Is man truly "made in the image of God"?
 

There seems to be a lot of confusion regarding what is meant by scriptural passages indicating that "Man is made in the Image of God". Here is a link to a Wikipedia article about the many ways that the "Image of God" is understood. Clearly, there is no consensus among the intellectual theologians.:biggrin:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image_of_God

In actuality, it appears that most people speak of God anthropomorphically as man often seems to "create" an image of God in man's own image ... the exact opposite of what the scriptures say.

I posted this in the "General Religion" section because the same principle is stated in the Hermetic text and other wisdom traditions in verbiage that does not mention "God" but essentially says the same thing.

"As above, so below."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/As_above,_so_below

From an experiential perspective, how do you interpret "Man is made in the image of God"? (If someone merely wants to post second-hand-information, there are a lot of theologian-oriented intellectual quotes which are included in the first Wikipedia article to facilitate parroting. :icon_eek: :biggrin: )

NOTE: My answer to the thread question is an UNEQUIVOCAL YES. However, I will defer elaborating further until I see where this thread goes ... if indeed it goes anywhere. :D

In His image...well, yes we are when you consider that our brains have the ability
to store 3 million years worth of information.
Or that a thought looks like a tree in the brain..and there are about
100 trillion 'trees' in your brain each with 70,000 'branches'.
Not mentioning we are made of light.
(Split an atom if that confuses anyone.)
And not to mention God is VERY into empty space - or distance between things, let's say...
And our body in 99.99999% empty space...that we now know is not empty according to quantum physics.
(There are younger people here that have never heard or read anything about quantum discoveries...
perhaps have no idea who Bette Davis is either.) :) Now I'm having fun!


Ref: Dr. Caroline Leaf

Still Waters,

An interesting question. First, I am not referencing the provided sources….yet. It might color my immediate thoughts.

I start with accepting that God is Spirit. What does spirit look like ? Does it have form ? Meaning it could be material ? As you might imagine I reject such ideas. It is said that “one cannot see God and live”…..I always make a parenthetical addition for my understanding to read: “No one can see God and live(in the same way). I lean to the possibility that if we ‘see’ God it could be a blinding light.

But I believe in being made in the image of God. That image is within us….various ways of conceiving that: the spark of God, the ‘I’, the Self or true Self, the ‘I AM’ etc. Whatever the case it is embedded.

The Orthodox I have heard often make a distinction between ‘image’ and ‘likeness’. Image is what sees in a mirror…it has no reality in itself. Likeness denotes realizing the potential of becoming like God….in attributes, actions, thoughts…..being one with God means you are on the same wavelength, so to speak.

To the extent that I have any gift of discernment, and I mean spiritual discernment, I have had experiences of seeing people who radiate the Spirit. This can only come from their ‘within’. I hope everyone has had that experience. If so, in effect, you have seen God. Is that what you thought God looked like ? I hope it surprised because your level of consciousness just got a huge boost….:)

By the way the original image of God could have only been male/female unless one wants to question if women are made in the image of God. I believe in one God….there can be no female god that made women.

Those are interesting points ! :thumbsup:

QUOTE 3 EXCERPT: Accepting God as Spirit is a very good start ... so what does that say about man?

Saying "that image is within us" and "is embedded" is also a great start ... so what does that say about man's potential?

I agree with your point that the original image of God is "male/female" or, in my terminology, non-gendered..... if I am interpreting your statement correctly.

This is going in a great direction ! :thumbsup:

I meant to speak of the necessity of attempting to access the Spirit that is embedded in us. I view meditation as the means to help achieve this. Interesting as it might be to speak of the untapped wealth of the brain, I cannot see knowledge as the key. We are told in 1 Corinthians 13…”where there is knowledge it will pass away”.

One of my go to scriptures is Deuteronomy 29:29….”The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us…”. If there is no longer mystery concerning God then my interest might evaporate to be replaced by an interest in the material ? The revealed things give life and if life is eternal then so should be revelations…:)

I realize there are people that think 'in His image' means 2 arms, a face, 2 legs.
To those people I would say ...''Well, it's a bit bigger than that.''
One way would be that we have the ability to co-create along with Him. :)

Were we able to ask a hippopotamus about how God looks he'd describe an absolutely beautiful hippo - even more beautiful than Mrs Hippo of whom he is so proud.

But seriously - had the Bible been written and supervised properly it wouldn't be so confusing.

I would agree with Mo on the "I AM" interpretation.
We are pure awareness, consciousness, what is God if not consciousness?

QUOTE 7 EXCERPT:
The "ability to co-create along with Him" is a pivotal point that very few understand. That is PRECISELY where I was hoping this thread could go. Would you like to elaborate more on that point? :hug3:

In keeping with the co-creator point, it might be interesting to explore that point with respect to form ("2 arms, a face , 2 legs") and physical healing. You are probably aware that extraordinary beings can "create" a different outward form. Yogananda gives an example in his classic Autobiography of a Yogi.