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The 'Christian Living' section of canadianchristianity.com seeks to address everyday issues people deal with that may not be addressed by the weekly ministry of the local church.
We are able to call upon some of Canada's best Christian teachers and therapists. In coming weeks we will be exploring issues related to our bodies and self-esteem.
We start with a biblical view of what it means to be 'made in the image of God' - cc.com
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.
28 God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground." Genesis 1 (NIV)
Plato was a pagan philosopher who divided the world in two: a spiritual and physical world. He also divided human beings in two: a spiritual soul and physical body.
The rational soul belongs to the spiritual realm which is good; the body belongs to the physical realm which is bad. The body is a prison house for the soul. Salvation will come when the soul is released from this prison to return to a spiritual realm.
In the first centuries of the church, this 'platonic' view of humanity was adopted, so Christians tended to think it was the soul that was considered to be the image of God.
This pagan view devaluing the body has corrupted much Christian thinking, right to the present day.
Two other views influence our thinking about ourselves.
1. Just relationship.
About the middle of the 20th century, under the influence of German theologian Karl Barth, the emphasis was put on the relationship humans had with God.
He emphasized that is not how humanity is actually like God; rather it is how humanity lives coram Deo -- in God's presence, in response to God.
Anything to do with the physical was again de-emphasized.
2. Authority & tasks
In recent decades, biblical scholars have looked for parallels in ancient cultures. They have noted that the Babylonians and Egyptians understood the word 'image' primarily in terms of having a role to play. Both Babylon and Egypt used the word to describe the king as in the image of God because he was considered to be like the gods, having a special relationship to the gods, and having a special task to carry out on their behalf.
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These empires were two of the super-powers of the time. Somewhat like the United States and the English language, they affected the thinking of all the peoples around them. Israel was in constant contact with these empires.
They stressed the authoritative task that the image of God had to play. The king represented God on earth.
Not just kings but all!
The Bible's teaching that all human beings, not just kings, were made in God's image would have been quite startling to the original hearers.
All humans, male and female were like God: finite and creaturely reflections of the infinite Creator. All were in relation to God. All had a task and were responsible to God. All!
Norman Habel, an Old Testament scholar, brings these things together and defines the image as that special character and relationship of man to God which enables him to represent God as ruler of the earth. Note that all three interpretations are present.
• Special character: Human beings are like God.
• Relationship of man to God: Human beings are in relation to God.
• Both of these enable humanity to represent God as ruler of the earth.
It's all within a body!
If something like this is what it means to be created in the image of God, then our bodies are far from secondary. It is precisely in our bodily lives that we reflect, know and represent God. In the whole of our creaturely life, as bodily creatures, we image God.
Our activities cannot be divided into those things that are associated with the soul and are more important, and those associated with the body that are less so.
The body matters because it is in our bodies that we image God.
No wonder Paul exhorts us to offer up our bodies as a living sacrifice to God (Romans 12:1).
Mike Goheen, PhD, is the Geneva Chair in Reformational Worldview Studies at Trinity Western University.
September 27/2007
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