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What does "created in God's image" mean?

R

ruffen

Active Member
Many christians at least (not sure about Islam and Judaism) claim that humans are "created in God's image".

For example in this discussion:
sojourner said:
We are in God's image...
Click to expand...

So it got me thinking.... It's a nice statement, but what exactly does it mean?
 
R

ruffen

Active Member
Ah, sorry, I see the same subject is being discussed in Theological Concepts. If this thread should be deleted, mods please do so.
 
sojourner

sojourner

Annoyingly Progressive Since 2006
ruffen said:
Many christians at least (not sure about Islam and Judaism) claim that humans are "created in God's image".

For example in this discussion:


So it got me thinking.... It's a nice statement, but what exactly does it mean?
Click to expand...
When you can define God, you can define the idea of the imago dei. The concept is in Genesis 1.
 
outhouse

outhouse

Atheistically
Well they did worship a family of deities and Yahweh was male and he has been depicted by ancinet israelites before Genesis was finished, and he and his brother and wife, looked human.

End of story.
 
R

ruffen

Active Member
I'm thinking that assuming physical likeness (ie. God has beard, nose, feet etc) is too simple - although I'm open to the possibility that those who originally wrote those words actually believed that God looked like a man, physically.

Then there's moral likeness. Are we morally similar to God? Or are we his moral superiors? Why is some of the stories and claims about God's morality so disgusting, in lack of a better word?

If God is somehow "perfect" or "omnipotent" or "all-knowing" or "all-loving" or "perfect love", or "transcendent", these are all concepts that makes God differ from us.

So where is the likeness between humans and God?
 
A

Andywelikandy

Member
ruffen said:
Many christians at le God ast (not sure about Islam and Judaism) claim that humans are "created in God's image".

For example in this discussion:


So it got me thinking.... It's a nice statement, but what exactly does it mean?
Click to expand...

Firstly, the Bible has it that Almighty Creator God is Spirit. Spirits (holy or evil) are invisible beings. When they want to show up, they have to put on a shape and form. It means that when God created Adam, the first human being, He created him (Adam) in God's spiritual image. Therefore all attributes mankind has God has but not the other way around.

Human beings love because God loves. Humans hate because God hates. We are jealous because God has jealousy in Him and so on and on. But God has some attributes which humans do not have like the power to give life and power to save mankind from going to hell. We have fear but God doesn't. God the Creator has no sense of fear because all things in the whole universe come under His authority and that includes created Satan and created evil spirits. God transcends time and space, but we do not. All human beings exist in the image of the creator God in the spirit realm only.
 
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