{"id":4304,"date":"2017-12-01T08:00:20","date_gmt":"2017-12-01T00:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/?p=4304"},"modified":"2021-10-20T10:33:35","modified_gmt":"2021-10-20T02:33:35","slug":"188-creation-what-does-it-mean-to-be-made-in-the-image-of-god","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/?p=4304","title":{"rendered":"189. Creation: What Does It Mean to be Made in the Image of God?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><span style=\"color: #008080;\"><sup>26 <\/sup>Then God said, \u201cLet us make humankind<sup>[<a title=\"See footnote c\" href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Genesis+1&amp;version=NRSV#fen-NRSV-26c\">c<\/a>]<\/sup> in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth,\u00a0and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.\u201d<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #008080;\"><sup>27 <\/sup>So God created humankind in his image,<br \/>\nin the image of God he created them;<br \/>\nmale and female he created them.<\/span><\/strong> [<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Genesis 1:26-27<\/span>, <span style=\"color: #000000;\"><em>NRSV<\/em>]<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #008080;\"><em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Creaci\u00f3n-of-Adam-by-Micheangelo.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-4305\" title=\"Creaci\u00f3n of Adam, by Micheangelo,\" src=\"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Creaci\u00f3n-of-Adam-by-Micheangelo-1024x464.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"872\" height=\"395\" \/><\/a> Creation of Adam<\/em>, by Michelangelo<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>What do theologians say <em>imago Dei<\/em> is?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">What does it mean to be made in the image of God? The myriad views the we get down through the ages may be synthesised under three groups.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">First, is <strong><em>the relational view<\/em><\/strong>. This is the view Pope Benedict stresses in the book. It insists that humans are most like God when it comes to their unique <em>relational<\/em> qualities. Thus it is human\u2019s ability to engage in complex interpersonal relationships that best reflects the divine. Benedict specially stresses that to be made in the image of God means humans have the capacity to relate to God. This analyses, one might note, resonates with Karl Rahner\u2019s analyses of the human persons as \u201cspirits in the world\u201d who are \u201chearers of the word\u201d, with fundamental openness to the Infinite, and capable of hearing the Word uttered by God.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The second is <strong><em>the representative view<\/em><\/strong>. In view of God\u2019s transcendence, God meets the need for his continued presence by giving people the <em>imago Dei<\/em>. This nature then possesses certain qualities, characteristics, or endowments (<em>spiritual<\/em>, <em>rational<\/em>, <em>volitional<\/em>, etc.) that make humankind like God.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The third is the <strong><em>dominion-functional view<\/em><\/strong>. Ruling over creation is the essence of the <em>imago Dei<\/em>, so that having imago Dei\u00a0<em>qualifies<\/em> people to rule.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">What specific qualities relative to <strong><em>the imago Dei<\/em><\/strong> have been favoured by theologians down through the ages?<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Freedom [Irenaeus, AD185].<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Rationality [Irenaeus, AD185].<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Intelligence [Francis of Assisi].<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Intellect [Thomas Aquinas, 15C]<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Reason and Will [John Calvin 16C].<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Relationality [Karl Barth; Pope Benedict].<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Moral, social, and spiritual faculties [Karl Rahner].<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Mercy, compassion, and love [Kasper].<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Capacity for self-gift, service, <em>kenosis<\/em> [Philippians].<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Creative freedom [contemporary authors].