God made us in his image.... what does this mean?

Hello_everybody

I'm not sure I really understand this idea

If I was made in God's image... does that mean I look like God? Do I have the same features as God e.g. big nose, weirdly shaped skull, too much arse hair.....

I'm being serious by the way.

Pompey Magnus

I doubt it means physical appearance. I mean that saying comes from the Old Testament and Jews would not give human physical attributes to God, this makes much more sense than the Christian image of God as an old man (so I assume God has the X,Y chromosome pair?) with long white hair and a big white beard (this Christian God is actually Zeus by the way).

I assume it means that our personalities are the same as God; nice some times, nasty other times.

Mind you I prefer the explanation that Man made God in his image.

kelly1

Hello_everybody wrote: »

I'm not sure I really understand this idea

If I was made in God's image... does that mean I look like God? Do I have the same features as God e.g. big nose, weirdly shaped skull, too much arse hair.....

I'm being serious by the way.

Hello and welcome

When God created a soul in the first human being (Adam), he also gave his soul grace and it is this grace which makes us like God because grace is purely divine. Obviously we can't look like God because God is a Spirit.

"Sanctifying grace" makes us (adopted) sons of God, heirs of God, temples of God and makes the soul beautiful and pleasing to God.

We receive this grace in baptism and it can be restored, if lost through serious sin, by the sacrament of reconciliation.

More info here:

http://www.rosary-center.org/ll46n1.htm

God bless,
Noel.

Wreck

kelly1 wrote: »

Hello and welcome

When God created a soul in the first human being (Adam), he also gave his soul grace and it is this grace which makes us like God because grace is purely divine.

What does grace mean?

kelly1

Wreck wrote: »

What does grace mean?

There are two types:

Actual Grace (http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06689x.htm)

Grace (gratia, Charis), in general, is a supernatural gift of God to intellectual creatures (men, angels) for their eternal salvation, whether the latter be furthered and attained through salutary acts or a state of holiness.

Before the Council of Trent, the Schoolmen seldom distinguished actual grace from sanctifying grace. But, in consequence of modern controversies regarding grace, it has become usual and necessary in theology to draw a sharper distinction between the transient help to act (actual grace) and the permanent state of grace (sanctifying grace).

Sanctifying grace is what gives supernatural life to the soul and makes life with and love of God possible. We can only enter Heaven if we have this grace in our souls and to die without it means eternal separation from God i.e. Hell.

For more info see:

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06701a.htm

God bless,
Noel.

SubjectSean

Hello_everybody wrote: »

God made us in his image.... what does this mean?

It means that any emerging sentient creatures will assume they alone are the centre of the universe until such a time as they develop fully.

Hello_everybody

kelly1 wrote: »

When God created a soul in the first human being (Adam)

Hold on a sec, there was a first human being? I didn't think there was a "first" of any species, I thought evolution was gradual

kelly1

Hello_everybody wrote: »

Hold on a sec, there was a first human being? I didn't think there was a "first" of any species, I thought evolution was gradual

When I say Adam, I mean the first person in which God placed an immortal spiritual soul. If humans existed before that, their souls would have been mortal.

Fanny Cradock

Hello_everybody wrote: »

Hold on a sec, there was a first human being? I didn't think there was a "first" of any species, I thought evolution was gradual

It all depends on your interpretation of Genesis. If, for instance, you ascribe to the notion of young-earth creationism, then you would take a quite literal interpretation of the story of creation. Therefore, there is no such thing as evolution; man was created in an unaltered form, which is also in the image of God. However, I don't buy that. Indeed, I'd go as far as to say that this notion is detrimental to Christianity.

Oh the other hand, if, as a Christian, you ascribe to the theory of evolution, then you would most likely believe that this is an allegory, and that the 'image of God' discussed is a spiritual image. I'd believe that at some point mankind evolved (or was given) a spiritual nature which separated us from other species.