The Development of Humanity in Imago Dei - Research Paper Example

The Development of Humanity in Imago Dei You’re The Development of Humanity in Imago Dei Within the theorization of the Imago Dei itcould easily be perceived that it was the religious impression of God that was the starting point for the development of humanity. Because of this one aspect within the body of mankind, it was found that a special responsibility formed to try and be representative of all that was good and whole. In fact it was and is human-kinds way of striving towards the goodness in their social life and spiritual life that is equal to the theology of Imago Dei. When one strives to search for wholeness and goodness in their life they normally focus on the teachings of the Lord to aid them, which again is a source of their humanity. Human-Kind’s knowledge of God or the theorization of Imago Dei ultimately brought about the concept of humanity, as was hinted at in the initial phase of this research (Meta Press 2006). When God created man kind, following Imago Dei, humanity was undoubtedly born but man-kinds ability to hold onto that form of humanity has been sorely tested throughout history. Furthermore, this ideology of humanity was conceptualized by the fact that human beings are the more vulnerable of God’s creations and therefore there is a need to try and be humane to one another due to this fact. Also, there is a view that human beings are considered to be the well-being and fate of nature so this is another philosophical reasoning that was born through the concept of Imago Dei and of which stretched into the philosophy of humanity (Fern 2002). This makes perfect sense as the true meaning of “Imago Dei” is actually an interpretation of a mirror image of God. In fact, the terminology in itself is uniquely meant for the human race, as history has shown through biblical times up to present day even. The way in which humanity did actually form has been already stated to be from man-kind’s religious perspective and their creation but there is a direct relation to this theory from a passage in the bible which states, “God created man in his own image…” (Meta Press 2006). It was of course this pertinent passage which had an incredible influence on man-kind’s interpretation of what goodness and humanity should be and they oftened turned to God to guide them and help them in making the right choice to stay on the correct path. Because man-kind developed the rationalization that they were created in God’s image they realized that all that they had been endowed with had a form of goodness and humanity about it. For example their freedoms of “self-centeredness, creative freedom, and the option of self-actualization” led them to come to an understanding that having good qualities within their being and expressing a sincere sense of humanity to one another was important in order to stay in God’s image (Meta Press 2006). However, human beings can not be equal to God because they are not wholly perfect, although they try to overcome those tendencies that bring in the adverse elements into the human race which affects the idea of humanity (Fern 2002). Karl Barth was an existentialist who believed that humanity developed by man-kinds way of trying to exhibit an idea of goodness in order to be one with God. However, the human race already had an idea of humanity due to the fact that they were created through the theology of Imago Dei. This has been emphasized in this literature and found to hold factual truth throughout periods of history. Furthermore, this is pointed out because Barth taught that man-kind developed a responsibility towards God, again through the ideology of Imago Dei. Also, the freedoms born for man were directly from the idea that God granted them these various freedoms due to the human goodness that they exhibited (Cochrane 1956). However, when man sinned they lost some of the ability to be good due to the fact that the concept of religious belief and the essence of God does not contain the idea of sin, and therefore it was and is an adversity of man. When sin is committed it goes against the eternal laws that God created through the creation of man. Though sin does not take the idea of humanity away from the human race, it impacts the philosophy of humanity that God endowed man with upon creation. This can be validated through various passages in the bible in relation to Adam and Eve and the Garden of Eden. In fact this is where the first sin was committed, and of which humanity was affected. Therefore, man has struggled with the choices that they have been given by God. They are aware that their choices must remain the right ones because there is no room in the idea of goodness and the concept of humanity to make bad or sinful choices. Thomas Acquinas philosophy of the development of humanity through Imago Dei is very similar to these points being made in this research as he stated that the natural law of man-kind developed it’s influence from the eternal law established by God and through his creation of man-kind, creating them through Imago Dei and therefore blessing the human race with the identity of humanity (Nguyen 2005). Ultimately, Karl Barth and Acquinas philosophies are not so different as Barth defines his own idea of how Imago Dei evolved in human kind and formed the concept of what is humane and good. As was said it was the philosophy of creation and religion, be it Christianity or another religious following that created the idea of humanity within the human race (Cochrane 1956). The following quote from Barth validates these points that have been touched on and emphasizes how he views mankind