The following paper summarizes the book titled “God, Freedom and Human Dignity,” written by Ron Highfield and published by IVP Academic. The author’s main objective in this book is to shed light on how human beings can embrace a God-centered identity in a culture where people are self-absorbed and self-regarding. This book is divided into sixteen chapters, each outlining very pertinent issues in matters of Christianity, God, human dignity, and freedom.
How the Me-Centered World Was Born
Throughout this chapter, the author points out in detail how the self-centered identity came into existence in human beings and society. The author argues that as children are born into society, they do not question their identity or what position they hold in life, but as they grow older by the day, they are molded into becoming full beings by the decisions they make and through exercising their talents and finding joy and satisfaction in their actions or endeavors.
The author explains that the exploration of human identity in the secular era draws down to the realm one is positioned in a moral expanse defined by particular goods and moral parameters (Highfield 6). A person’s orientation in this spectrum determines their actions and decisions. The author further declares that a moral expanse or space constitutes three vital coordinates: respect, fullness, and dignity. The interactions among human beings and their selves within these three coordinates determine one’s identity.
Defiance
The author focuses on the Promethean dimension of the modern self in this chapter. The author argues that we look at different things and discern them in varied ways as human beings. We consider some things to be pathways to joy and satisfaction, while others are barricades against attaining happiness. Under certain circumstances, a single thing can act as a pathway towards achieving happiness and a barrier to the same. The author uses this argument to explain how people view the existence of God (Highfield 7). He argues that the existence of God bears many merits towards the life of human beings, but some people are of the idea that God acts as a deterrent against their happiness. Such people think that God is the adversary, and therefore they defy him by selfishly safeguarding their freedom and honor against intrusion from God.
Subservience
In this chapter, the author focuses on the religion of idols, hypocrites, and hirelings. The author argues that the submission of human beings to God does not necessarily mean that people lack twisted views concerning God. He outlines that considering God as the most high or Supreme Being may give rise to two types of religion: a religion founded on fear or one that focuses on the rewards attached to submission and obedience. The author states that human beings are religious by nature and that even in the ancient world; people believed that natural forces were in charge of their existence and well-being (Highfield 8). The writer outlines that as human beings, we spontaneously tend to view God as the ultimate provider of all things we want, and therefore subservience is inevitable.
Indifference
The author in this chapeter shows how some people lack any interest in God. The author suggests that for a person to mislay the touch of the significance of God in their lives, they do not need to be atheists. The author points out that some people plunge themselves into the worldly affairs of searching for earthly joy, happiness, satisfaction, and conserving their delusional identities at the expense of knowing and accepting God. The author further argues that such people do not consider God as a pathway, nor do they show defiance (Highfield 9). They do not express any interest in thinking about him or presenting themselves before God for examination or guidance. He explains that such people may or may not easily discern the truth of Christianity.
The God of the Modern Self
The chapter describes how contemporary human beings view God. The author explains that God is superhuman and that he owns all the things desired by human beings. He argues that God embodies what human beings desire to be, having unlimited abilities and features. The author states that God is not a danger to human freedom or honor and that it is nonsensical for people to envy God (Highfield 10). The author further strongly challenges that since God has total freedom, other beings lack the same liberty. He suggests that if God is present in every place, the people have no place, and since God possesses all power, beings lack any say. The author points out that God is at the universe’s heart, hauling everything into him.
The Secret Aspirations of the Modern Self
This author uses this chapter to describe how contemporary human beings desire to achieve perfection and attain total freedom. He argues that people search for what they consider noble, honorable, and good and surely defy what they deem would act as potential barriers to achieving honorable and good things. Human beings are driven from one supposedly noble thing to the other due to their inherent aspirations and desires, without specific satisfaction limits (Highfield 11). He argues that as human beings, we possess undisciplined desires that are not in harmony with one another, and in the quest to achieve them, we get into disagreements with other people.
