The Importance of Imago Dei Concept in Healthcare

The Imago Dei Concept in Healthcare

The Christian worldview plays a significant role in healthcare by enhancing the roles of spirituality and ethics in providing quality care to patients. Essentially, the Bible offers fundamental insights into the sense of existence, relationships between God and people, and the essentiality of applying humanity in healthcare. Often, the Bible contains narratives that impart meaning to healthcare professionals and other stakeholders. For example, the creation narrative is fundamental in establishing the focal point for a meaningful relationship between God, humans, and other creations.

Out of the creation narrative, the Imago Dei concept is strategic in harnessing human’s position in nature. In this sense, the Imago Dei “image of God” perspective positions human beings as unique creatures that share close physical, spiritual, and intellectual aspects with God. Although the “image of God” concept attracts varying perceptions and interpretations, it is essential to argue that it sets high moral, intellectual, and spiritual standards for human beings by likening them to God, the creator (Trothen, 2017). As a result, the belief that God created humans in his image plays a crucial role in defining how people relate with nature, including among themselves.

The Imago Dei concept endorses moral, spiritual, and intellectual principles that guide humans. In this sense, people should reflect Godly principles by embracing ethics and spirituality because they represent God. In the modern healthcare systems, ethical and spiritual worldviews play significant roles in establishing collective understanding and promoting quality services. As a result, the “image of God” perspective is a focal point for healthcare professionals to understand various challenges facing patients (Cherry, 2017). Consequently, it is possible to provide hope, faith, love, and justice when providing healthcare services. Finally, applying spiritual and ethical considerations in clinical settings allows caregivers and patients to establish effective end-of-life care by improving personal preparedness and easy acceptance of God’s will for human life. Arguably, these considerations render the Christian worldview of Imago Dei vital in promoting quality healthcare services.

References

Cherry, M. (2017). Created in the Image of God: Bioethical implications of the Imago Dei. Christian Bioethics: Non-Ecumenical Studies in Medical Morality, 23(3), 219-233. https://doi.org/10.1093/cb/cbx009

Trothen, T. (2017). Moral bioenhancement through an intersectional Theo-ethical lens: Refocusing on divine image-bearing and interdependence. Religions, 8(5), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel8050084