<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>From \u201cimago Dei\u201d to \u201cethic of creation\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Our place and reason for being is, first and foremost, to have <em>life<\/em>, and to live it in abundance (John 10:10). The untainted image of God bestowed by the Creator on His human creatures was originally intended for that. We were meant to be able to <em>create<\/em> life existentially, to live a beautiful and noble life and to let others live likewise. The terms \u201clife\u201d and \u201ccreate\u201d take on meaning at the positive and wholesome levels. As we connect this with our appreciation for God\u2019s creation as delivering gifts of the \u201cconditions of possibility\u201d in life, our ethic of creation demands that we make return-gifts. A life of worship of the Creator-God must witness to a scale of values which features at the top the twin elements of \u201cfreedom\u201d and \u201csolidarity\u201d. This would truly be a life lived in personal \u201cauthenticity\u201d on the one hand, coupled with a thick practice of \u201cco-humanity\u201d on the other. We therefore appreciate the gift of creation, including the <em>imago Dei<\/em>, as being at the same time a duty to flourish to the best extent we each can; and a duty to promote the flourishing of others in their gifts. A core question in this regard is <em>how<\/em> <em>well<\/em> we apply the \u201cpossessions\u201d bestowed on us by the Creator as our existential conditions of possibility, and how well we purposefully encourage, stimulate and enable others to apply theirs. These possessions are best captured under <strong>the 3T\u2019s \u2013 time, talents, and treasures<\/strong>. Created in the image of God, we are naturally oriented towards <strong>love<\/strong> and <strong>nature<\/strong>.\u00a0 We are each at our created best when we truthfully apply our time, talents and treasure in loving God, others and ourselves, and in protecting and enhancing nature as our common home.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The New Testament scholar N.T. Wright puts it well:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u201cBearing God\u2019s image is not just a fact, it is a vocation. It means being called to reflect into the world the creative and redemptive love of God. It means being made for relationship, for stewardship, for worship &#8211; or, to put it more vividly, for sex, gardening and God.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u201cOur task, as image-bearing, God-loving, Christ-shaped, Spirit-filled Christians, following Christ and shaping our world, is to announce redemption to the world that has discovered its brokenness, to proclaim love and trust that knows only exploitation, fear and suspicion.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Pope Benedict renders a precise definition: <em>Our place and reason for being is to image God on earth. <\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">From the Vatican document <em>Vocation of the Business Leaders <\/em>[VBL], <strong><em>human dignity<\/em><\/strong><em> holds the pride of place. <\/em>At the very foundation of the Church\u2019s social tradition stands the conviction that each person, regardless of age, condition, or ability, is an image of God and so endowed with an irreducible dignity, or value. Each person is an end in him or herself, never merely an instrument valued only for its utility \u2013 a <em>who<\/em>, not a what; a <em>someone<\/em>, not a something. This dignity is possessed simply by virtue of being human. It is never an achievement, nor a gift from any human authority; nor can it be lost, forfeited, or justly taken away. All human beings regardless of individual properties and circumstances therefore enjoy this God-given dignity (VBL, 30).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Charles Darwin proves that evolution works through the\u00a0<em>survival of the fittest<\/em>. But Christianity is committed to the\u00a0<em>survival of the weakest<\/em> [cf. Mt 25; 1 Cor 12:22].<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The weak is never completely weeded out in nature, thus suggesting that while nature cannot prevent <em>the process<\/em> of the wedding out of the weak, it does not desire its complete destruction either. <em>Meaningful evolution<\/em> today means nature needs help from the human race to protect and nurture. Nature is interested in the survival of the weak because vulnerability and weakness <em>bring something to nature<\/em> that is absent when it is only concerned with the survival of the fittest and with producing ever-stronger, more robust, and more adaptable species and individuals. Clearly, what the weak add to nature are character and compassion, which are the <em>central<\/em> <em>ingredients<\/em> needed to bring about unity, complexity, and consciousness at the social and spiritual level.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">To square Christian ideal of preferential option for the weak with the theory of evolution, our starting point is that the \u201cdominion\u201d conferred by God at the beginning of creation is a mandate to \u201cwatch over\u201d, of tending the garden, of being wise stewards, and of helping nature do things that, in its unconscious state, it cannot do, namely, protect and nurture the weak.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Recall, in this regard, two theologians. <strong><em>The glory of God<\/em><\/strong>, Saint Irenaeus of the second century has famously said, <strong><em>is the human being fully alive!<\/em><\/strong> Today, the renowned liberation theology professor Gustavo Gutierrez says:\u00a0<strong><em>The glory of God is the poor person fully alive!<\/em><\/strong> And that is as well the ultimate glory of nature.