What is " The Image of God?"

[mickiel]

When the bible talks about Gods image, I have often wondered just what it is. I used to think it meant our physical shape, that God, in his Spirit form, shapes like a human. Having a head, torso, arms and legs and so on. But I am off into another belief that is growing in my belief; That the image of God, is " Consciousness." When God blew the breath of life into Adam, he was giving him consciousness. And Adams body became alive.

If this much is true, then all humans are made in Gods image, or they are conscious beings. So then the " Breath of Life", or consciousness, is in every human; Not to be confused with " The Holy Spirit of God", which is the annointed spirit of conversion, which is not in every human. But there is " A Spirit of Life" in every human, which I think is consciousness.

In Revelations 4:5 an interesting thing about God is revealed; the suggestion is that God has " Seven Spirits!" Which I think, if true, is simply incredible! Well, the " Spirit in man", or consciousness, is surely one; and " The Holy Spirit of God" which is given to the called and chosen, is a second one. So theres two right there, I wonder what the other five are?

The Image of God , being consciousness, means the human has a thinking, intelligent, mind. An active mental phenom that can grow and increase in knowledge. Consciousness then is a spirit in man, nothing physical. The body is physical. And I don't think consciousness has any particular location within the body, its just there. We tend to think its in our head, which is because when we introspect, we seem to look inward on an inner space somewhere behind our eyes. And yet, there is nothing inside our heads except physiological tissue of one sort or another. There is no space in our heads.

And if all these things be true, they bring up some very interesting possible ramifications.

[mickiel]

In Genesis 1:26;" And God said,Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness." This means " All humans" are made in the image of God, not just believers only. No believer in God can make the false claim that unbelievers are not in Gods image. So what is it that all humans have in common with God? Its academic, consciousness. Secondly, we have Life. So Gods image is conscious Life. Now I have a theory concerning prehistoric man. I believe its obvious that Neanderthals existed prior to Adam, Archaeology has proven that hands down. And many believers in God are struggling to either excuse that as not being true, or trying to explain it as best they can. I think Gods image is the answer.

Its an incredible answer.

I believe God did create primordal man, they existed, they had life, but not life given by the breath of God. In other words, they didnot have " Conscious life." They were not created in the image of God. Adam was called " The first man", well what does that mean? It means he was the first man to be made in Gods image, or the first human given a working consciousness. Primordal humans had no working consciousness, I believe God created them simular to animals, existing on instinct. Why did God create them, I really don't know, I can only speculate.

Originally Posted by mickiel

In Genesis 1:26;" And God said,Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness." This means " All humans" are made in the image of God, not just believers only. No believer in God can make the false claim that unbelievers are not in Gods image. So what is it that all humans have in common with God? Its academic, consciousness. Secondly, we have Life. So Gods image is conscious Life. Now I have a theory concerning prehistoric man. I believe its obvious that Neanderthals existed prior to Adam, Archaeology has proven that hands down. And many believers in God are struggling to either excuse that as not being true, or trying to explain it as best they can. I think Gods image is the answer.

Its an incredible answer.

I believe God did create primordal man, they existed, they had life, but not life given by the breath of God. In other words, they didnot have " Conscious life." They were not created in the image of God. Adam was called " The first man", well what does that mean? It means he was the first man to be made in Gods image, or the first human given a working consciousness. Primordal humans had no working consciousness, I believe God created them simular to animals, existing on instinct. Why did God create them, I really don't know, I can only speculate.

This is just my thinking..
I believe it was a group effort.
We are created by a group effort.
There is not just one being/God/creator.
But there are many in the group.

Humans are not the image of the Gods...
But we are actually their IDEAL PERFECTION that the Gods try to create.

We have strength and attributes (physically, emotionally, and mentally) that they either value or desire for themselves.

To understand these "Gods", we first have to understand ourselves.