Some Unwelcome Limits on Freedom and Dignity
In this section, the author explores the peculiar discrepancy between the amplified self-concept of modernity and the veracity of the human condition. The intentional confrontation of the limitations of human freedom and dignity surely acts as the genesis of transforming a person from a self-centered identity to a God-centered one. The author argues that we are never contented with our basic existence as human beings, but some external forces push us to search for what we do not possess within us (Highfield 12). In seeking the satisfaction of our desires, we come across opposition due to barriers on our way. In a quest to overcome the barricades, we experience the idea of freedom. Human desires are limitless; therefore, freedom becomes a good thing, leading us to seek freedom as a desire.
The Self-Giving God of the Gospel
The chapter focuses on the aspects of God; God is selfless, kind, and loving. God’s love for humankind is so immense that he let Jesus Christ die on the cross for the people’s sins for them to receive salvation. The cost paid by Jesus on the cross shows how God is love. The author states the Christian story of redemption and creation depicts God as a fountain of abundance from which all good things flow (Highfield 14). He explains that even when we fall short of his glory, God does not abandon us; instead, he comes to our rescue. Everything we have and enjoy comes from God, our creator.
The Irony of Devine “Weakness”
In this chapter, the author focuses on God’s divine qualities: omnipotence and divine persuasion. The author points out that God is power, just as he is love and wisdom; God possesses all power and does not mislay, obtain or even use power. God created us out of his own volition; his power is not altered nor depleted by using it in the creation of humankind (Highfield 15). Essentially, we cannot exist on our own, nor can we do anything on our own unless God empowers us to be the people he wants us to become and do according to his will. The author argues that God is a perfect persuader such that he can move people without force, by permitting them to move towards attaining perfect happiness and immense satisfaction.
The Awakening Presence
In this chapter, the author outlines how the presence of God in our lives is vital and that His presence is not designed to harm us or invade our privacy. The author argues that even though we affirm to fancy our privacy, we crave the presence of others in our lives. Many reasons hinder the achievement of genuine presence, such as the agony and disappointment of our unsuccessful attempts to be with others might make us want to be alone (Highfield 16). Such difficulties put God’s omnipresence to be essential in our lives. We are assured that God knows us though we do not know ourselves and that God’s presence brings us joy, comfort, and courage.
A New Way of Being Human Being
In this chapter, the author focuses on how we can find a new image that is pleasing to God. The author explains that only Jesus Christ knows the way, and only He can guide us out of the maze of our confusion, estrangement, and self-conflict and lead us into a state of harmony with ourselves and with God. Like Jesus Christ, we have to learn our identity and mission in our lives on earth. Satan tempted Jesus Christ, but he passed all the tests by placing himself entirely into the hands of God to do as he pleased (Highfield 17). From the temptations that Jesus faced, we can learn that we should have a strong relationship with God.
The Divine Adoption
In this chapter, the author describes the relationship between human beings and God; God is our heavenly Father, and we are his dear children who are created in God’s image and character, our purpose being to accomplish his will. Jesus desires his disciples to relate with God, like him. He teaches us not to worry about food and clothes because our heavenly Father will provide. He teaches that God cares for human beings like a good father would care for his children (Highfield 18). The author points out that God desires that we enjoy the intimacy and security he offers.
The Emergence of God-Centered Identity
The author outlines how the Christian view of humanity conserves human dignity and freedom in this chapter. The author argues that God created us to enjoy particular goods, seek certain endeavors and become something specific. God created us not only to love ourselves but to love and know God. Human beings were created in the image of God, and our true identity can only be achieved by being God’s dear children. To attain true freedom, a person must act as a perfect image of God (Highfield 19). Typically, we cannot achieve our true selves unless we love God wholeheartedly and love others. For human beings to develop a God-centered identity, they must accept God’s love for them and accept themselves as God’s divine gift.
The Freedom of the Children of God
In this chapter, the author outlines why the Christian comprehension of God and humanity results in genuine freedom. The author argues that freedom, from a Christian point of view, is the power of human beings to live as they were created to live and ultimately be what they were meant to be. Freedom is the condition of being willing to act as the dear children of God. We can only achieve and experience true freedom through the grace of God, made possible in Jesus Christ and presented to us by the Holy Spirit (Highfield 20). The author argues that we cannot attain genuine freedom on our own. Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit free us from the unfeasible necessity to attain freedom from sin and death by our strength.
