ABSTRACT
In this chapter, I argue that mind-body dualism of the Cartesian variety provides a ground for the Scriptural narrative of humans as images of God.1 I argue that the polarizing assumption between substance and its relations or functions tends to treat these views as dichotomous when in fact they are not (i.e. a false dichotomy) and such an issue is often central to the rejection of substance dualism. Instead an immaterial substantive view has the resources to capture the data from Scripture. Leaving the discussion of prolegomena here would be insufficient however. To this point, I have advanced a defence of Cartesianism, broadly speaking, without addressing its considerable diversity. At the end of the chapter, I lay out more clearly the Cartesian variations on offer, which will help facilitate discussions I take up later on in A Cartesian Exploration. I believe that we have, at minimum, three ways to parse out Cartesianism, which provide the theologian with additional resources for contemporary reflection.
