Michael Welker

Zum Bild Gottes Michael Welker

In his Gifford Lectures 2019/2020 Michael Welker explores the workings of the divine and human spirit in our late modern pluralistic cultures. Drawing not only on religious sources but also on experiences in dialogue with representatives of the natural sciences, law, philosophy and sociology, he gains insights into the multimodal workings of the spirit. While numerous developments in the history of mankind make its determination to be in the image of God highly questionable, the multimodal spirit of justice, freedom, truth and peace opens up the forces that make life possible according to this determination. This new approach to a natural theology makes clear why the human and divine spirit cannot be adequately grasped in bipolar relationships and why the human spirit cannot be reduced to thinking. The book seeks to clarify what the determination of the human being to be in the image of God means - a life marked by the spirit of justice, freedom, truth and peace.