as being one with God. Godlessness is not a possibility but the ontological impossibility of man’s being. Man exists with God, and not without him. Sin is a reality. But sin is not a possibility of human being, but its ontological impossibility… Our being does not include sin; it excludes it. A being in sin, being in godlessness is a being contrary to man’s being (Cochrane 1956). Quite obviously, Barth is pointing out that man-kinds idea of humanity is filled with choices yet their choices must always be good ones in order to keep the concept of humanity and an oneness with God alive. Acquinas points out how various choices can impact the idea of humanity as well, so in this regard they are similar as they both perceive a certain form of law dwelling over these choices as well (Nguyen 2005). To extend this further Acquinas points out that because of the free will that human kind was and has been endowed with and due to the fact that we are unique from other living beings due to our creation stemming from Imago Dei, we have humane characteristics that help us to make the right choices. Human beings have come to fully understand their meaning and human nature so therefore they are fully aware of what their choices can do to their individualized idea of humanity. The following quote emphasizes this point. Because a human person is free, rational, and capable of truth, he is capable of moral agency. By exercising his freedom, man makes of himself what he is and what he becomes. Consequently, he is responsible and accountable for his own actions. Morality is based precisely on human being’s free acts (Nguyen 2005). Of course it can be comprehensively seen why the human race was blessed with humanity. One could assume it would be to show us what our actions and decisions create in our life and how we develop a closer kinship with God. Others could point out it was God’s way of showing us sin and the adverseness that can happen due to it. In any regard, freedom of choice can either bring us closer to the essence of humanity or it can pull man-kind further away. But God created us again in his image or through the theology of Imago Dei so that we could have the knowledge of humanity and we could exercise our free will, wherever it can lead man-kind. Even so, there are a number of views of how this ideology actually did develop and Barth wasn’t the only existentialist who had his own individualized view of how this theorization did come into being. For example, besides existentialists, there are other forms of philosophers, historians, researchers, and simple individuals who also claim that humanity did develop through our creation because human beings were created in God’s image and God is the picture of humanity. So this view point that humanity began due to our being created through the theological association of Imago Dei is seemingly accurate. Of course many historians and religious leaders say there is no other logical way that humanity could have developed because God would not have designed such an intricate life without the knowledge of humaneness for one another and other living things being an impeccable part of the design (Power 1997). To understand this philosophical reasoning much more clearly and to bring a better cohesion, the entity of God needs to be fully explored. Many believe God to be perfect and wholly holy, an image that has been said the human race was created from. Even though God is eternal and we are only earthly for the time being, the human race has been endowed with many unique qualities and traits, which have also been pointed out as well. It has already been understood that humanity developed with the use of Imago Dei upon the human race’s creation, beginning with Adam and thus Eve. Every human being has the ability to live their life in a humane and compatible way within the eternal word and law of God but we were also given choices, as has been identified in this research. Those choices can deplete us of the humanity that we were blessed with or they can add to it, it has been left to each human being to decide how they should live their life. They either choose to continue to follow the traditional norms of Imago Dei and hold onto their humanity by respecting themselves, other living things, and the world around them, or they tend to fall out of this religious loop and loose touch with what is good and pure, therefore leaving the path God had chosen for them. Of course this leads to what our ultimate purpose and significance is on this planet. For many that is to pattern one’s life around God’s image, just as when initial creation began. This is in many ways a design meant for us to not lose our concept of what humanity is because when it is realized that a spiritual and humane being is what created life as we know it then the majority of people want to keep this view point and feel blessed by it (Power 1997). For some people, because of these various reasoning’s, they would state that humanity is created in Imago Dei through human beings own actions that exude characteristics of goodness, kindness, friendliness, helpfulness, understanding, and many other specific traits that perpetrate the idea of a fully good centered being. This is another thought concept that has been explored by other groups of philosophers and it has been given a certain amount of relevance towards the question of when and how humanity actually did develop from Imago Dei. Therefore it is quite possible that this various philosophy of humanity does continue to be made by human kinds own interactions among each other and the environment, but it is best not forgotten that it initially developed