Often, when we have a puzzle in Scripture, it is best to go back to the text, to see if there are clues we have missed. And in the midst of the text about God’s image there is a description of humanity’s function: to rule over the animals of the earth. It seems a curious placement unless the description of the rule pertains to the idea of being made in God’s image. And if we think about it, the main characteristic of God, as given in the Hebrew Bible is that He is in charge. There is no being—god, angel, human, animal, cosmic force—that is above God. And it seems that Genesis 1 is actually all about God’s superiority over the powers that the ancient world found significant and frightening and awe-inspiring. God is above the ocean, because He divided it. God is above the sun, moon and stars and established their authority. God is above all powers, and even though there may have been others who participated in His creation, it was His command that made it happen.
Given this understanding of God, then it would make sense that if humanity is to be in God’s image, it is in the area of sovereignty. Humanity is like God in the area of having a huge realm to rule. Humanity has great authority, to determine the shape and purpose of the earth, as well as all the animals. Humanity is granted god-like powers of sovereignty.
And, in fact, Psalm 8 is a hymn to exactly that nature. “What is man that You take thought of him?... You have made him a little lower than God.” And a description of humanity’s rule over the earth is given. Even little children have power to rule, the psalmist says.
And every single human does rule. It seems, at first, that some humans rule and some do not. But that is simply over other humans. Although, most humans do rule over other humans—every parent rules over their children, every pet owner rules over their pet (although cats think it is the other way around). Yes, governments are the big rulers, but every human has an aspect of rule, a sovereignty to rule over. And, in fact, humans are different from animals in that they rule over themselves. They are responsible for their actions, and recognize themselves as responsible. And this completely natural, powerful tendency is our godlike nature. We are like God in that we are in charge of ourselves, our environment, those below us. And humanity, as a whole, is in charge of the earth as a whole.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Monday, June 28, 2010
Image of God 2
Many Trinitarian theologians declare that humanity, in one’s nature, is Trinitarian, just as God. This also poses a difficulty in determining what that Trinitarian nature is. Many theologians say the three parts of humanity are: body, soul, spirit. But Aquinas said that it was the memory, the understanding and the will. What we need to recognize is that humanity is exceedingly complex and that counting only three parts lessens the creation of humanity. It assumes that the divine nature in humanity is based on a number, rather than a nature. This seems to be poor theology.
Some would say that humanity is like God in the manner in which humanity is superior to animals. In other words, the divine nature of humanity is found in that which animals lack. Thus, some have put forward intellect, long term memory, self awareness, or other features. The problem with just stating this is that as animals are studied, it is clear that animals have many of the characteristics that humans have, just in a more minor capacity. Some animals can be trained in language, are very creative and can learn as much as humans. Certainly humans are unique in the animal kingdom, but it might be difficult to determine in exactly what way.
To be continued...
Some would say that humanity is like God in the manner in which humanity is superior to animals. In other words, the divine nature of humanity is found in that which animals lack. Thus, some have put forward intellect, long term memory, self awareness, or other features. The problem with just stating this is that as animals are studied, it is clear that animals have many of the characteristics that humans have, just in a more minor capacity. Some animals can be trained in language, are very creative and can learn as much as humans. Certainly humans are unique in the animal kingdom, but it might be difficult to determine in exactly what way.
To be continued...
Sunday, June 27, 2010
The Image of God 1
One of the great questions of Jewish and Christian theology is how humanity is made in God’s image. We know humanity is, it says so in Genesis 1:26-27—“ Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”
But in reading this passage, many have become confused. HOW are we created in God’s image? What exactly is the “image” of God?
Of course, the first thought anyone would have by looking at the word “image” is physical appearance. After all, when we see our image in a mirror, all we are saying is that the image looks like us, not that it has any other characteristic, even so our image in a statue or a photo. However, this idea causes a number of difficulties. First of all, it is both the male and the female that was created in God’s image—so which one would God look like? Is it a general appearance? And the passage is saying that God created all humanity to be in His image—how can we all look like God when we all look so differently? What color, size, shape is God? These questions seem nonsensical, but I think that the problem comes in assuming that the image of God must, in some way, be physical.
To be continued...
But in reading this passage, many have become confused. HOW are we created in God’s image? What exactly is the “image” of God?
