In God’s Image: An Anthropology of the Spirit.By Michael Welker. Translated by Douglas W. Stott. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2021. Pp. 167. $29.00 (cloth); $21.00 (paper); $19.95 (digital). ISBN: 9780802878748.

The publication of the Gifford Lectures by renowned thinkers is always an intellectual event. The reader turns to the volume not only with the expectation of insight into the author ’ s mind, but also to gain perspective on the religious tenor of our time. In this respect, and others to be mentioned, the reader will not be disappointed by Michael Welker ’ s slim, yet profound, book, In God ’ s Image: An Anthropology of the Spirit. Addressing some of the most pressing issues confronting people around the world, from justice to peace and freedom to truth, the work outlines a picture of human beings focused on the spirit. The reader is also taken into classical problems in Christian theology and is introduced to new ideas and ways of thinking about the human condition. The work aims, as Welker puts it, “ at a deeper and more nuanced understanding of the human spirit and the divine Spirit as a sound basis for natural theology and theology in general ” (ix). The task is nothing less than to show how humanity can be “ transformed into a joyful and loving ‘ image of God ’” (x). Exploring how to be transformed into the image of God also provides, on Welker ’ account, the grounds of ethics and the shape of life within diverse social and cultural realms. Some will be taken back by such claims about the imago Dei while others will find new energy in the theological task. Every reader, I judge, will be challenged and enlightened.