Imago Dei

Well, good afternoon once again! It is that time of week that I am sure you all look forward to so fervently. I am all out of lab and good to go.

I was pleasantly surprised at the response to last weeks e-mail. I know for sure it got at least one motor turning and incited an awesome, edifying discussion on the role of mercy in the government, the purpose of the government and other related topics. As I was attempting to play Devil's Advocate, I posed this question: can a non-Christian genuinely display mercy?

As I briefly tossed around the notion in my head, I concluded in the negative. I figured people from the world would always have some sort of ulterior motive that would persuade them to act mercifully and therefore that act was not genuine.

But then as I discussed this even further with 2 people at the Women's Conference, I had a rather interesting paradigm shift. You see, what I failed to recognize is that all men (i.e. people, not literally "men") were created with the imago Dei (image of God - Gen 1:27). All people, were created in the image of God, this is not just exclusive to Christians. As a result, everyone has the ability to portray all the characteristics that God does (mercy, grace, etc.). And when you think of this, it makes sense: how else would parents [who do not fear God] be able to show love and affection to their child?

I think it is critical to recognize this attribute in every person. It definitely is a great way of understanding each person's worth in the eyes of God. If each and every person has the very attributes of God, it logically follows that He cares for them -- at least enough to infuse them with His own characteristics.

This is why the claim that people make in efforts to reconcile the creation narrative with the scientifically accepted theory of evolution is false. The imago Dei is precisely what separates man from beast. Evolution essentially equates man with beast, but since we are fundamentally different from the rest of creation, it is clear to see that it is just impossible. We were created and therefore could not have evolved from lesser species'.

So yea, it was a very cool (and aided) epiphany!

MTI