Of course, the first thought anyone would have by looking at the word “image” is physical appearance. After all, when we see our image in a mirror, all we are saying is that the image looks like us, not that it has any other characteristic, even so our image in a statue or a photo. However, this idea causes a number of difficulties. First of all, it is both the male and the female that was created in God’s image—so which one would God look like? Is it a general appearance? And the passage is saying that God created all humanity to be in His image—how can we all look like God when we all look so differently? What color, size, shape is God? These questions seem nonsensical, but I think that the problem comes in assuming that the image of God must, in some way, be physical.
To be continued...
Friday, June 25, 2010
How Is Humanity Weak? 7
Humans are sinful
Sin is the destruction of relationship, disloyalty, the harm of the Other. Sin is disloyalty to God who created us, who loves us and provides all good things for us to meet our needs. We tend to think much more of ourselves than God. And even though our relationship with God is much less complex than our relationship to government or family, and much more central to our needs, we gravitate toward the latter relationships rather than the former.
Sin is harming other people, who were made in God’s image, because of our own fears and desires. It is acting out destruction against others because it is better for us. It is not acting for the benefit of others, even though it is in our power to do so, because of our own fears and drives. It is listening to that which oppress us rather than God’s Spirit who leads us to do what is good for all.
We do not sin because of Adam’s sin. Rather, each and every one of us enacts Adam’s sin ourselves. We believe in our independence more than we believe in our relationship with God. We rely more on our sense of fear and our sense of need rather than our more obvious factual knowledge of another’s need.
Why are we sinful? Because we are weak. Even our displays of strength—our technology, our ability to travel in space, our ability to fly around the earth in hours, our communication with each other no matter where we live, our growth of amazing amounts of food, our ability to control the atom, our ability to crush diseases—are paired directly with our weaknesses—the multiplication of diseases, the ability to destroy innocents at the push of a button, two billion people starving, a thriving porn industry and slavery associated with that, an epidemic of homelessness, diseases that ravage a continent although they can be stopped, millions of people drinking contaminated water. The internet is used to gossip and dishonor much more than uphold the good. Television is used to encourage fear instead of provide social benefit. Knowledge of the Bible is used to destroy people’s morality instead of building up people’s love of God and others.
But I can’t really blame anyone. I do the same things, although I try not to. I am weak. I am human. Lord, let me dive into You so Your love drowns my desires and fears. Let me come out a new creature of purity and new hope.
Sin is the destruction of relationship, disloyalty, the harm of the Other. Sin is disloyalty to God who created us, who loves us and provides all good things for us to meet our needs. We tend to think much more of ourselves than God. And even though our relationship with God is much less complex than our relationship to government or family, and much more central to our needs, we gravitate toward the latter relationships rather than the former.
Sin is harming other people, who were made in God’s image, because of our own fears and desires. It is acting out destruction against others because it is better for us. It is not acting for the benefit of others, even though it is in our power to do so, because of our own fears and drives. It is listening to that which oppress us rather than God’s Spirit who leads us to do what is good for all.
We do not sin because of Adam’s sin. Rather, each and every one of us enacts Adam’s sin ourselves. We believe in our independence more than we believe in our relationship with God. We rely more on our sense of fear and our sense of need rather than our more obvious factual knowledge of another’s need.
Why are we sinful? Because we are weak. Even our displays of strength—our technology, our ability to travel in space, our ability to fly around the earth in hours, our communication with each other no matter where we live, our growth of amazing amounts of food, our ability to control the atom, our ability to crush diseases—are paired directly with our weaknesses—the multiplication of diseases, the ability to destroy innocents at the push of a button, two billion people starving, a thriving porn industry and slavery associated with that, an epidemic of homelessness, diseases that ravage a continent although they can be stopped, millions of people drinking contaminated water. The internet is used to gossip and dishonor much more than uphold the good. Television is used to encourage fear instead of provide social benefit. Knowledge of the Bible is used to destroy people’s morality instead of building up people’s love of God and others.
