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Paris_Blues

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What does it truly mean when people are made in the image and likeness of God? I have an idea but could be wrong…:o
 
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Paris, what’s your idea?
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I don’t know…as an artist/illustrator myself, I think of the word “image” meaning the physical features of something. Meaning the shape, features, etc. I don’t know.:o
 
I think it refers to our immortal souls being created in the image of God and also our mortal bodies are created in the likeness of Jesus (I.e. head, body, arms, legs, hands etc), but I could be wrong on the last statement. :confused:

Yours in the Spirit

Pious
 
I think that there is a lengthy list of attributes of us that are the image of God.

My personal opinion is that physical appearance is not necessarily one of these.

My favorite is how the family is in the image of God. The husband and wife are joined by God. They become one but are still seperate persons. From their love come children like the love between Father and Jesus producing the holy spirit. My terminology may be wrong but I think the jist is correct.
 
We know for a fact that we have emotions similar to God’s. When you read the bible you will see God’s emotions of rejoicing, pain, hurt, joy, anger, compassion and love. As God loves us so also are we fully capable of giving love to God. The nature of man’s emotions are definitely shadowed in God’s image.

Man has free will. Man can use his understanding and basic emotional capabilities to choose to love or hate as God can. God always chooses love. For man this is not always the case.

Our nature and understanding of things and our capacity to love God put us far closer God’s nature of understanding than we are to the way the animals understand things. Both man and God understand the concepts of feeding the poor, loving one’s neighbor and not murdering anyone. The animals do not have comprehension of these concepts. Choices Of The Heart

**NAB WIS 2:23 **

For God formed man to be imperishable; the image of his own nature he made him.

Peace in Christ,
Steven Merten
www.ILOVEYOUGOD.com
 
God has the capacity to freely enter into a relationship and we too have this ability. We can freely love God and have a relationship with him. So, I suppose this requires a will and an understanding and the ability to love. I also assume a self-awareness, so as to be able to “see” an I and an other, so there can be a relationship. Also, we will at some point share in the life of God, in a way. This also makes us like God.
 
We have spiritual souls, which means we have intellect and free will. We can know Truth, and we can be co-creators with God in the free decisions we make. This is also the basis of personal relationships – probably the fullest sense of image. I think when scripture speaks of God’s emotions, it is talking figuratively. (Emotions or passions implies that the one who has them is affected or changed, but God does not change. Also, animals have emotions so this would not set humans apart as “image of God” is supposed to do.)

BTW, before St. Augustine became Catholic, he used to think Catholics thought that “image of God” meant that God was a giant person in human form, i.e., shape. He thought that this was a silly idea, so he did not look further into Catholic thought, until much later in his life (much to his and St. Monica’s lament). When he did become Catholic, he came to realize his previous preconception was wrong, and that “image” basically boils down to intellect/will. Catholics have been being misunderstood for two millenia.
 
Paris Blues:
What does it truly mean when people are made in the image and likeness of God? I have an idea but could be wrong…:o
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Intellect and free will, which mirrors God’s.

Gerry 🙂
 
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