We are creators ourselves as well.
We create different creatures through selective breeding and genetic engineering to serve us (agriculture, dogs, cats, farm animals, and etc)
We now create robots.

When we create, we create with a set objectives to develop/create "whatever" that is our ideal perfection for our intention.

We do not create something to be useless, unattractive, or unable to duplicate.

Remember, there is a God in all of us.

[love9]

Originally Posted by Nada

This is just my thinking..
I believe it was a group effort.
We are created by a group effort.
There is not just one being/God/creator.
But there are many in the group.

Humans are not the image of the Gods...
But we are actually their IDEAL PERFECTION that the Gods try to create.

We have strength and attributes (physically, emotionally, and mentally) that they either value or desire for themselves.

To understand these "Gods", we first have to understand ourselves.

We are creators ourselves as well.
We create different creatures through selective breeding and genetic engineering to serve us (agriculture, dogs, cats, farm animals, and etc)
We now create robots.

When we create, we create with a set objectives to develop/create "whatever" that is our ideal perfection for our intention.

We do not create something to be useless, unattractive, or unable to duplicate.

Remember, there is a God in all of us.

Thanks Nada, you've got a great holistic view of what may have happened with our creation, I find it very interesting!

All the best to you!

[mickiel]

Originally Posted by Nada

This is just my thinking..
I believe it was a group effort.
We are created by a group effort.
There is not just one being/God/creator.
But there are many in the group.

Humans are not the image of the Gods...
But we are actually their IDEAL PERFECTION that the Gods try to create.

We have strength and attributes (physically, emotionally, and mentally) that they either value or desire for themselves.

To understand these "Gods", we first have to understand ourselves.

We are creators ourselves as well.
We create different creatures through selective breeding and genetic engineering to serve us (agriculture, dogs, cats, farm animals, and etc)
We now create robots.

When we create, we create with a set objectives to develop/create "whatever" that is our ideal perfection for our intention.

We do not create something to be useless, unattractive, or unable to duplicate.

Remember, there is a God in all of us.

I myself believe there is one God, and I do not believe that understanding ourselves is the missing link in understanding him. I believe that one God has to give the human understanding, which is not in themselves. There is a componant " From God" in all of us, its called " Consciousness", but the " Spirit of that God", is not in all of us; and in my view, its not even in most of us; I would say it has not been in at least 99% of all humans who have lived in history combined. But that is my personal opinion. It is speculation on my part.

I believe all of us are predestined to one day have that part of God in us;

just not today.

[lenvdb64]

Originally Posted by mickiel

In Genesis 1:26;" And God said,Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness." This means " All humans" are made in the image of God, not just believers only. No believer in God can make the false claim that unbelievers are not in Gods image. So what is it that all humans have in common with God? Its academic, consciousness. Secondly, we have Life. So Gods image is conscious Life. Now I have a theory concerning prehistoric man. I believe its obvious that Neanderthals existed prior to Adam, Archaeology has proven that hands down. And many believers in God are struggling to either excuse that as not being true, or trying to explain it as best they can. I think Gods image is the answer.

Its an incredible answer.

I believe God did create primordal man, they existed, they had life, but not life given by the breath of God. In other words, they didnot have " Conscious life." They were not created in the image of God. Adam was called " The first man", well what does that mean? It means he was the first man to be made in Gods image, or the first human given a working consciousness. Primordal humans had no working consciousness, I believe God created them simular to animals, existing on instinct. Why did God create them, I really don't know, I can only speculate.

Firstly - Using the word God in Gen1:26 is an issue because the correct translation is "The Elohim" - the gods - plural - Male AND female.
For me this is a loose reference to the Anunnaki - The Sumerian tablets refer to these.

I believe human beings were genetically engineered by these Alien beings, by blending their DNA into some local Neanderthal DNA, and then they tweaked the DNA to make us sub-subservient.

The Image of God I uphold is a Kabbalistic Tree of Life view of the SELF / SOUL as the microcosm, which is the image also of the Macrocosm.

