Here’s a thought I had the other day:
If we can’t see the Imago Dei in others, it says more about how we can’t see it in ourselves than it says about the other person/group.
If we can’t see the Image of God is others, then it probably means we are having trouble seeing that image in ourselves.
Our vision is skewed. We are somehow blinded to seeing the Image of God within ourselves. And when we can’t see it, or won’t see it, in ourselves, then we won’t see it in others. We won’t see the holiness within someone else. We won’t see similarities in others. We won’t see the fuller picture of creation in others. We won’t see how God expresses Godself in other parts of creation.
We won’t see God at all, in fact. We will see a threat. We will see an other. We will see not us. We will see them.
And when others become “them,” we also are admitting how fragile we are – not how tough we are. When we see a them, we are admitting how weak we are. We are admitting how broken we are. We are admitting how blind we are. We are admitting how closed off our minds and hearts have become.
Criticism of others, hatred of others, fear of others – most of the time all these things really are is a mirror that we are holding up. These things expose more about ourselves than about anyone else.
Just how important is the image of God in/to creation? How central is the image and foundational to Christian theology?
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I would argue that it is a core tenet along with the idea of Shalom. If we are to be true followers of Jesus, then we would be oriented towards Imago Dei and Shalom. The two are tied intimately throughout Jesus’ teaching. His parables are ultimately about Imago Dei and Shalom. Christ is the fulfillment of the Law, which was about Imago Dei and Shalom. How can one fulfill the two great commands of Love God and Love Neighbor without Imago Dei and Shalom?
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Yeah… I see image theology right at the nub of everything too. However, I made it all through my childhood and 3/4 the way through my university level Bible education before it even made it on my radar. I have spent the last 25 years moving theological furniture around in my worldview so that I can focus on God’s image, and I think it is likely plenty of people like me never have been challenged to deal with Imago Dei as is truly necessary.
In fact, I grew up with a FUNCTIONALLY philosophical god. A god up in heaven that could not be seen, touched, tasted, smelled (studied by science), was interested in destroying this world in a big Judgment at the end, and leaving me to be entirely OTHER worldly about my faith and private about my piety. Completely reductionist to the point where he practically didn’t exist.
All of this reinforced by my secular government, education, social culture, AND even the Bible said no one can see God and live, which lifted out of biblical context and put in THIS context seemed to really make sense.
At this point in my life, I look at that and hardly consider it Christian at all – except that Jesus is gracious with us as we grope after him, and blessedly I was challenged to revamp EVERYTHING I believed in time.
Anyway, if I (we) are not alone in this, then a statement of Image centrality and perhaps some demonstration too, is warranted.
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thank you X. I think you are right – many people have a detached view of God. I saw a movie about a Lutheran pastor who was in prison for 14 years in Romania after the communists took over. He said this statement – You either believe in God, or you believe you believe in God. I think there are many who believe they believe in God. But we are called to a Cruciform God, an enfleshed God, a God who encounters us. How else are we to really Love God? How else are we to experience Shalom? How else are we to do justice, or to even know what that means in a Godly sense? How are we to love neighbor is God is not incarnate and abiding in each person we meet? The Orthodox have a concept that I find helpful – Theosis. It is the uniting with God. Talk about enfleshment and encounter. The words are lacking, but the closest way to describe it is union with God.
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