God’s Love as the Ground and Measure of Human Dignity
In this section, the author argues that the Christian comprehension of human dignity is the highest form of dignity achievable by human beings. He argues that dignity in its barest form is related to one person being loved by another. Human beings can reclaim some moral superiority in their lives with the aid of God’s divine grace (Highfield 21). Humanity’s status of possessing more substantial dignity than other creatures can be attributed to the love and favor God bestows upon them. The author argues that the association of being loved and favored by God is the essential foundation of human dignity.
The Reconciliation of Heaven and Earth
The author here shows that the Christian vision of redemption eliminates the conditions that generate competition. The author states that in the second coming of Jesus Christ, our relationship with God and other human beings will no more be made distinctive by separateness, unachieved ambitions, and little good (Highfield 22). We will be consolidated with God in total satisfaction, made possible by God’s infinite goodness and the fullness we will find in one another’s happiness and joy. Jesus Christ conquers the conditions under which competition arises, for Jesus Christ is wholly and fully divine. The author argues that the unification of God and humanity has already been achieved. As human beings, we can freely permit ourselves to be united to Christ and be united to God through him.
An Assessment of the Book “God, Freedom and Human Dignity.”
The author points out how a “self-centered self” came into existence in human beings; he gives a deeper explanation in the first seven chapters of the book. He then moves into the second part of the book, pointing out how human beings can attain a “God-centered self.” The author outlines all ideas in chronological order, making the book quite breathtaking. The book offers significant explanations and applications of theories presented by other philosophers and scholars. The book synchronizes all the ideas into giving meaning to why things are the way they are, why things happen the way they do, and what supernatural forces are responsible for all that happens in the world. Nevertheless, the author offers his arguments from a Christian point of view while weighing all the theoretical concepts to get the best explanations for the subject matter.
This book has accomplished its essence by presenting its message. I learned a lot as I moved from chapter to chapter. I found out that there are three axes in the modern moral expanse (respect, fullness, and dignity), and when human beings interact within these virtuous axes, their identity is ascertained. I have learned that as human beings, we may develop a defiant attitude toward God when we think of him as the main challenger against us in attaining human nobility and liberty.
The book has taught me that human beings constantly search for what they perceive as good and noble; they defy what they think acts as barriers against them attaining the good they seek. In our undying quest to achieve our unruly desires (which are not in harmony with one another), we end up disagreeing with other people and reality itself. We consume and haul other things into ourselves in a futile urge to satisfy our insatiable desires and this results in doom. However, the author argues that there is hope for human beings if they decide to confront the limitations of human nobility and liberty and transform their identities from self-centeredness to God-centeredness.
I have ascertained that God is the source of abundance and the eternal fountain from which all good things flow; this is depicted in the story of God’s creation and redemption of humankind through the death of Jesus Christ, his beloved son. The goodness and love of God are infinite, and human beings are called upon to share those attributes. Essentially, everything we need comes from God, and we cannot exist on our own unless God wills it. I have learned that God knows the truth and righteousness we seek because He is the truth and righteousness we seek.
However, the ideas presented by the author in this book hold some weaknesses. The book fails to answer some vital questions and briefly points out some ideas. The book fails to explain why there is so much suffering and pain in the world, yet God loves all human beings equally. Why are human beings not free from tribulation, yet God stands to be the giver of genuine freedom? Why does God allow Satan to exercise power over human beings, yet God is omnipotent? Why does God turn his face from human beings and leave us to suffer in war, disease, and famine?
Moreover, since God is love and loves all creation, why does He fail to give us peace in abundance? The book fails to explain why God (who is the source of genuine freedom) did not eliminate Satan from existence so that Satan could not find a chance to compromise God’s creation. If God offers freedom, why do we fail to do anything we want without facing bitter consequences?
Despite the weaknesses, the author achieves his objectives through the book’s many strengths. The book itself is thought-provoking, and you can spend the whole day engrossed in its beauty. I would recommend this book to everyone who desires to know more about the concepts of human nobility, liberty, and God’s influence. I think anyone can enjoy the book, but most importantly, learn from it despite the mentioned weakness.
Work Cited
Highfield, Ron. God, freedom and human dignity: embracing a God-centered identity in a Me-centered culture. Intervarsity Press, 2012.