For may years as a gullible devoted christian I used to believe that God too, like me, has a head, a body like me etc.

Now I know better.

Originally Posted by mickiel

When the bible talks about Gods image, I have often wondered just what it is. I used to think it meant our physical shape, that God, in his Spirit form, shapes like a human. Having a head, torso, arms and legs and so on. But I am off into another belief that is growing in my belief; That the image of God, is " Consciousness." When God blew the breath of life into Adam, he was giving him consciousness. And Adams body became alive.

I agree with you up to a point, but I've thought about the Genesis creation myth before - and the conclusion I came to then isn't that it is just "consciousness" that molds man in the image of God. But, the ability to create. The ability to create is the one aspect of being human that differentiates us from the myriad of life forms that are conscious. Elephants have graveyards, dolphins have language, primates have tools, my cat can be trained to use the litter box - all of which require a level of consciousness to perform - and these are just the ones we know about.

Originally Posted by mickiel

If this much is true, then all humans are made in Gods image, or they are conscious beings. So then the " Breath of Life", or consciousness, is in every human; Not to be confused with " The Holy Spirit of God", which is the annointed spirit of conversion, which is not in every human. But there is " A Spirit of Life" in every human, which I think is consciousness.

I agree that the breath of life and the Holy Spirit are two separate phenomenon. I would venture that the Holy Spirit wasn't needed until after the fall from Eden. When humans saw themselves as separate and apart from God perhaps the Holy Spirit was created to provide a bridge back...?

Originally Posted by mickiel

In Revelations 4:5 an interesting thing about God is revealed; the suggestion is that God has " Seven Spirits!" Which I think, if true, is simply incredible! Well, the " Spirit in man", or consciousness, is surely one; and " The Holy Spirit of God" which is given to the called and chosen, is a second one. So theres two right there, I wonder what the other five are?

Got me.

Originally Posted by mickiel

The Image of God , being consciousness, means the human has a thinking, intelligent, mind. An active mental phenom that can grow and increase in knowledge. Consciousness then is a spirit in man, nothing physical. The body is physical. And I don't think consciousness has any particular location within the body, its just there. We tend to think its in our head, which is because when we introspect, we seem to look inward on an inner space somewhere behind our eyes. And yet, there is nothing inside our heads except physiological tissue of one sort or another. There is no space in our heads.

If consciousness was located anywhere in the body my money is on our DNA. It's amazing how we are unconscious of the trillions of axon potentials that fuel our every breath - but our DNA keeps sending out the messages and it permeates every part of our body. So, I'm not saying I know for sure - but I think its worth looking in to.

Originally Posted by mickiel

And if all these things be true, they bring up some very interesting possible ramifications.

True - though there are interesting possible ramifications to life without the Genesis creation myth, but its always good for a mental stretch. I personally would like to have read the original books in Hebrew and Aramaic as I think much was lost not only to time but to the "telephone game". If a book is translated, then translated again, and then translated again - how do you know what was in the original book?

[mickiel]

Originally Posted by VesicaPhoenix11

I agree with you up to a point, but I've thought about the Genesis creation myth before - and the conclusion I came to then isn't that it is just "consciousness" that molds man in the image of God. But, the ability to create. The ability to create is the one aspect of being human that differentiates us from the myriad of life forms that are conscious. Elephants have graveyards, dolphins have language, primates have tools, my cat can be trained to use the litter box - all of which require a level of consciousness to perform - and these are just the ones we know about. quote


I agree that the ability to create is specific to humans only.


quote
I agree that the breath of life and the Holy Spirit are two separate phenomenon. I would venture that the Holy Spirit wasn't needed until after the fall from Eden. When humans saw themselves as separate and apart from God perhaps the Holy Spirit was created to provide a bridge back...? quote


