T
tonyrey
Guest
Precisely how are we minute dots in the vastness of space and time similar to the Supreme Being and Creator of the entire universe?
- Status
4
4Horsemen
Guest
As God’s children, created by Him, we are heirs to the Kingdom. Being His progeny, we have the spiritual makeup, that is a soul or “form of the body,” that is made uniquely for eternity. It is hard for us mortals to imagine, much less understand, the profundity of a Being, Supreme in all ways to raise up “minute dots” that we are. It is a great mystery. The angels were aghast or in astonishment, as has been written, that such a mighty Lord would enable material creatures to taste heavenly glory and even become one of them. This mighty and gracious God had the audacity to even love these lowly creatures to the point of dying for them.
The connection? Between an Almighty, Transcendent, Omniscient, Loving God and human beings (some saints called us humans “filthy rags”) is love. That’s because the Creator of the universe is All-loving . . . is Love itself.
Nonetheless, our language is limiting. It is impossible to express our image of God – “the inexpressible, the incomprehensible, the invisible, the ungraspable” – with our human representations (Catechism quote of the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostum.) However, we can discern His creatures perfections to start with “for from the greatness and beauty of created things comes a corresponding perception of their Creator.” (Wis. 13:5)
Also, the Catechism quotes the Lateran Council saying, “between Creator and creature no similitude can be expressed without implying an even greater dissimilitude” and from St. Thomas Aquinas, “concerning God, we cannot grasp what he is, but only what he is not, and how other beings stand in relation to him.”
T
tonyrey
Guest
A fine answer!
S
shoe
Guest
I think that “made in God’s image and likeness” means that God has endued within each person elements that reflect His own nature (His attributes). For example, like God, mankind has intellect, moral reasoning, emotion, and volition. I think that to be made in God’s image also means that people are creative and spiritual. But because God the Father is a Spirit - and not flesh and bones, I believe that “made in God’s image and likeness” does not refer to mankind looking like God physically.
B
buffalo
Guest
48. What is man?
50. How is the soul like God?
Code:
Man is a creature composed of body and soul, and made to the image and likeness of God.
*And God created man to his own image. (Genesis 2:7)*
**49. Is this likeness to God in the body or in the soul?**
This likeness to God is chiefly in the soul.
Code:
The soul is like God because it is a spirit having understanding and free will, and is destined to live forever.
*And the dust return into its earth, from whence it was, and the spirit return to God, who gave it. (Ecclesiastes 12:7)*
G
geebob
Guest
To be created in God’s image is to be a person. What makes us personal is a variety of attributes with consciousness, passions, rationality, intentionality, freedom, a moral nature and so on. As mentioned above, love is apart of that and that means to fulfill our nature is to be related to each other in community just as the trinity is a self contained community of persons.
There is a lot we can understand about personhood, and God was not just a good creator, but he was a really really good creator who was capable of creating us with the ability to positively know much about him (contrary to the negative theology as quoted from Thomas Aquinas and many others in the theological tradition). That doesn’t mean we can understand everything about God, but even if we don’t fully comprehend him, we do apprehend him.
That we are created in the image of God also is relevant to our relation to the rest of creation as we are to represent God to the creation. It is reminiscent of the ancient practice of conquering monarchs who would set up statues of themselves in foreign cities to symbolize their dominion over those cities.
That we are created in the image of God may be the most important metaphysical statement in scripture and it explains our intense value and sacredness. It explains why are to treat each other with dignity and why many important morals are the way they are. It explains the abomination of idolatry, that we are not to set up images of gods to treat as if they were sacred and treat them as if they somehow affected the presence of the divine because God already has an image that we are to treat with dignity whose role is to manifest his presence in the world (a damaged role which Christ restores in the church). Yet the presence of God is found in the oppressed and suffering who model his suffering because and for a fallen world. Another area of morality that is explained is the gravity behind some of the sexual morals. Immediately after saying that we are created in the image of God, it says male and female he created us strongly indicating that gender itself and gendered relationships are based upon the divine pattern. So while some gendered relationships don’t fully allow us to live up to the divine ideal but are permitted (like polygamy), others are given the death penalty under the old covenant to demonstrate just how much of an affront to the divine image they are, such as homosexuality, adultery and bestiality. And so most instances of the death penalty are given to particular violations of the divine image. For murder, scripture explicitly explains that this is an assault on the divine image. For the death penalty to be proscribed for children who curse or strike there parents seems overkill, but this gives us a hint that that relationship is so sacred that it is part of the divine image, and then in the new testament, we find indeed that God is described in the metaphor of Father and Son.
