Image of God

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The Image of God (Hebrew: צֶלֶם אֱלֹהִים‎; tzelem elohim, lit. "image of God", often appearing in Latin as Imago Dei) is a concept and theological doctrine that asserts that human beings are created in God's image and therefore have inherent value independent of their utility or function.

Contents 1 Biblical description 2 Three ways of understanding Imago Dei 2.1 Substantive 2.2 Relational 2.3 Functional 3 References

[edit] Biblical description

The primary source and documentation for this concept of the essential nature of human beings is found in Genesis 1:26,27.

The term Imago Dei refers most fundamentally to two things: first, to God's own self-expression through humankind; and second, to God's love for humankind (John 3:16,17). To assert that humans are created in the image of God is to recognize the special qualities of human nature which allow God to be made manifest in humans. For humans to have a conscious recognition of having been made in the image of God means that they are aware of being that part of the creation through whom God's plans and purposes best can be expressed and actualized; humans, in this way, can interact creatively with the rest of creation. The moral implications of the doctrine of Imago Dei are apparent in the fact that, if humans are to love God, then humans must love other humans whom God has created (cf. John 13:35), as each is an expression of God. The human likeness to God can also be understood by contrasting it with that which does not image God, i.e., beings who, as far as we know, are without this spiritual self-awareness and the capacity for spiritual / moral reflection and growth. Humans differ from all other creatures because of the self-reflective, rational nature of their thought processes - their capacity for abstract, symbolic as well as concrete deliberation and decision-making. This capacity gives the human a centeredness and completeness which allows the possibility for self-actualization and participation in a sacred reality (cf. Acts 17:28). However, despite the fact that according to this concept the human is created in God's image, the Creator granted the first true humans a freedom to reject a relationship with the Creator that manifested itself in estrangement from God, as the Fall (Adam and Eve) exemplifies, thereby rejecting or repressing their spiritual and moral likeness to God. The ability and desire to love one's self and others, and therefore God, can become neglected and even opposed. The desire to repair the Imago Dei in one's life can be seen as a quest for a wholeness, or one's "essential" self, as described and exemplified in Christ's life and teachings. According to Christian doctrine, Jesus acted to repair the relationship with the Creator and freely offers the resulting reconciliation as a gift. ^[1]

[edit] Three ways of understanding Imago Dei

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There are three common ways of understanding the manner in which humans exist in Imago Dei: Substantive, Relational and Functional.^[2]

[edit] Substantive

The substantive view holds to the idea that there is some substantial characteristic of the human race that is like God. Some may argue that we are in fact an exact physical replica of God in some way. That we are a mirror image of his physical makeup. Other substantive views suggest a physical or spiritual commonality with God. Throughout the ages there have been different interpretations of substantive likeness to God. Irenaeus put forward a distinctive difference between image and likeness. Humankind before the fall was in the image of God through their ability to exercise free will and reason. And we were in the likeness of God through some sort of spiritual endowment lost after the fall. Medieval scholars suggested that this was the Holiness of humankind which was lost after the fall, though free will and reason remained. Calvin and Luther agreed that something of the Imago Dei was lost at the fall but that fragments of it remained in some form or another.

[edit] Relational

The relational view argues that one must be in a relationship with God in order to possess the ‘image’ of God. Those who hold to the relational image agree that humankind possess the ability to reason as a substantive trait but they argue that it is relationship that brings the true imagio into effect. Later Theologians like Karl Barth and Emil Brunner argue that it is our ability to hold to relationships that make us like God. Unlike animals who cannot hold relationships in the same way we can, it is this characteristic that makes us ‘in God’s image’. We are created in God’s image male and female, Genesis 5:1-2, and therefore it is our maleness and femaleness combined that constitutes the image of God.

[edit] Functional

This third view denies the previous two in that it argues that the image of God imprinted on us is in function rather than in form or relationship. This being primarily our function of ruling over earth. In Genesis 1:26 it speaks of humankind being made in the image of God and his allowance for humans to rule over the fish, the sea and animals on land. In this way we would be in God’s likeness in that He rules over all the universe, ourselves included and that we are to rule over the creatures on earth. So it is the ruling or the function of dominion that we have in common.

[edit] References