Man made in God's image?

[Voice_Of_Reason]

We hear that people say “We’re all made in the image of God.” However, in the letters to the Corinthians it states man …“is the image and glory of God.” Yet, below that it is written, “…women is the glory of man.” Here, I believe referencing to Adam and then Eve. My question is, is it the Church’s teaching that BOTH sexes are the image of God, or just man? Also, please reference documents. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to be sexist, but it’s something I’ve thought about today. Might be a dumb question, but I appreciate any commentary.

1 Corinthians 11:1-16 is what I’m referencing to in terms of scripture in my post.

Thanks!

 

[dominicsavio]

peace be with you!

read carefully this text from the book of Genesis: "Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; {…} So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” (Gen. 1:26-27)

when one reflects on this passage, you see that right after it says He created man in his image it says male and female He created them. that is very important. according to our Holy Father JPII, man does image God by himself, but even more in union with another. both male and female were created to image the God who is Love. God is a Trinity, an eternal communion of persons who are giving themselves to eachother in love. The Father loves the Son, and the Son receives that love and gives it back to the Father. The Love between them is another person: the Holy Spirit. So when God created man in His image, he created both male and female, so that they could give of themselves to another in such a way so as to reflect the very life of God! so yes, absolutely both man and woman are made in the image of God.

the ideas expressed here can be found in a text called the Theology of the Body. it is by no means an infallible document, but the Pope spent about 5 years and almost 200 papal addresses explaining it. it goes perfectly with authoritative documents such as Humanae Vitae and the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

 

[Voice_Of_Reason]

Thanks for the reply

 

[Della]

Hi VOR! The passage you cited is talking about matters of authority not equality. Because one may be higher in authority does not mean that they are intrinsically greater than those under their authority. Which is why Paul points out that: “…the head of Christ is God” (cf. verse 3). God the Father is over Christ in authority but Christ is also God, so he is equal to the Father in his divine nature.

Also, verse 12 says: “for as woman was made from man, so man is now born of woman”. From this we can deduce that Paul is not talking about equality, since man and woman are equally dependent on one another for existence, but only of a man’s authority over his wife.

Lastly, in Galatians 3:8 Paul clearly states that all are equal in Christ, both men and women. But here he is not addressing the issue of authority but of intrinsic worth. I hope that helps!

 

[mercygate]

dominicsavio:

the ideas expressed here can be found in a text called the Theology of the Body. . . . it goes perfectly with authoritative documents such as Humanae Vitae and the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

I nearly jumped out of my skin right near the beginning of the book, where JP notes that in Hebrew, Adam is referred to as “Adam” – human – until Eve is created; then he is referred to as “male.” I’m sure the old rabbinic scholars have that down pat, but what little Hebrew I ever knew has vanished, and I never knew that before!