Restoring the Image of God? A Theological Perspective on Pastoral Care

In this paper I address the role of theological anthropology in pastoral care practices. What difference does it make if we reconstruct pastoral care as care for people in their lives before God, in existential crises, or in constructing meaningful narratives?

To answer this question, I explore the usefulness of the concept of ‘imago dei’ in pastoral care practices. First, I present a few practical-theological thoughts on human reparation. Second, I describe three different approaches in pastoral care literature to deal with human repair. Third, I offer a few implications of a theology of restauration the theory and practice of the cure of souls.