I do not consider what happened in Eden as " A fall." I believe it was more like " A push", God set up Adam and Eve and put them out. And I believe everything that happened in Eden, God prior planned it. It would have been impossible for the " Serpent, or satan, to enter into the garden without Gods prior permission. It didnot " Sneak past God." Secondly; the young couple was absolutely no match for satan, and God prior knew that. God didnot help them, he just let it happen. Why? Well God was creating " The need for Christ to come." What happened in Eden was a preordained reason to send Christ to earth. So the young adult couple were defintely set up to fail.






quote
If consciousness was located anywhere in the body my money is on our DNA. It's amazing how we are unconscious of the trillions of axon potentials that fuel our every breath - but our DNA keeps sending out the messages and it permeates every part of our body. So, I'm not saying I know for sure - but I think its worth looking in to. quote

I don't think it has a location, its just there, in the whole body. The body just carries it around. Like pouring water in a glass, the water takes on the entire shape of the glass; I think so it is with Spirit.


quote
True - though there are interesting possible ramifications to life without the Genesis creation myth, but its always good for a mental stretch. I personally would like to have read the original books in Hebrew and Aramaic as I think much was lost not only to time but to the "telephone game". If a book is translated, then translated again, and then translated again - how do you know what was in the original book?

Well I believe the Genesis account is not myth, but it certainly seems mythical; as does God. And I think the multiple translations of the bible, into three different languages, Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek, defintely has distorted certain parts of scripture, but God made sure that enough of it remained intact to deliver the important componants of Salvation.

Originally Posted by mickiel

Well I believe the Genesis account is not myth, but it certainly seems mythical; as does God. And I think the multiple translations of the bible, into three different languages, Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek, defintely has distorted certain parts of scripture, but God made sure that enough of it remained intact to deliver the important componants of Salvation.

I respect your belief - but the reason I use the word myth is because all cultures have creation stories and many of those cultures believe that their story is the one and only, the "truth". While I respect your right (and any one else's right) to define truth for themselves, I myself find that I learn so much by exploring these creation perspectives that I can not hold one as more true than the other. So I choose to use the word myth when referring to them. No offense meant.

Originally Posted by mickiel

I do not consider what happened in Eden as " A fall." I believe it was more like " A push", God set up Adam and Eve and put them out. And I believe everything that happened in Eden, God prior planned it. It would have been impossible for the " Serpent, or satan, to enter into the garden without Gods prior permission. It didnot " Sneak past God." Secondly; the young couple was absolutely no match for satan, and God prior knew that. God didnot help them, he just let it happen. Why? Well God was creating " The need for Christ to come." What happened in Eden was a preordained reason to send Christ to earth. So the young adult couple were definitely set up to fail.

Agreed as to the terminology "the fall from Eden". My pet myth is that the Eden story is actually a metaphor for evolution of consciousness on one level. Certain Gnostic texts actually praise Lucifer as the "lightbringer", "the redeemer" - and by this they do not mean they are "Satan worshippers" but instead they also see the "fall" as being planned and Lucifer as assisting God in his plans. That by the seduction of Eve with the apple humans entered in to a new state of awareness. Then there is "Christ consciousness" which is the awareness that many are moving towards - which, yes, would not be available without first eating the apple.

I - still fall on the side of metaphor, as to the specifics of literal meaning I can not say.

Originally Posted by mickiel

I don't think it has a location, its just there, in the whole body. The body just carries it around. Like pouring water in a glass, the water takes on the entire shape of the glass; I think so it is with Spirit.

I'm not too attached to the DNA explanation myself (though for the interest of accuracy DNA is present in the whole body) I actually just thought of it while I was responding to your post. Though I may explore it some more.

Interesting thoughts....be well!

[Smiler]

Hi ~ maybe we all see what we are comfortable with.

My experience is that God is the most brilliant light of all ~ the vibration of love ..joy and bliss is far beyond any feeling's here.

Maybe as we are made up of energy .. is us in Gods image ?

With respect to all opinions
:) xx