In the Coming of God, he describes the relationship that exists between God and human beings as a “relatedness.” By creating his image on earth, the Creator puts himself in a particular relationship to this being. Therefore, Moltmann’s definition of the imago Dei is primarily concerns this relationship. This “relatedness” is ontological because it describes the being of humanity and the immortality of this relation that is characteristic of the human being. This immortality exists because humans are designated to be God’s image, which is an identifying characteristic that cannot be removed from humanity. For Moltmann, neither sin nor death can remove this designation from the human. He argues that the only way for humanity to cease being God’s image is if God chose to destroy humanity. Similarly, he argues that the relation humans share with God in “sonship or daughterhood” is an immortal relationship. This means this relationship is never ending, even in death, because humans have the promise of the resurrection to …show more content…
For Moltmann, the human as the image of God in the earth has a specific relationship to other human beings. This relationship consists of acting on behalf of others so that they can experience hope and life. Thus, in Moltmann’s theology, the imago Dei takes on a liberating character, as it is influenced by his political and liberation theologies. The human experiences of godlessness and of human suffering point to the call of Christians to bring liberation and humanization to these persons. Ton van Prooijen states that for Moltmann theological anthropology must be liberating, so that dehumanized human beings can find their humanity. Therefore, liberation becomes a main task of the restored human as the imago