I think that one of the most interesting implications of the divine image is that our creation was not a pure act of creativity, of originality. Much of what we are patterned after is eternal without a beginning and uncreated. God decided how much like himself he would make us, and he determined how that would be manifested, but the degree to which we reflect him is the degree to which our natures are uncreated as he is uncreated. For this reason, I think the moral theory of divine command theory fails since God cannot command just anything with respect to himself and make it good since he and his moral nature, his infinite value is uncreated and not by his own choice. Thus while much of us including parts of our moral natures are created, thus some of the morality with regard to us is also part of God’s creative act, there is much of our moral nature that couldn’t be any other way. So for example, since God patterned gender from some aspect of himself, and because of the way he instituted it, he cannot make rape be moral. He could’ve created gender in a way that it didn’t go to the heart of who we are and didn’t reflect his nature in the same way that it does, and so rape wouldn’t matter. This is the case with animals. But he didn’t do that. Gender is infused with the divine image.
There is a lot we can understand about personhood, and God was not just a good creator, but he was a really really good creator who was capable of creating us with the ability to positively know much about him (contrary to the negative theology as quoted from Thomas Aquinas and many others in the theological tradition). That doesn’t mean we can understand everything about God, but even if we don’t fully comprehend him, we do apprehend him.
That we are created in the image of God also is relevant to our relation to the rest of creation as we are to represent God to the creation. It is reminiscent of the ancient practice of conquering monarchs who would set up statues of themselves in foreign cities to symbolize their dominion over those cities.
That we are created in the image of God may be the most important metaphysical statement in scripture and it explains our intense value and sacredness. It explains why are to treat each other with dignity and why many important morals are the way they are. It explains the abomination of idolatry, that we are not to set up images of gods to treat as if they were sacred and treat them as if they somehow affected the presence of the divine because God already has an image that we are to treat with dignity whose role is to manifest his presence in the world (a damaged role which Christ restores in the church). Yet the presence of God is found in the oppressed and suffering who model his suffering because and for a fallen world. Another area of morality that is explained is the gravity behind some of the sexual morals. Immediately after saying that we are created in the image of God, it says male and female he created us strongly indicating that gender itself and gendered relationships are based upon the divine pattern. So while some gendered relationships don’t fully allow us to live up to the divine ideal but are permitted (like polygamy), others are given the death penalty under the old covenant to demonstrate just how much of an affront to the divine image they are, such as homosexuality, adultery and bestiality. And so most instances of the death penalty are given to particular violations of the divine image. For murder, scripture explicitly explains that this is an assault on the divine image. For the death penalty to be proscribed for children who curse or strike there parents seems overkill, but this gives us a hint that that relationship is so sacred that it is part of the divine image, and then in the new testament, we find indeed that God is described in the metaphor of Father and Son.
I think that one of the most interesting implications of the divine image is that our creation was not a pure act of creativity, of originality. Much of what we are patterned after is eternal without a beginning and uncreated. God decided how much like himself he would make us, and he determined how that would be manifested, but the degree to which we reflect him is the degree to which our natures are uncreated as he is uncreated. For this reason, I think the moral theory of divine command theory fails since God cannot command just anything with respect to himself and make it good since he and his moral nature, his infinite value is uncreated and not by his own choice. Thus while much of us including parts of our moral natures are created, thus some of the morality with regard to us is also part of God’s creative act, there is much of our moral nature that couldn’t be any other way. So for example, since God patterned gender from some aspect of himself, and because of the way he instituted it, he cannot make rape be moral. He could’ve created gender in a way that it didn’t go to the heart of who we are and didn’t reflect his nature in the same way that it does, and so rape wouldn’t matter. This is the case with animals. But he didn’t do that. Gender is infused with the divine image.