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">In its Christological hymn, the Letter to the Philippians provides a serious pointer to <em>how the Son of God served<\/em>. Looking back after the events, the followers of Jesus saw him as Saviour and Redeemer of the whole human condition of sin and death. In Jesus\u2019 own existence, they saw clearly that Lucifer\u2019s \u201cI will not serve\u201d had been completely and definitively reversed in a decisive stance of total service, the ultimate self-gift in which, paradoxically, <strong><em>the true image of God<\/em><\/strong> is dazzlingly realised and revealed [Phil 2:5-11]. This Epistle teaches that <strong><em>the full image of God<\/em><\/strong> also manifests in no less than an utter reversal of the pride of Adam and his desire to be like God:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Out of obedience to the Father\u2019s will, the only Son of God has graciously descended from His side.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Abandoning his privileges, and his right to equality with God, the Son has taken the form of a servant, in the likeness of our humiliated status as slaves. [<em>Not grabbing<\/em>].<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">He descended further yet, even to accepting a mode of death reserved in the Roman Empire for common criminals. [<em>Descent &gt; sacrifice &gt; till death<\/em>].<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The supreme scandal of the self-emptying, or <strong><em>kenosis<\/em><\/strong> of the suffering Son of God, is the staggering truth which divided Christians from the Jews, and from the Greek religion of their day. It is the truth of <strong><em>the full image of God<\/em><\/strong>, displayed only by the \u201ctruly human\u201d Jesus of Nazareth in <strong><em>kenosis<\/em><\/strong>.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">And shall we give thanks?<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong><em>Lord, we thank You<\/em><\/strong> for the gift of creation and the gift of your divine image to every human person born. Help us treat all humanity and nature with the dignity and respect You intended. In your question: \u201c<em>Adam, where are you?<\/em>\u201d we know, Lord, that we have failed miserably in imaging you in our lives. Remember us in your mercy.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong><em>Lord, we thank You<\/em><\/strong> for the gift of the conditions of possibilities in life. Guide us with a positive mentality and a proactive spirit that we may apply our time, talents and treasures to their full potential for the glory of your Kingdom on earth.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong><em>Lord, we thank You<\/em><\/strong> for the gift of the desire and the opportunity to study and learn. May your spirit of wisdom and revelation continue to lead us, so that we may grow to know you more and, in knowing you more, we may grow to love You more and serve You more.\u00a0 Through the power of the passion, death and resurrection of Your Son. Amen.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Copyright \u00a9 Dr. Jeffrey &amp; Angie Goh, December 2017. All rights reserved.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">You are most welcome to respond to this post. Email your comments to <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a style=\"color: #000000; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"mailto:jeffangiegoh@gmail.com\">jeffangiegoh@gmail.com<\/a>.<\/span><\/strong> You can also be dialogue partners in this <em>Ephphatha Coffee-Corner Ministry<\/em> by sending us questions for discussion.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>26 Then God said, \u201cLet us make humankind[c] in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth,\u00a0and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.\u201d <a class=\"read-more\" href=\"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/?p=4304\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sfsi_plus_gutenberg_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_show_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_type":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_alignemt":"","sfsi_plus_gutenburg_max_per_row":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"rttpg_featured_image_url":null,"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"Dr. Jeffrey &amp; Angie Goh","author_link":"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/?author=1"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/?cat=1\" rel=\"category\">From Our Perspective<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"26 Then God said, \u201cLet us make humankind[c] in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth,\u00a0and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.\u201d&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4304"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4304"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4304\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6755,"href":"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4304\/revisions\/6755"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4304"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4304"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4304"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}