The question of what it means for Christ to be the "image of God," or imago dei, lies at the heart of the Christological debates of the fourth century. Is an image a derivation from its source? Are they two separate substances? Does an image serve to reveal its source? Is an image ontologically inferior to its source? In this book, Gerald P. Boersma examines three Western pro-Nicene theologies of the imago dei, which tackle the question of whether human beings and Christ can both be considered to be the "image of God." Boersma goes on to examine Augustine's early theology of the imago dei, prior to his ordination (386-391). According to Boersma, Augustine's early thought posits that Christ is an image of equal likeness to God, while a human being is an image of unequal likeness. He argues that although Augustine's early theology of image builds on that of Hilary of Poitiers, Marius Victorinus, and Ambrose of Milan, Augustine was able to affirm, in ways that his predecessors were not, how both Christ and the human person can be considered the imago dei.

What does it mean for Christ to be the "image of God"? And, if Christ is the "image of God," can the human person also unequivocally be understood to be the "image of God"? Augustine''s Early Theology of Image examines Augustine''s conception of the imago dei and makes the case that it represents a significant departure from the Latin pro-Nicene theologies of Hilary of Poitiers, Marius Victorinus, and Ambrose of Milan only a generation earlier.Augustine''s predecessors understood the imago dei principally as a Christological term designating the unity of divine substance. But, Gerald P. Boersma argues, Augustine affirms that Christ is an image of equal likeness, while the human person is an image of unequal likeness. Boersma''s careful study thus argues that a Platonic and participatory evaluation of the nature of "image" enables Augustine''s early theology of the image of God to move beyond that of his Latin predecessors and affirm the imago dei both of Christ and of the human person.

What does it mean for Christ to be the "image of God"? And, if Christ is the "image of God," can the human person also unequivocally be understood to be the "image of God"? Augustine''s Early Theology of Image examines Augustine''s conception of the imago dei and makes the case that it represents a significant departure from the Latin pro-Nicene theologies of Hilary of Poitiers, Marius Victorinus, and Ambrose of Milan only a generation earlier.Augustine''s predecessors understood the imago dei principally as a Christological term designating the unity of divine substance. But, Gerald P. Boersma argues, Augustine affirms that Christ is an image of equal likeness, while the human person is an image of unequal likeness. Boersma''s careful study thus argues that a Platonic and participatory evaluation of the nature of "image" enables Augustine''s early theology of the image of God to move beyond that of his Latin predecessors and affirm the imago dei both of Christ and of the human person.

According to the standard Thomistic account, God can be known both by nature and revelation. The first is the terrain of metaphysics, which knows God as the cause of his created effects. The second is theology, which knows God through the words in which he has revealed himself. Often neglected, however, is a third way that Aquinas maintains God can be known. Affective knowledge, which proceeds by way of intuition, experience, and union, is fundamental to Aquinas's theological method. The central claim of this book is that, for Aquinas, the new life of grace given in baptism also entails a new affective, connatural knowledge of the things of God. This "loving knowledge," which finds its consummation in beatific knowing, reverberates throughout Aquinas's theological epistemology, underwriting his account of the doctrine of gifts of the Holy Spirit, divine indwelling, the spiritual senses, and theological contemplation.

The question of what it means for Christ to be the "image of God," or imago dei, lies at the heart of the Christological debates of the fourth century. Is an image a derivation from its source? Are they two separate substances? Does an image serve to reveal its source? Is an image ontologically inferior to its source? In this book, Gerald P. Boersma examines three Western pro-Nicene theologies of the imago dei, which tackle the question of whether human beings and Christ can both be considered to be the "image of God." Boersma goes on to examine Augustine's early theology of the imago dei, prior to his ordination (386-391). According to Boersma, Augustine's early thought posits that Christ is an image of equal likeness to God, while a human being is an image of unequal likeness. He argues that although Augustine's early theology of image builds on that of Hilary of Poitiers, Marius Victorinus, and Ambrose of Milan, Augustine was able to affirm, in ways that his predecessors were not, how both Christ and the human person can be considered the imago dei.

What does it mean for Christ to be the "image of God"? And, if Christ is the "image of God," can the human person also unequivocally be understood to be the "image of God"? Augustine''s Early Theology of Image examines Augustine''s conception of the imago dei and makes the case that it represents a significant departure from the Latin pro-Nicene theologies of Hilary of Poitiers, Marius Victorinus, and Ambrose of Milan only a generation earlier.Augustine''s predecessors understood the imago dei principally as a Christological term designating the unity of divine substance. But, Gerald P. Boersma argues, Augustine affirms that Christ is an image of equal likeness, while the human person is an image of unequal likeness. Boersma''s careful study thus argues that a Platonic and participatory evaluation of the nature of "image" enables Augustine''s early theology of the image of God to move beyond that of his Latin predecessors and affirm the imago dei both of Christ and of the human person.

What does it mean for Christ to be the "image of God"? And, if Christ is the "image of God," can the human person also unequivocally be understood to be the "image of God"? Augustine''s Early Theology of Image examines Augustine''s conception of the imago dei and makes the case that it represents a significant departure from the Latin pro-Nicene theologies of Hilary of Poitiers, Marius Victorinus, and Ambrose of Milan only a generation earlier.Augustine''s predecessors understood the imago dei principally as a Christological term designating the unity of divine substance. But, Gerald P. Boersma argues, Augustine affirms that Christ is an image of equal likeness, while the human person is an image of unequal likeness. Boersma''s careful study thus argues that a Platonic and participatory evaluation of the nature of "image" enables Augustine''s early theology of the image of God to move beyond that of his Latin predecessors and affirm the imago dei both of Christ and of the human person.

According to the standard Thomistic account, God can be known both by nature and revelation. The first is the terrain of metaphysics, which knows God as the cause of his created effects. The second is theology, which knows God through the words in which he has revealed himself. Often neglected, however, is a third way that Aquinas maintains God can be known. Affective knowledge, which proceeds by way of intuition, experience, and union, is fundamental to Aquinas's theological method. The central claim of this book is that, for Aquinas, the new life of grace given in baptism also entails a new affective, connatural knowledge of the things of God. This "loving knowledge," which finds its consummation in beatific knowing, reverberates throughout Aquinas's theological epistemology, underwriting his account of the doctrine of gifts of the Holy Spirit, divine indwelling, the spiritual senses, and theological contemplation.