What is Humanity's First & Final Calling | Sandra Richter

Lecture Title - The Servant, the Idol, & the Image of God: Isaiah’s Conversation with the Creation Account

Genesis 1–3 introduces the reader to a unique creature. One who is not only animate and gendered, but one who, unlike all the other creatures, is made in the ṣélem (“image”) of the Almighty. Genesis describes the animation of the creature and its installation in God’s garden as a precursor to the calling of all callings—the stewardship of creation. As the great story of redemption makes clear, the role of image-bearer is ̒ādām’s first and final calling. Yet with the fall, the image is twisted, and thereby God’s servant perverts his calling. In this lecture, Richter connects these great themes of Genesis—creation, fall, restoration—with the prophet Isaiah’s vision of what was and what is to come.

Sandra L. Richter (PhD Harvard University) is Robert H. Gundry Chair of Biblical Studies at Westmont College. She is author of The Epic of Eden: A Christian Entry into the Old Testament (IVP Academic, 2008) and Stewards of Eden: What Scripture Says About the Environment and Why It Matters (IVP Academic, 2020).

The Henry Center for Theological Understanding provides theological resources that help bridge the gap between the academy and the church. It houses a cluster of initiatives, each of which is aimed at applying practical Christian wisdom to important kingdom issues—for the good of the church, for the soul of the theological academy, for the sake of the world, and ultimately for the glory of God. The HCTU seeks to ground each of these initiatives in Scripture, and it pursues these goals collaboratively, in order to train a new generation of wise interpreters of the Word—lay persons and scholars alike—for the sake of tomorrow’s church, academy, and world.

Visit the HCTU website: https://henrycenter.tiu.edu/

Subscribe to the HCTU Newsletter: https://bit.ly/326pRL5

Listen to the HCTU Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/3uFnZby...

Connect with us!
  / henry_center  
  / henrycenter  
  / thehenrycenter  
  / thehenrycenter