B
buffalo
Guest
Paragraph 6. Man
355 "God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him, male and female he created them."218 Man occupies a unique place in creation: (I) he is “in the image of God”; (II) in his own nature he unites the spiritual and material worlds; (III) he is created “male and female”; (IV) God established him in his friendship.
** I. “IN THE IMAGE OF GOD” **
356 Of all visible creatures only man is “able to know and love his creator”.219 He is “the only creature on earth that God has willed for its own sake”,220 and he alone is called to share, by knowledge and love, in God’s own life. It was for this end that he was created, and this is the fundamental reason for his dignity:
What made you establish man in so great a dignity? Certainly the incalculable love by which you have looked on your creature in yourself! You are taken with love for her; for by love indeed you created her, by love you have given her a being capable of tasting your eternal Good.221
357 Being in the image of God the human individual possesses the dignity of a person, who is not just something, but someone. He is capable of self-knowledge, of self-possession and of freely giving himself and entering into communion with other persons. And he is called by grace to a covenant with his Creator, to offer him a response of faith and love that no other creature can give in his stead.
358 God created everything for man,222 but man in turn was created to serve and love God and to offer all creation back to him:
What is it that is about to be created, that enjoys such honor? It is man that great and wonderful living creature, more precious in the eyes of God than all other creatures! For him the heavens and the earth, the sea and all the rest of creation exist. God attached so much importance to his salvation that he did not spare his own Son for the sake of man. Nor does he ever cease to work, trying every possible means, until he has raised man up to himself and made him sit at his right hand.223
359 "In reality it is only in the mystery of the Word made flesh that the mystery of man truly becomes clear."224
St. Paul tells us that the human race takes its origin from two men: Adam and Christ. . . The first man, Adam, he says, became a living soul, the last Adam a life-giving spirit. The first Adam was made by the last Adam, from whom he also received his soul, to give him life. . . The second Adam stamped his image on the first Adam when he created him. That is why he took on himself the role and the name of the first Adam, in order that he might not lose what he had made in his own image. The first Adam, the last Adam: the first had a beginning, the last knows no end. The last Adam is indeed the first; as he himself says: "I am the first and the last."225
360 Because of its common origin the human race forms a unity, for “from one ancestor [God] made all nations to inhabit the whole earth”:226
O wondrous vision, which makes us contemplate the human race in the unity of its origin in God. . . in the unity of its nature, composed equally in all men of a material body and a spiritual soul; in the unity of its immediate end and its mission in the world; in the unity of its dwelling, the earth, whose benefits all men, by right of nature, may use to sustain and develop life; in the unity of its supernatural end: God himself, to whom all ought to tend; in the unity of the means for attaining this end;. . . in the unity of the redemption wrought by Christ for all.227
361 “This law of human solidarity and charity”,228 without excluding the rich variety of persons, cultures and peoples, assures us that all men are truly brethren.
355 "God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him, male and female he created them."218 Man occupies a unique place in creation: (I) he is “in the image of God”; (II) in his own nature he unites the spiritual and material worlds; (III) he is created “male and female”; (IV) God established him in his friendship.
** I. “IN THE IMAGE OF GOD” **
356 Of all visible creatures only man is “able to know and love his creator”.219 He is “the only creature on earth that God has willed for its own sake”,220 and he alone is called to share, by knowledge and love, in God’s own life. It was for this end that he was created, and this is the fundamental reason for his dignity:
What made you establish man in so great a dignity? Certainly the incalculable love by which you have looked on your creature in yourself! You are taken with love for her; for by love indeed you created her, by love you have given her a being capable of tasting your eternal Good.221
357 Being in the image of God the human individual possesses the dignity of a person, who is not just something, but someone. He is capable of self-knowledge, of self-possession and of freely giving himself and entering into communion with other persons. And he is called by grace to a covenant with his Creator, to offer him a response of faith and love that no other creature can give in his stead.
