26 Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."
27 So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them. Genesis1:26-27
While science postulates that humankind developed from earlier species of evolved creatures, Scripture emphasises a clear line between humankind and the rest of creation.
While the rest of creation can be signposts to the glory and the attributes of God's creativity, beauty and fullness, Genesis tells us that God created humanity IN HIS IMAGE.
What does it mean when we say that we are created in His image? Does it mean that God has arms, legs, ears, eyes and a nose? If so, is God white, black or chinese? Does it mean that God has a beard and a friendly father-christmas smile? If so, then how are women created in His image?
The idea of being created in the image of God is better seen in our nature than in our physiology. Being created in His image means we as human beings reflect some of the attibutes of God's nature. Here are some examples:
- We can compose poetry and music: This is to create "out of nothing."
- We can enjoy the beauty of creation and the fruit of our labours.
- We are able to make moral choices between right and wrong. Choices that are not the result of instinct or conditioning, but because we have been given the ability to choose.
- We can love selflessly - or choose not to.
- We are able to enter into a relationship with God or choose not to.
So whether God used the processes of adaptation and development to bring humanity to the fore, or whether He stepped in and did something new but similar to what came before, we don't know.
What we do know is that humankind is unique - there is a clear line: we are in the image of God - reflecting His nature and capable of a relationship with Him.
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Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/
