God made man in His image?

www.telegraph.co.uk...

In this article the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams stated:
"... human beings had evolved from non-human ancestors but were nevertheless “in the image of God”.

I don't understand how even highly intelligent people can't see the in-your-face flaw in thinking that man was made in the image of god. This implies that god has a nose and a mouth. Why would an eternal being need to breathe through a nose? And if he has a nose, then he must have lungs to absorb some kind of air. Does this mean that god can suffocate and die if his nose is covered up or blocked in some way?

If a nose and lungs, then god must have a throat. If a throat, then a stomach? Does this god need to eat? Can he get food poisoning and need to vomit? Does he spend an hour a day on the toilet?

If we are made in the image of god, does that mean god needs to shave and brush his teeth? Blow his nose? Can he get bad breath?

This doesn't sound like a god to me. Wouldn't such a perfect entity be made entirely of energy?

reply to post by jiggerj


The Trinity.

God. Jesus. The Holy Spirit.

Genesis 1:26 - 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."

We attained the physical appearance of Jesus; as he existed in the beginning with God/Holy Spirit:

John 1:1-4 - In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men.

Also, to help you understand what the Trinity is - even though we can't fully comprehend it - think of it like the Sun. When you look at the Sun, you see ONE star, but it is made up of LIGHT, ENERGY, and MASS. Three makes one, one is three, etc.

(Let's not get technical about what the Sun is made of, it's just an analogy)

reply to post by jiggerj

A closer look at the meaning of "Image" indicates and highlights the word "similar." No, I don't think God has to brush his teeth, but I do think you need to refine your argument. Peace.

An image (from Latin: imago) is an artifact, for example a two-dimensional picture, that has a similar appearance to some subject—usually a physical object or a person.
en.wikipedia.org...

reply to post by jiggerj


God is triune, that is, three in one. The Father, Son & Holy Spirit.

Man is triune, body, soul and spirit.

"In His image" does not necessarily refer to physical shape & function. It means that, at our core, we are similar in some way/s.

If God made us in his image, but as the arch bishop says, we evolved from non-humans, which are in his image, us now, or us then? o_O

reply to post by jiggerj


I agree with you 100%. What a lot of people fail to realize is that they place God in a box by limiting God to a specific dimension. This is known as anthropomorphism, and pretty much is a form of placing limits onto God. When you say God should be a form of energy, that is also placing limits. God, by definition, has no limits, no boundaries, is within and above space and time. Excellent post nonetheless.

Originally posted by jiggerj
www.telegraph.co.uk...

In this article the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams stated:
"... human beings had evolved from non-human ancestors but were nevertheless “in the image of God”.

I don't understand how even highly intelligent people can't see the in-your-face flaw in thinking that man was made in the image of god. This implies that god has a nose and a mouth. Why would an eternal being need to breathe through a nose? And if he has a nose, then he must have lungs to absorb some kind of air. Does this mean that god can suffocate and die if his nose is covered up or blocked in some way?

If a nose and lungs, then god must have a throat. If a throat, then a stomach? Does this god need to eat? Can he get food poisoning and need to vomit? Does he spend an hour a day on the toilet?

If we are made in the image of god, does that mean god needs to shave and brush his teeth? Blow his nose? Can he get bad breath?

This doesn't sound like a god to me. Wouldn't such a perfect entity be made entirely of energy?

.... you skipped the most important part. If god has a stomach, then he must have an anus, so god does have to go to the loo!!!!! Just wonder what kind of products come from god when he is in the loo. Solid gold???? or the same # as we have?

I wish some of those people would just skip their "Made in god's image", and rather think that god is an entity without a body.......

But, hey, I am a pantheist, so my definition of god is quite different from the god that the monotheists believe in....

reply to post by jiggerj

I don't understand how even highly intelligent people can't see the in-your-face flaw in thinking that man was made in the image of god. This implies that god has a nose and a mouth.

Haha, wow, no. It doesn't say we are made in the exact likeness of God, it says in His image. That's an illusion to the Trinity, God is a Triune God, and we are 3 part beings, body, soul, and spirit.

Originally posted by Lionhearte
reply to post by jiggerj

 

(...)
We attained the physical appearance of Jesus; as he existed in the beginning with God/Holy Spirit:
(...)

reminds me of a very nice song, i'm sure most will like...

