the imago Dei as referring to the relationship between humans and God. This could involve things like worship, prayer, and obedience to God's commands.

Entwistle argues that all three of these interpretations are valid, and that they can be seen as complementary rather than contradictory. He suggests that the structural interpretation provides a foundation for the functional and relational interpretations, and that the functional and relational interpretations help to flesh out the meaning of the structural interpretation. Here is a table that summarizes the three interpretations of the imago Dei according to Entwistle:

Interpretation	Focus	Example
Structural	Essential quality or characteristic that humans share with God	Reason, creativity, moral agency
Functional	Way in which humans are called to act in the world	Caring for creation, exercising dominion over the earth, reflecting God's love and compassion to others
Relational	Relationship between humans and God	Worship, prayer, obedience to God's commands

Sample Solution

According to Entwistle, there are three main interpretations of the imago Dei: structural, functional, and relational.