358 God created everything for man,222 but man in turn was created to serve and love God and to offer all creation back to him:
What is it that is about to be created, that enjoys such honor? It is man that great and wonderful living creature, more precious in the eyes of God than all other creatures! For him the heavens and the earth, the sea and all the rest of creation exist. God attached so much importance to his salvation that he did not spare his own Son for the sake of man. Nor does he ever cease to work, trying every possible means, until he has raised man up to himself and made him sit at his right hand.223
359 "In reality it is only in the mystery of the Word made flesh that the mystery of man truly becomes clear."224
St. Paul tells us that the human race takes its origin from two men: Adam and Christ. . . The first man, Adam, he says, became a living soul, the last Adam a life-giving spirit. The first Adam was made by the last Adam, from whom he also received his soul, to give him life. . . The second Adam stamped his image on the first Adam when he created him. That is why he took on himself the role and the name of the first Adam, in order that he might not lose what he had made in his own image. The first Adam, the last Adam: the first had a beginning, the last knows no end. The last Adam is indeed the first; as he himself says: "I am the first and the last."225
360 Because of its common origin the human race forms a unity, for “from one ancestor [God] made all nations to inhabit the whole earth”:226
O wondrous vision, which makes us contemplate the human race in the unity of its origin in God. . . in the unity of its nature, composed equally in all men of a material body and a spiritual soul; in the unity of its immediate end and its mission in the world; in the unity of its dwelling, the earth, whose benefits all men, by right of nature, may use to sustain and develop life; in the unity of its supernatural end: God himself, to whom all ought to tend; in the unity of the means for attaining this end;. . . in the unity of the redemption wrought by Christ for all.227
361 “This law of human solidarity and charity”,228 without excluding the rich variety of persons, cultures and peoples, assures us that all men are truly brethren.
B
buffalo
Guest
**II. “BODY AND SOUL BUT TRULY ONE” **
362 The human person, created in the image of God, is a being at once corporeal and spiritual. The biblical account expresses this reality in symbolic language when it affirms that "then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being."229 Man, whole and entire, is therefore *willed *by God.
363 In Sacred Scripture the term “soul” often refers to human *life *or the entire human person.230 But “soul” also refers to the innermost aspect of man, that which is of greatest value in him,231 that by which he is most especially in God’s image: “soul” signifies the spiritual principle in man.
364 The human body shares in the dignity of “the image of God”: it is a human body precisely because it is animated by a spiritual soul, and it is the whole human person that is intended to become, in the body of Christ, a temple of the Spirit:232
Man, though made of body and soul, is a unity. Through his very bodily condition he sums up in himself the elements of the material world. Through him they are thus brought to their highest perfection and can raise their voice in praise freely given to the Creator. For this reason man may not despise his bodily life. Rather he is obliged to regard his body as good and to hold it in honor since God has created it and will raise it up on the last day. 233
365 The unity of soul and body is so profound that one has to consider the soul to be the “form” of the body:234 i.e., it is because of its spiritual soul that the body made of matter becomes a living, human body; spirit and matter, in man, are not two natures united, but rather their union forms a single nature.
366 The Church teaches that every spiritual soul is created immediately by God - it is not “produced” by the parents - and also that it is immortal: it does not perish when it separates from the body at death, and it will be reunited with the body at the final Resurrection.235
367 Sometimes the soul is distinguished from the spirit: St. Paul for instance prays that God may sanctify his people “wholly”, with “spirit and soul and body” kept sound and blameless at the Lord’s coming.236 The Church teaches that this distinction does not introduce a duality into the soul.237 “Spirit” signifies that from creation man is ordered to a supernatural end and that his soul can gratuitously be raised beyond all it deserves to communion with God.238
368 The spiritual tradition of the Church also emphasizes the heart, in the biblical sense of the depths of one’s being, where the person decides for or against God.239
362 The human person, created in the image of God, is a being at once corporeal and spiritual. The biblical account expresses this reality in symbolic language when it affirms that "then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being."229 Man, whole and entire, is therefore *willed *by God.
