Video: Made As Mirrors: Biblical and Neuroscientific Reflections on Imaging God

In Session 5, Dr. Joshua Moritz explores the imago Dei through Scripture (e.g., Genesis 1; Psalm 8) alongside contemporary neuroscience, arguing that humans are created to “mirror” God in relational, representational, and vocational ways. He sketches how findings in social cognition (often summarized under “mirror” systems) can illuminate, without replacing, classic theological accounts—helping explain how practices, communities, and attention shape persons who reflect God’s character. Moritz emphasizes that neuroscience offers descriptive insight into capacities by which we image God, while theology specifies the normative telos of that imaging.

Tyler Johnson responds appreciatively yet critically, urging careful boundaries: neuroscience is suggestive but provisional; claims about “mirror neurons” should not be overextended; and Christian talk of the imago must remain grounded in God’s self-revelation and Christological renewal. He presses questions about reductionism, the limits of empirical inference for moral agency, and the church’s role in cultivating practices that form people to mirror God faithfully. The exchange models constructive traffic between biblical theology and brain science without collapsing one into the other.

Timestamps

• Opening & introductions 00:00

• Biblical frame for the imago Dei ~04:00

• Neuroscience primer: social cognition and “mirror” systems ~12:00

• Imaging God as relational/representational/vocational ~20:00

• Practices and formation: how communities shape reflection ~28:00

• Method limits: what science can (and can’t) say theologically ~36:00

• Response (Tyler Johnson): cautions and Christological grounding ~44:00

• Audience Q&A: implications for ethics and discipleship ~54:00