Hey, we can't really be dumb
If we're just following god's orders
Hey, let's get serious...
God knows what he's doin'
He wrote this book here
An' the book says:
He made us all to be just like him
So...
If we're dumb...
Then God is dumb...
(an' maybe even a little ugly on the side)

frank zappa, dumb all over

I think that it is like anything written, the same words can be read by several people and all can interpret them differently. Personally I think that if we are created in gods image then would we not be gods?
I do not follow any mainstream religion and forget which one refers to god being the one and only, I think it is the Quran.  Ever since I was a kid I knew that everyone is unique. There is only one of you and everyone else, there may be someone like you, but you are a one time mold. Even identical twins will become unique because of their epi-gnomes.
I believe that the bibles references to Jesus is symbolical for the sun not son of god, but sun of the gods. The sun is our savior as it brings us warmth and food. The sun walks on water during the sunrise and sets. It was born and created without conception.   
I think the bible does teach a good lifestyle to live by for the most part, just don't see how some people interpret things the way they do.
Sorry if there is some grammatical errors as this is being posted from my phone.

Most religions were created to hide symbolic truth and not to be taken literally. I think a general explanation of "Man in the image of God" could be found in books on occult anatomy.

Originally posted by The GUT
A closer look at the meaning of "Image" indicates and highlights the word "similar." No, I don't think God has to brush his teeth, but I do think you need to refine your argument. Peace.

LOL Do you really want to haggle over the difference between image and similar? I have a two-wheel motorcycle that runs on gas. You have a four-wheel car that runs on recycled grease from a restaurant. The differences are small when considering they both have engines, brakes, lights, and are made from the same materials.

Originally posted by chr0naut
reply to post by jiggerj

 

God is triune, that is, three in one. The Father, Son & Holy Spirit.

Man is triune, body, soul and spirit.

"In His image" does not necessarily refer to physical shape & function. It means that, at our core, we are similar in some way/s.

I'm pretty sure god said this just before he created Adam's body from dust: And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness:

And you're suggesting that both 'image' and 'likeness' have nothing to do with nose, ears, eyes, mouth, hair, arms...?

Originally posted by Lionhearte
reply to post by jiggerj

 

The Trinity.

God. Jesus. The Holy Spirit.

Genesis 1:26 - 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."

We attained the physical appearance of Jesus; as he existed in the beginning with God/Holy Spirit:

John 1:1-4 - In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men.

Also, to help you understand what the Trinity is - even though we can't fully comprehend it - think of it like the Sun. When you look at the Sun, you see ONE star, but it is made up of LIGHT, ENERGY, and MASS. Three makes one, one is three, etc.

(Let's not get technical about what the Sun is made of, it's just an analogy)

edit on 4-3-2012 by Lionhearte because: (no reason given)

edit on 4-3-2012 by Lionhearte because: (no reason given)

No argument on the sun here. But, are you now saying that god DOESN'T have a nose, mouth, toes, butt...?

Originally posted by Unvarnished
reply to post by jiggerj

 

I agree with you 100%. What a lot of people fail to realize is that they place God in a box by limiting God to a specific dimension. This is known as anthropomorphism, and pretty much is a form of placing limits onto God. When you say God should be a form of energy, that is also placing limits. God, by definition, has no limits, no boundaries, is within and above space and time. Excellent post nonetheless.

Thanks. And, good point on placing limits on a god. It made me realize that energy also burns out, so it can't be infinite.

Originally posted by Okandetre
If God made us in his image, but as the arch bishop says, we evolved from non-humans, which are in his image, us now, or us then? o_O

Also, recent DNA tests show that most of us are 4% Neanderthal, so we are not even fully human. The only purebred humans are those that never left Africa. So, do we mongrels even have a soul?

Originally posted by Hellhound604
But, hey, I am a pantheist, so my definition of god is quite different from the god that the monotheists believe in....

Yeah, I am a firm believer in pants, too.

Actually, I had to check out what pantheist means, and I really really like it. Me thinks that is what I am. Thanks for that!

I think you are totally confused here.

God is INFINITY.

There is a mathematical problem to find the, infinite non-repeating number known as Pi.

Pi
en.wikipedia.org...

Squaring the circle
en.wikipedia.org...

Vitruvian Man
en.wikipedia.org...

The human form is the ONLY living being to fit this formula.

The infinite number Pi is encoded into the human form. You need to get more technical and esoteric Mr. Sheeple.

I suggest you take a look into this book, The Secret History of the World (Mark Booth)
www.amazon.com...=pd_sim_b_3/183-1685583-2427717

And it goes far and beyond that, I am simple providing a glimpse at veritas.

Originally posted by MasterGemini
I think you are totally confused here.

God is INFINITY.

Huh? I'm saying that a god does NOT have any human physical traits, and that he is infinity. That the idea of assigning physical attributes to a god is a mistake.

Originally posted by MasterGemini
And it goes far and beyond that, I am simple providing a glimpse at veritas

Veritas, meaning truth, was the goddess of truth, a daughter of Saturn and the mother of Virtue.

Goddess of truth - what a lie!