On Sun, 21 Jul 1996 19:20:09, Glenn Morton wrote:
>SJ>The diference between Pearce and I is that I am prepared to say
>that the genus Homo (eg. H. habilis, H. erectus, H. neanderthalis)
>had an emerging image of God.
>GM>Are you now saying that the image of God EVOLVED?
>SJ>No. I am saying that God progressively created it! :-)
>GM>Can you show that to me in the Bible? The only place anything is
>said about the image of God is Gen. 1. Gen. 1 man is in the image
>of God.
SJ>I note that others have pointed out to Glenn that "the image of
>God" is found (or implied) elesewhere than in "Gen. 1", eg. Gn
>5:1; 9:6; 1Cor 11:7; Col 3:10.
>GM>Don't hide behind them, Stephen, they never claimed to see
>progressive creation of the image of God.
I have no desire, nor need, to "hide behind" anyone or anything. I
thought the rest of my message answered this.
GM>Paul merely thought I was saying that the term "image of God"
>appeared nowhere else in the Bible. He never showed me progressive
>creation of the image of God. And as far as I can tell Paul does
>not agree with your thesis.
I never claimed that Paul agreed with my thesis. I merely claimed
that he (among others) had pointed out that the image of God is found
elsewhere than in Genesis 1, as Glenn claimed.
GM>Tell me why those verses, which I examined in detail, show
>progressive creation of the image.
Its not a question of examining individual "verses....in detail".
Its a simple deduction. The image of God includes the whole man:
"When we try to define the image of God it is not enough to react
against a crude literalism by isolating man's mind and spirit from
his body. The Bible makes man a unity: acting, thinking and feeling
with his whole being. This living creature, then, and not some
distillation from him, is an expression or transcription of the
eternal, incorporeal creator in terms of temporal, bodily, creaturely
existence - as one might attempt a transcription of, say, an epic
into a sculpture, or a symphony into a sonnet." (Kidner D.,
"Genesis: An Introduction and Commentary", Tyndale Press: London
UK, 1967, p51)
"...the question may be raised, whether the body of man also
constitutes a part of the image. And it would seem that this
question should be answered in the affirmative. The Bible says that
man-not merely the soul of man-was created in the image of God, and
man, the "living soul," is not complete without the body." (Berkhof
L., "Systematic Theology", Banner of Truth: London, 1966 reprint,
p205)
Therefore, if 1. the image of God includes man's physical body; and
2. God made man in His image on the sixth day (Gn 1:26-27), and 3.
the sixth day was not a literal 24-hour day, but represents a long
period of time, then 3. it follows that God made the image of God in
man over a long period of time.
God bless.
Steve
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