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Genesis 1:26-27 says “And God said, Let us make man according to our image, and according to our likeness; and let them control the fishes of the sea, and the winged creatures of the heaven, and the cattle, and all the earth, and all the reptiles , those crawling upon the earth.
Presumably God could have created the body of man in another shape and appearance but instead, he chose to create the body of Adam in Gods own appearance and similitude.
Why did God create a theomorphic body for Adam?
What is the profound underlying symbolism and lesson regarding man’s nature to be found in God’s having created the body of Adam in his own shape and appearance?
Genesis 1:26-27 says “And God said, Let us make man according to our image, and according to our likeness; and let them control the fishes of the sea, and the winged creatures of the heaven, and the cattle, and all the earth, and all the reptiles , those crawling upon the earth.
Presumably God could have created the body of man in another shape and appearance but instead, he chose to create the body of Adam in Gods own appearance and similitude.
Why did God create a theomorphic body for Adam?
What is the profound underlying symbolism and lesson regarding man’s nature to be found in God’s having created the body of Adam in his own shape and appearance?
I'd say that it's because we are His children, his own offspring, and not merely another creation.
In Genesis 1:24-27, we read, "And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them."
God was clearly speaking of the physical creation of all life in these verses. He said that every form of life would reproduce "after its kind." Therefore, it would only make sense that God would reproduce after His kind.
Genesis 1:26-27 says “And God said, Let us make man according to our image, and according to our likeness; and let them control the fishes of the sea, and the winged creatures of the heaven, and the cattle, and all the earth, and all the reptiles , those crawling upon the earth.
Presumably God could have created the body of man in another shape and appearance but instead, he chose to create the body of Adam in Gods own appearance and similitude.
Why did God create a theomorphic body for Adam?
What is the profound underlying symbolism and lesson regarding man’s nature to be found in God’s having created the body of Adam in his own shape and appearance?
The profound underlying symbolism and lesson regarding man’s nature to be found in God’s creation of Adam's body in his own shape and appearance is that it is not Adam's body that is in God's image and likeness. God is Spirit. It is the Spirit of Adam that gave him dominance over the earth. But he had to mature his Spirit as we all do. There's the rub.
Genesis 1:26-27 says “And God said, Let us make man according to our image, and according to our likeness; and let them control the fishes of the sea, and the winged creatures of the heaven, and the cattle, and all the earth, and all the reptiles , those crawling upon the earth.
Presumably God could have created the body of man in another shape and appearance but instead, he chose to create the body of Adam in Gods own appearance and similitude.
Why did God create a theomorphic body for Adam?
What is the profound underlying symbolism and lesson regarding man’s nature to be found in God’s having created the body of Adam in his own shape and appearance?
There are different views on just what 'created in the image of God' means. Some think it refers to our bodies being created just like God's body is (the assumption being that God has a body). Others think that being in the image of God means that the attributes of our soul - intelligence, volition, emotion, conscience, etc. are the same as God's, though on a lesser level. And still others think that being created in the image of God simply refers to having been given authority to rule over the earth - Gen. 1:26.
The Bible must be interpreted in the time and culture in which it was written. There was a time in ancient Hebrew thought that God did have a physical body. Perhaps whoever wrote the creation account in Genesis one held the belief that God had a physical body and that was the writer's intended meaning. After all, all the gods in ancient Near East culture were believed to have had physical bodies.
It's an interesting question because the orthodox (small O) view has always been that God is a spirit, and does not have a body like men. Growing up in the church, we were taught that "in God's image" meant spiritual, moral and intellectual qualities, but not physical qualities.
I believe Mormans think that since we are God's offspring, and the offspring of a physical being is a small likeness of the parent, that we are all little gods. That is not a historical view of "in the image of God" at all.
In any case, as a Christian, I don't have any problem with the creation story being mythic. Mythic meaning of course that it contains profound truths, but is not literally word for word true (e.g. creation in six 24-hour days, etc., a literal Adam and Eve in a literal garden, etc.) Maybe the best way to express that is to say that I take the creation story too seriously to take it literally.
It's an interesting question because the orthodox (small O) view has always been that God is a spirit, and does not have a body like men. Growing up in the church, we were taught that "in God's image" meant spiritual, moral and intellectual qualities, but not physical qualities.
I believe Mormans think that since we are God's offspring, and the offspring of a physical being is a small likeness of the parent, that we are all little gods. That is not a historical view of "in the image of God" at all.
In any case, as a Christian, I don't have any problem with the creation story being mythic. Mythic meaning of course that it contains profound truths, but is not literally word for word true (e.g. creation in six 24-hour days, etc., a literal Adam and Eve in a literal garden, etc.) Maybe the best way to express that is to say that I take the creation story too seriously to take it literally.
Yep, I look at it like that too
I think of it as differentiating between the stories and the meanings and symbolism the stories contain within them
The profound underlying symbolism and lesson regarding man’s nature to be found in God’s creation of Adam's body in his own shape and appearance is that it is not Adam's body that is in God's image and likeness. God is Spirit. It is the Spirit of Adam that gave him dominance over the earth. But he had to mature his Spirit as we all do. There's the rub.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Katzpur
So are we all. That doesn't preclude the fact that our spirits reside within our corporeal bodies.
As you know, we disagree about what a Spirit is, Katz. Our corporeal bodies are the "wombs" of our Spirits, NOT our Spiritual bodies. We will be pure Spirit like God when we leave this "womb" and are "born again" as Spirit. The character we form and become will define our spiritual body, NOT our physical appearance, IMO. I know YMMV!
It's an interesting question because the orthodox (small O) view has always been that God is a spirit, and does not have a body like men. Growing up in the church, we were taught that "in God's image" meant spiritual, moral and intellectual qualities, but not physical qualities.
I believe Mormans think that since we are God's offspring, and the offspring of a physical being is a small likeness of the parent, that we are all little gods. That is not a historical view of "in the image of God" at all.
In any case, as a Christian, I don't have any problem with the creation story being mythic. Mythic meaning of course that it contains profound truths, but is not literally word for word true (e.g. creation in six 24-hour days, etc., a literal Adam and Eve in a literal garden, etc.) Maybe the best way to express that is to say that I take the creation story too seriously to take it literally.
The classic teaching is that being created in the image and likeness of God means that we are creatures with a rational soul and free will, and that is what distinguishes us from other creatures.
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^^^^This.