But I can’t really blame anyone. I do the same things, although I try not to. I am weak. I am human. Lord, let me dive into You so Your love drowns my desires and fears. Let me come out a new creature of purity and new hope.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
How Is Humanity Weak? 6
Humans focus on the wrong solutions
We recognize our oppressions, our tendency to over-compensate, and the fact that we tend to do things that are not helpful to ourselves or others. And so we try to find solutions. “If only I lived somewhere else,” we say to ourselves, not realizing that the next place will be just as full of oppressions as this place. “If only I met the right person,” we say, not realizing that the next person is just as imperfect as we are, and just as much in need, driven by their own desires. “If only I had more money,” we say, not realizing that money doesn’t change who we are, it only magnifies who we are, causing our problems to increase, not decrease. “If only I had the right job,” we say, not realizing that jobs are not about the needs of the employees, but the needs of the owners or customers, so employees always get the short shrift, no matter what the context (this isn’t always the case for professionals—the only workers who are treated as full human beings). “If only I had more pleasure,” we say, but pleasure only requires more pleasure, creating a cycle of oppression.
What we really want is an easy solution that will meet all of our needs. Of course, part of the problem is that we don’t actually want what we need. We need to work hard to become the best of who we are. We need to face our fears to be free of them. We need to refuse our desires at times in order to obtain our true desire. The most amazing thing is that at times we need to be still and do nothing, allowing others to provide for us completely, just as if we were a baby, in full trust. Of course, none of us are wise enough to know when is the time to do one or the other.
We recognize our oppressions, our tendency to over-compensate, and the fact that we tend to do things that are not helpful to ourselves or others. And so we try to find solutions. “If only I lived somewhere else,” we say to ourselves, not realizing that the next place will be just as full of oppressions as this place. “If only I met the right person,” we say, not realizing that the next person is just as imperfect as we are, and just as much in need, driven by their own desires. “If only I had more money,” we say, not realizing that money doesn’t change who we are, it only magnifies who we are, causing our problems to increase, not decrease. “If only I had the right job,” we say, not realizing that jobs are not about the needs of the employees, but the needs of the owners or customers, so employees always get the short shrift, no matter what the context (this isn’t always the case for professionals—the only workers who are treated as full human beings). “If only I had more pleasure,” we say, but pleasure only requires more pleasure, creating a cycle of oppression.
What we really want is an easy solution that will meet all of our needs. Of course, part of the problem is that we don’t actually want what we need. We need to work hard to become the best of who we are. We need to face our fears to be free of them. We need to refuse our desires at times in order to obtain our true desire. The most amazing thing is that at times we need to be still and do nothing, allowing others to provide for us completely, just as if we were a baby, in full trust. Of course, none of us are wise enough to know when is the time to do one or the other.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
How Is Humanity Weak? 5
Humans focus on the wrong solutions
We often recognize our oppressions, our tendency to over-compensate, and the fact that we tend to do things that are not helpful to ourselves or others. And so we try to find solutions. “If only I lived somewhere else,” we say to ourselves, not realizing that the next place will be just as full of oppressions as this place. “If only I met the right person,” we say, not realizing that the next person is just as imperfect as we are, and just as much in need, driven by their own desires. “If only I had more money,” we say, not realizing that money doesn’t change who we are, it only magnifies who we are, causing our problems to increase, not decrease. “If only I had the right job,” we say, not realizing that jobs are not about the needs of the employees, but the needs of the owners or customers, so employees always get the short shrift, no matter what the context (this isn’t always the case for professionals—the only workers who are treated as full human beings). “If only I had more pleasure,” we say, but pleasure only requires more pleasure, creating a cycle of oppression.
What we really want is an easy solution that will meet all of our needs. Of course, part of the problem is that we don’t actually want what we need. We need to work hard to become the best of who we are. We need to face our fears to be free of them. We need to refuse our desires at times in order to obtain our true desire. The most amazing thing is that at times we need to be still and do nothing, allowing others to provide for us completely, just as if we were a baby, in full trust. Of course, none of us are wise enough to know when is the time to do one or the other.
