In his image

[Zzyzx]

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The Bible and Christendom appear to promote the idea that humans were created "in his image" by "God".

1) Who recorded the event?

2) What offers assurance that any such claims and stories are true?

3) Exactly what is the meaning of "in his image"?

4) What aspects of humans are the "image" of God?

[Inigo Montoya]

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The Bible and Christendom appear to promote the idea that humans were created "in his image" by "God".

1) Who recorded the event?

2) What offers assurance that any such claims and stories are true?

3) Exactly what is the meaning of "in his image"?

4) What aspects of humans are the "image" of God?

Moses? Right before he wrote about what it was like to die.

It's assurances you want? The bible is historical history, or have you learned nothing this past 6 weeks? If you doubt, it's your own bias against the supernatural and you may as well forget about thinking Caesar the Hun existed.

"In his image" means anything between bipedal locomotion and ape-like features to meaning a duality betwixt us regarding abstract thought, pure energy, and a capacity for emotion. Take your pick, I'll be ready.

These are getting too easy, Z

[Kenisaw]

[Replying to Zzyzx]

I guess it means that god also has blind spots in his vision, an involuntary knee reflex, and a sanitary line running through his recreational area...

You'd think he would have made us better than "his image"....

[Danmark]

[Replying to Zzyzx]

I guess it means that god also has blind spots in his vision, an involuntary knee reflex, and a sanitary line running through his recreational area...

You'd think he would have made us better than "his image"....

Exactly. This is the point of the thread:
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 942#780942
It's obvious man created god in man's image. It is the only logical conclusion despite the fact it is contrary to what Genesis claims. But, as Z points out in the OP, who was around to record these events in Genesis about the creation of man. No one, according to the story itself. So here we have the essential problem apologists must struggle with: It is mere men claiming god told them so.

[Divine Insight]

There seems to be an obvious problem.

If we were created in the physical image of God, then why are we so physically inept?

If we were created in the image of God's character, then why are we so screwed up in character.?

If we were created in the image of God's "spirit" then why are we so spiritually screwed up?

This must be an extreme nightmare for any intelligent theologian who is hoping to take this stuff seriously.

As Danmark has so correctly pointed out, to simply recognize that man created God in his own image solves ALL PROBLEMS leaving nothing left unresolved.

After all, why would a perfect righteous omniscient God be jealous, wrathful, impatient, male-chauvinistic, approve of slavery, etc, etc, etc.

Sounds all too human to me. Man created God seems to solve all problems in one fell swoop.

[rikuoamero]

[Replying to Zzyzx]

I guess it means that god also has blind spots in his vision, an involuntary knee reflex, and a sanitary line running through his recreational area...

You'd think he would have made us better than "his image"....

Exactly. This is the point of the thread:
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 942#780942
It's obvious man created god in man's image. It is the only logical conclusion despite the fact it is contrary to what Genesis claims. But, as Z points out in the OP, who was around to record these events in Genesis about the creation of man. No one, according to the story itself. So here we have the essential problem apologists must struggle with: It is mere men claiming god told them so.

Even on the outside chance that mortal men DID hear a magical voice saying something...why believe it? What happened to double checking, to finding evidence to support claims? What if this magical voice said something false for laughs and giggles?

[Wootah]

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The Bible and Christendom appear to promote the idea that humans were created "in his image" by "God".

1) Who recorded the event?

2) What offers assurance that any such claims and stories are true?

3) Exactly what is the meaning of "in his image"?

4) What aspects of humans are the "image" of God?

1) Moses is reported to be the person. It's both very relevant to understanding the Bible and irrelevant in the sense that it is believed that God is the author.

2) History and my faith in what I have found as I follow Christ

3) It means that to some extent we can relate to God. We know that the love or anger we have is somewhat like God's love or anger.

4) The metaphysical ones. Emotions, logic, personality. That's not exhaustive.

[JehovahsWitness]

3) Exactly what is the meaning of "in his image"?

Amongst Merriam-Websters definition of image, is the following:

3
a : exact likeness : semblance <God created man in his own image — Genesis 1:27(Revised Standard Version)>

b : a person strikingly like another person <she is the image of her mother>
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/image

So based on the above I would say the words "in his [God's] image" to mean "in the exact likeness" of God", "resembing/in the semblance of God" "strikingly like God"

[JehovahsWitness]

4) What aspects of humans are the "image" of God?

In my opinion, humans are "like" God in that we have similar qualities to him such as the ability to reason and be creative, to display a higher degree of love, compassion, empathy ... as well as the capacity to appreciate art, beauty, justice ... etc.

[Willum]

[Replying to Divine Insight]

Guys, guys, guys!
I hate to take the side of religionists on this one, but if God was an implication of what he is suppose to be, then translating that to the physical realm would mean trade-offs.

God doesn't pee or sex, so there might be, from an engineering point of view, an elegance in shoving all those systems together.

It's really kind of a great gag or insult, when you think of it, especially if, as we should logically conjecture, we were re-designed AFTER he fall.

God: "Eat my apples will they? Lets not only make 'em sex, but make children come from the waste chute! - Even I think that's gross."

But then, when you think of it, it IS very logical - think of the other waste chute, every day, we "give birth," to or create millions of tiny lives, and then flush 'em away.

Hardly, in retrospect, the design of an all-loving God. In my mind, it tells us exactly what he'd been thinking about us, if he existed to create us.

If he does exist, by the way, before I go screaming happily into the pit to join Gandhi, he is going to get a piece of my mind about the human back. I don't have back trouble myself, but it is an engineering nightmare.

Written in cordial tone and with otherwise highest regards,