363 In Sacred Scripture the term “soul” often refers to human *life *or the entire human person.230 But “soul” also refers to the innermost aspect of man, that which is of greatest value in him,231 that by which he is most especially in God’s image: “soul” signifies the spiritual principle in man.
364 The human body shares in the dignity of “the image of God”: it is a human body precisely because it is animated by a spiritual soul, and it is the whole human person that is intended to become, in the body of Christ, a temple of the Spirit:232
Man, though made of body and soul, is a unity. Through his very bodily condition he sums up in himself the elements of the material world. Through him they are thus brought to their highest perfection and can raise their voice in praise freely given to the Creator. For this reason man may not despise his bodily life. Rather he is obliged to regard his body as good and to hold it in honor since God has created it and will raise it up on the last day. 233
365 The unity of soul and body is so profound that one has to consider the soul to be the “form” of the body:234 i.e., it is because of its spiritual soul that the body made of matter becomes a living, human body; spirit and matter, in man, are not two natures united, but rather their union forms a single nature.
366 The Church teaches that every spiritual soul is created immediately by God - it is not “produced” by the parents - and also that it is immortal: it does not perish when it separates from the body at death, and it will be reunited with the body at the final Resurrection.235
367 Sometimes the soul is distinguished from the spirit: St. Paul for instance prays that God may sanctify his people “wholly”, with “spirit and soul and body” kept sound and blameless at the Lord’s coming.236 The Church teaches that this distinction does not introduce a duality into the soul.237 “Spirit” signifies that from creation man is ordered to a supernatural end and that his soul can gratuitously be raised beyond all it deserves to communion with God.238
368 The spiritual tradition of the Church also emphasizes the heart, in the biblical sense of the depths of one’s being, where the person decides for or against God.239
J
Joel_PF
Guest
Being in the image of God means being a spiritual creature, with intellect and will.
Being in His likeness means having one’s reason and will correctly ordered towards Him (after all, God’s loves primarily Himself); in other words, being united to Him, being in the state of grace.
With the Fall, mankind lost its likeness to God (which it regained with Jesus Christ), but kept the image, though now more blurred and somewhat distorted because of the consequences of original sin (we are less rational).
Being in His likeness means having one’s reason and will correctly ordered towards Him (after all, God’s loves primarily Himself); in other words, being united to Him, being in the state of grace.
With the Fall, mankind lost its likeness to God (which it regained with Jesus Christ), but kept the image, though now more blurred and somewhat distorted because of the consequences of original sin (we are less rational).
L
lemondiesel
Guest
Reason, which is reflected through the material and immaterial.
T
tonyrey
Guest
You have made the important point that a person is necessarily creative - which is implied by free will and the power of reason. Of course the extent to which some one chooses to be creative varies considerably!
T
tonyrey
Guest
I’m intrigued by “chiefly in the soul” in #49 which suggests our likeness to God is not entirely in the soul! But this seems ruled out in #50 by “The soul is like God because it is a spirit…”
4
4Horsemen
Guest
I thought it strange when I read we are like God “chiefly in the soul” (#49) as well. It seems confusing. This is only a guess, but I think it could possibly underscore that we are likened, bodily, to the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity in His human form, for the Three Persons knew from all eternity that He would come into the world “in the flesh” and, likewise, become one of us having both soul and body. Jesus Christ is the new Adam. Although our material part is from Adam to start with, it is sanctified in the Body of Christ.I’m intrigued by “chiefly in the soul” in #49 which suggests our likeness to God is not entirely in the soul! But this seems ruled out in #50 by “The soul is like God because it is a spirit…”
Then #50 goes on to talk about the soul being like God but neglects to explain #49.
G
grannymh
Guest
Because our unique human nature unites the material and spiritual worlds, we have the opportunity to eternally share in the life of the Divine Pure Spirit by our knowledge and love.
Blessings,
granny
Human life is sacred.
- Status