4Bi

The Image of God in a Fractured World: Relationality, Fruitfulness, and Justice

The 4B movement—a growing movement in South Korea, and elsewhere, rejects traditional gender roles, relationships, and even reproduction as acts of rebellion against patriarchal structures. 4B creates a theological tension between its ideology and the biblical vision of the imago Dei - image of God. While acknowledging the pain and systemic harm caused by patriarchy, the rejection of the call for human fruitfulness and relationality, as understood through Judea-Christian thought, risks obscuring a key aspect of the divine image in humanity.

The biblical narrative places great significance on the idea of fruitfulness and relationality, beginning in Genesis 1:26-28. God commands humanity to 'be fruitful and multiply,' a directive not merely about biological reproduction but about flourishing, community-building, and participating in God’s creative purposes. This fruitfulness reflects the relational nature of God, whose image humanity bears. Karl Barth argued that the imago Dei is intrinsically relational, grounded in humanity’s capacity for communion with God and with others (Church Dogmatics III/1).

The 4B movement's critique of gender-based violence, systemic oppression, and the idolisation of motherhood rightly exposes the ways in which patriarchal interpretations of theology and society have distorted these divine purposes. Feminist theologians such as Mary Daly have long critiqued the patriarchal underpinnings of Christianity, arguing that 'if God is male, then the male is God' Beyond God the Father. This critique resonates with the movement's rejection of male-dominated relational structures. Similarly, Delores Williams in Sisters in the Wilderness examines the ways in which biblical traditions have been used to justify the exploitation of women, particularly women of colour.

However, a theological response to 4B must also affirm the imago Dei in ways that challenge both patriarchal domination and the rejection of relational and communal aspects of human identity. Jesus Christ, the ultimate revelation of God, provides a model of relationality that restores the imago Dei to its fullness. In Christ, relationships are not defined by domination but by mutual love, service, and sacrificial care Philippians 2:5-8. Christ’s incarnation demonstrates that embodied, relational existence is central to God’s redemptive plan, and this extends to the call for human fruitfulness—not merely in biological terms but in the cultivation of communities that reflect God’s kingdom.

The end-game, eschatological vision, in Revelation 21-22 reinforces this relational framework, presenting a restored creation where God dwells with humanity and all things are made new. This vision critiques ideologies that deny the value of relationality or retreat into individualism, emphasising instead a future where justice, love, and community flourish in harmony. Yes, I know sounds like utopia, and to many that buncum!

A fruitful dialogue between Christian theology and movements like 4B requires an acknowledgment of the pain and injustices that fuel such movements. At the same time, it must invite adherents to reconsider the biblical vision of relationality and fruitfulness as a redemptive framework that transcends the failures of human institutions.

While the 4B movement highlights legitimate critiques of patriarchal sin, a theology grounded in the imago Dei offers a more hopeful and redemptive vision—one that affirms relationality, justice, and the transformative power of love.

Reading

Delores Williams, Sisters in the Wilderness: The Challenge of Womanist God-Talk

Mary Daly, Beyond God the Father: Toward a Philosophy of Women's Liberation

Karl Barth, Church Dogmatics III/1

Willie James Jennings, The Christian Imagination: Theology and the Origins of Race

Miroslav Volf, Exclusion and Embrace: A Theological Exploration of Identity, Otherness, and Reconciliation

Elizabeth A. Johnson, She Who Is: The Mystery of God in Feminist Theological Discourse

Walter Brueggemann, Theology of the Old Testament: Testimony, Dispute, Advocacy