We often recognize our oppressions, our tendency to over-compensate, and the fact that we tend to do things that are not helpful to ourselves or others. And so we try to find solutions. “If only I lived somewhere else,” we say to ourselves, not realizing that the next place will be just as full of oppressions as this place. “If only I met the right person,” we say, not realizing that the next person is just as imperfect as we are, and just as much in need, driven by their own desires. “If only I had more money,” we say, not realizing that money doesn’t change who we are, it only magnifies who we are, causing our problems to increase, not decrease. “If only I had the right job,” we say, not realizing that jobs are not about the needs of the employees, but the needs of the owners or customers, so employees always get the short shrift, no matter what the context (this isn’t always the case for professionals—the only workers who are treated as full human beings). “If only I had more pleasure,” we say, but pleasure only requires more pleasure, creating a cycle of oppression.
What we really want is an easy solution that will meet all of our needs. Of course, part of the problem is that we don’t actually want what we need. We need to work hard to become the best of who we are. We need to face our fears to be free of them. We need to refuse our desires at times in order to obtain our true desire. The most amazing thing is that at times we need to be still and do nothing, allowing others to provide for us completely, just as if we were a baby, in full trust. Of course, none of us are wise enough to know when is the time to do one or the other.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
How Is Humanity Weak? 5
Humans are oppressed
If we take as a basic definition of freedom “the ability to do what is right without punishment”, then there is not a single human being that is free.
We are controlled by our fears, which force us to do actions to alleviate that fear. We fear losing our jobs, which give us the money to live our lifestyles, so we do whatever the jobs necessitate, even if we know it’s wrong. We fear confrontation, so we stay away from relationships that would cause us to grow to avoid that which we find unpleasing. We fear those who are unlike ourselves, so we avoid all those who are in greater need than ourselves, and make up stories about why we shouldn’t connect to them. We fear punishment from the government, so we keep ourselves from doing good things that would get us punished. We fear being shamed, so we try to fit into our society, even when our society is wrong. We fear death and pain, so we don’t do the good things that cause these things. And because we do not want to face our fears, we make excuses for why following our fears is the right thing to do.
But we do not live by our fears abosolutely—we not mice, scurrying away from every hint of monsters. We also have drives. We are driven by our addictions—that which we know harms us but makes us feel better or normal. We are not afraid of our addictions, but we know that they should be feared. They are too close to who we are to allow us to be fearful. We are driven by our pleasures—our need for excitement or relaxation or to forget our normal life. We are driven by need for family and community, and we will face our fears of meeting the opposite sex, of having a baby, of going to a new meeting full of strangers, just so that we can find or create that community that meets our drive.
But we are forced to do these things, either by ourselves, or by others. Some of these things are good, some are not. But the ethics or spirituality of the situation is almost never what drives us. Rather we are like magnets, either pulled toward or driven away by this or that force. We may claim independence, but rarely do we make a decision based on our own free will, on what is good. We are led by others, by the context we live in. This is oppression. We are not free.
If we take as a basic definition of freedom “the ability to do what is right without punishment”, then there is not a single human being that is free.
We are controlled by our fears, which force us to do actions to alleviate that fear. We fear losing our jobs, which give us the money to live our lifestyles, so we do whatever the jobs necessitate, even if we know it’s wrong. We fear confrontation, so we stay away from relationships that would cause us to grow to avoid that which we find unpleasing. We fear those who are unlike ourselves, so we avoid all those who are in greater need than ourselves, and make up stories about why we shouldn’t connect to them. We fear punishment from the government, so we keep ourselves from doing good things that would get us punished. We fear being shamed, so we try to fit into our society, even when our society is wrong. We fear death and pain, so we don’t do the good things that cause these things. And because we do not want to face our fears, we make excuses for why following our fears is the right thing to do.
But we do not live by our fears abosolutely—we not mice, scurrying away from every hint of monsters. We also have drives. We are driven by our addictions—that which we know harms us but makes us feel better or normal. We are not afraid of our addictions, but we know that they should be feared. They are too close to who we are to allow us to be fearful. We are driven by our pleasures—our need for excitement or relaxation or to forget our normal life. We are driven by need for family and community, and we will face our fears of meeting the opposite sex, of having a baby, of going to a new meeting full of strangers, just so that we can find or create that community that meets our drive.
But we are forced to do these things, either by ourselves, or by others. Some of these things are good, some are not. But the ethics or spirituality of the situation is almost never what drives us. Rather we are like magnets, either pulled toward or driven away by this or that force. We may claim independence, but rarely do we make a decision based on our own free will, on what is good. We are led by others, by the context we live in. This is oppression. We are not free.
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