through our creation and expanded from there, as again has been depicted in the literature. This is ultimately due to the comprehension people have that the material image of God lives in us and therefore if we live our lives in a good manner and in the way for which God desires us to do then we are the expressed identity of humanity developed through Imago Dei (Power 1997). In actuality, Imago Dei exists in the rational area of human kind. The human race continues to carry the idea of humanity due to this, the ultimate creation of it being in the make up of the human race, as has been stated repeatedly in this researched literature. Because Imago Dei is representative of God’s image and because God is known to be a loving, humane, and caring father of all of his creations, then it is apparently obvious how the idea of humanity is carried out through the human race since we are an avid part of our creator (Grdzelidze 2002). The following quoted material gives much emphasis on the facts that have been presented in accordance with the development of humanity through Imago Dei, which is human kinds creation. Human beings have a crucial role to play in the survival of creation and humanity. Only through our priestly attitude towards creation is it going to survive. As priests offer bread and Wine to God, on behalf of all the people, similarly human beings should offer gratefully to God his own creation, offering back with love what is given with love. Our responsibility before God’s creation gives full credit to the limitations placed upon our exploitation of the material world. Humanity’s role as a mediator is even more clear when we become a cause of the destruction of God’s creation. The human being has a unique place in creation in terms of manifestation, mediation, and taking a lead in praising God (Grdzelidze 2002). So, it can be seen through this quote that human kind was created to continue on God’s divine plan to continue to bless each other with a sense of humanity and unity. It is why we were created with compassion, love, understanding, futility, and other natural emotional characteristics that exhume God’s own image. Humanity was not meant to be swayed off the course God intended for it to be. This can be proven due to the fact that again, mankind was born from the Imago Dei, and thus instilled with the full sense of what humanity and compassion actually mean. It should now be easily conceivable where and how humanity stemmed from and how it has been developed in man kind. To expand for just a moment, again Imago Dei is the actual image of God that man was created from, it signifies all that is good and is therefore the essence of humanity and where its origin stems from. Humanity within humans is of an essence the material body of God, which has been mentioned. Human beings spread humanity through how they interact with other living beings, be they in the environment or in a social context, this is what God intended to occur (Birch 1993). Though the concept of humanity is not perfect in the human race due to the aspects of sin, it still is in existence because even though there is sin within the human race, this does not take away the essence of Imago Dei among people. Ultimately, humanity is a “vehicle of the divine” which includes the completeness of creation developed by God. Human beings are very much a part of this; in fact they are at the center of creation. It is due to God’s love in the development of the creation of man-kind that they know have been born with the idea of humanity because through that love they have the ability to value themselves and the creation of the world around them, increasing the awareness of humanity throughout the world in a social and spiritual sense (Birch 1993). Therefore there is a material and social God to be found in the human race through the passing on of the concept of humanity by man-kind’s creation (Hunt 2003). In conclusion, this research has discussed the development of humanity and how it was initially formed through the creation of man by man being born through Imago Dei (God’s Image). It has found that it is now up to mankind to continue expressing the concept of humanity through all living things that God created, and ultimately be responsible to carry on God’s divine plan for all of his creation by ensuring humanity in the human race does not die but continues to thrive. Notes 1. Charles, Birch, “Regaining Compassion for Humanity and Nature” (Kensington: New South Wales University Press, 1993), 3-152. 2. Arthur, Cochrane, “The Existentialists and God: Being and the Being of God in the thought of Seoren Kierkegaard, Karl Jaspers, Martin Heidegger, Jean-Paul Sartre, Paul Tillich, Etienne Gilson, and Karl Barth” (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1956), 132-178. 3. Richard Fern, “Nature, God, and Humanity: Envisioning an Ethics of Nature” (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002), 167-267. 4. Tamara, Grdzelidze, “Creation and Ecology: How Does the Orthodox Church Respond to Ecological Problems” The Ecurnenical Review, 54 (2002). 5. Anne, Hunt, “The Social God and the Relational Self: A Trinitarian Theology of the Imago Dei” The Journal of Theological Studies, 64. 6. Meta Press, “Imago Dei” [online], 2006 [cited 21 May. 2006]; available from World Wide Web: http://www.meta-library.net/theogloss/imago-body.html 7. Paul, Nguyen, “Created Imago Dei” [online], 2005 [cited 21 May. 2006]; available from World Wide Web: http://www.acton.org/article.php?artile=153&Hide_side_box=false 8. William, Power, “Imago Dei: Imitatio Dei”, International Journal for Philosophy of Religion 42 (1997): 131-141. Read More