God’s Voice pt.2: Divine Gifts April 14, 2008
Posted by Matt in God's Voice.Tags: creativity, god, imago dei, logic, love, religion
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Once upon a time, our prokaryotic ancestors of eons ago emerged from the primordial sludge and began that long, strenous track across the spectrum of time, weaving its way through life explosions and mass extinctions until finally reaching a new stratum of existence, that of modern man. Now, man was somewhat different from the other creatures, even those of his own mammalian family, for this being had certain traits far greater than those of his preceding stages. Compared to other living things of the day, man had ascended to a height of power that was near god-like.
We read the account of creation in the book of Genesis and, whether or not you believe it to be a highly accurate, scientific text in which the entire universe was begat in a mere 144 hours (and obviously from the paragraph above, I don’t), there is one bit of passage that really sticks out:
“Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, in our likeness…” Gen 1:26
What exactly does it mean to be the imago dei – the image of God? Does it mean, perhaps, that God is a bipedal humanoid being and we actually physically look like Him? Or does it maybe mean something else entirely?
No, I would say that the image of God is not necessarily found in outward appearances, rather, it is an inward trait, one that presents itself in our very being and it is present in every piece of humanity around the globe. In my view, God bestowed a bit of Himself, a portion of His divinity upon us when he granted us our existence as modern man. In doing so, we may even say that He relinquished a bit of his divine powers in order to bestow upon us these powerful presents. So, in what ways does the imago dei within us present itself?
Logic and Reason – While it may be said that other primates show some very rudimentary abilities to apply logic to a problem, it is human beings that have crafted and employed this gift from above. Just as God crafted the cosmos and set it into motion according to the carefully constructed laws of physics, concocted a table of elemental substances of which all known matter is contructed, and began living things along their arduous evolutionary trek, human beings then took and eventually shaped many of these forces to do their bidding – sometimes for good and sometimes evil, from the near-eradication of deadly diseases to the horrific power of the nuclear bomb.
Creativity – Is there any doubt that God is certainly a great and wondrous artist? Whether gazing upon the purple mountains majesty or looking into the far reaches of our galaxy or theorizing about the smallest particles imaginable, His greatly imaginative handiwork can be seen all about us. So, it stands to reason that this gift has given us nearly unimaginable works of beauty by the human hand in everything from the beauty of poetry to the elegance of mathematical proof to the works of classical painters and sculptors. Creativity is surely a trait of the divine.
Love – Perhaps the greatest and most often neglected of our astoundingly great gifts in our overly-individualistic Western culture is that of love and community. As the great poet William Blake once said:
“And all must love the human form,
In heathen, turk, or jew;
Where Mercy, Love & Pity dwell
There God is dwelling too.”
To be continued…
Thoughts?
Well said. We’re also unique in that we have a role and charge to be stewards of creation in a way that animals do not. We are able to be his confidants, friends (Exo 33, Psalms, etc.) and followers… and in that we’re able to participate in the kingdom actively.
The danger with associating the Imageo Dei with human characteristics such as intelligence, creativity, and other mental functions is that when humans lack those chacteristics then one concludes that there is something sub-human about them and diminishes their worth. Shall we say that the handicapped child who displays less reason and creativity than an ape is of less worth than the animal or that the comotose man has lost the divine spark within him? Shall we say that because an unborn child has not developped the ability to think that the image of God is not present within her? Surely not.
I’m convinced that the image of God referrs primarily to man’s eternal nature, to his soul – that unseen and often unidentifiable part of us all that cannot be observed by human eyes but which shines like a star within our broken and humble flesh. It is ultimately the possession of an eternal soul more than any intellectual or emotional capacity that separates us from the animals and elevates us to the point that we can be called the children of God.
Good point, smokey, you’re getting ahead of me…
What I am saying, though, is that those things (intelligence, creativity, love, etc.) are not necessarily “human” characteristics. Instead, I’m talking of them being divine characteristics that have been bestowed upon humankind. These divine characteristics (and others), then, are all pieces (but not the only pieces) of that inner part of our humanity that we call a soul.
I agree, Matt. I think that creativity, reason, love, etc. are characteristics that we share with God because we are in his image.
Good point on the sub-human point Smokey. However, perhaps it is the potential or capacity for these things.. Even many coma patients exhibit differing brain wave patterns. Or perhaps creativity, intelligence, discernment, etc. would be outputs of the soul?
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Matt, I have trouble reconciling your description of our “evolution” with God’s making us in His image. If we evolved, how are we different from animals? I agree that being made in His image is not about our physical appearance. I tend to think that it has more to do with the capacity to know good from evil. The three traits you suggested I believe to be present in the animal kingdom as well. Who would not say that a dog is capable of love? Would we not say that birds/spiders are capable of creativity in the creation of their nests and webs? I suspect that even reason is present, although maybe only in the form of reaction to external threats. But, I don’t think that animals have the capacity to know the difference between good and evil. Just a counter thought.
Patrick,
We are different from animals because of the presence of a soul – the image of God within each of us.
In addition to that, I think that we tend to put certain traits on animals when what we actually see is just a matter of conditioning or instincts.
Matt, my point was, if we are a result of evolution, when/how did we receive a soul? If we are a result of accidents of survival of the fittest, how are we different from animals?
Or, even better, at what point along the evolutionary timeline did we “qualify” for getting the soul? At some point God must have said, okay, you are different from the apes, here’s your soul. ??? Is that how it was?
Of course I think there was a divine hand in the evolution of our species, so that would preclude the idea that we are merely the result of an accident. But, at the same time, I don’t know how to answer the question about the evolutionary timeline. That’s outside of my area of expertise (whatever that may be).