# God's Image???



## atlashunter (Mar 6, 2011)

It's been claimed here and elsewhere that what sets man apart from animals in terms of purpose and having an eternal soul is that humans are created in God's image. What exactly is it about us that makes us in his image? Is it walking upright? Opposable thumbs? Some other physical characteristic? I wonder was homo neanderthalis created in his image? What about homo ergaster and homo erectus? They sure do look alot like us. Did they have eternal souls or were they just as soulless as bacteria?


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## ted_BSR (Mar 7, 2011)

atlashunter said:


> It's been claimed here and elsewhere that what sets man apart from animals in terms of purpose and having an eternal soul is that humans are created in God's image. What exactly is it about us that makes us in his image? Is it walking upright? Opposable thumbs? Some other physical characteristic? I wonder was homo neanderthalis created in his image? What about homo ergaster and homo erectus? They sure do look alot like us. Did they have eternal souls or were they just as soulless as bacteria?



It is the eternal soul.

The scientific names you used are invented by man to categorize things we don't/can't understand. That is how science works.


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## atlashunter (Mar 7, 2011)

So you know we have an eternal soul because we are created in his image and you know we are created in his image because we have an eternal soul. Is that right? Those other names are designated for creatures which we have physical evidence of. Think they had souls?


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## 1gr8bldr (Mar 7, 2011)

It is much simplier, Adam in Gen 5:3 also had a son "in his own likeness, in his image,and he named him seth. People tell me all the time that my son is the spitting image of me, not just his looks but in his actions. I say I was a better shot with a bb gun. LOL


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## ted_BSR (Mar 7, 2011)

atlashunter said:


> So you know we have an eternal soul because we are created in his image and you know we are created in his image because we have an eternal soul. Is that right? Those other names are designated for creatures which we have physical evidence of. Think they had souls?



I belive we have an eternal soul because we were created in His image. I believe we were created in his image because I believe the Bible is true (talking donkeys and all!). The scientific names were assigned by man to categorize some bones and teeth he found. I have no idea if they had souls, or were even human for that matter.


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## pnome (Mar 7, 2011)

If your avatar is what God's image looks like...  



I think I'm ready to become a believer!


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## atlashunter (Mar 7, 2011)

Perhaps I misunderstood your initial reply. I asked "What exactly is it about us that makes us in his image?"

Your answer: "It is the eternal soul."

This appears to be circular reasoning to me.

I'd like to use your last sentence to open the door to a refinement of the question. Do only humans have eternal souls? What makes us a human? Suppose one day we could bring neanderthals back to life using recovered DNA, how would you determine if they were beings with eternal souls or animals without?


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## ted_BSR (Mar 7, 2011)

atlashunter said:


> Perhaps I misunderstood your initial reply. I asked "What exactly is it about us that makes us in his image?"
> 
> Your answer: "It is the eternal soul."
> 
> ...



Yes, only humans. Our eternal soul makes us human. Your last question is way above my paygrade!


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## atlashunter (Mar 7, 2011)

ted_BSR said:


> Yes, only humans. Our eternal soul makes us human. Your last question is way above my paygrade!



More circular reasoning.


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## ted_BSR (Mar 7, 2011)

atlashunter said:


> More circular reasoning.



No Atlas, it is not circular, one does not lead to the other. They are distinct facts independent of one another.


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## atlashunter (Mar 7, 2011)

What defines one as human? An eternal soul. How do you know we have an eternal soul? Because we are human. Self confirming circular logic...


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## ted_BSR (Mar 7, 2011)

atlashunter said:


> What defines one as human? An eternal soul. How do you know we have an eternal soul? Because we are human. Self confirming circular logic...



 Try it this way. What makes us Human? We have an eternal soul. How do you know we have an eternal soul? Because God told us through his divine writing. Mince my words and all you get is pie.


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## atlashunter (Mar 7, 2011)

If I'm following the logic correctly, I suppose that means if it turns out the writing claimed as divine is man made myth, we aren't really human after all...


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## JFS (Mar 8, 2011)

ted_BSR said:


> We have an eternal soul. How do you know we have an eternal soul? Because God told us through his divine writing.



As with many good mythologies there may be some valuable lessons in those writings.  Take the Adam and Eve story.  What cast man out of the state of grace was the acquisition of knowledge and self-awareness.  This self-awareness is essentially the rise of the ego that developed (through evolutionary biology) and causes the vast majority of problems like greed  [or your favorite deadly sin here] and unhappiness in the world today.  The ego both helped to ensure our survival as a species and make our lives unhappy at the same time.  And it is the ego that psychologically creates the misperception of mind-body dualism, which in turn gives rise to the fallacy of the soul.  

Many of the world's great religions are directly focused on how to deal with this problem.  Christianity does too through the appeal to submit to a higher power, which is basically a sublimation of the ego.  To the extent Jesus is a cure for original sin, it is that his message of love is again a method for moving beyond your own ego, as is his act of sacrifice (atonement = "at-one-ment").

Humans may or may not be unique in this regard.  My dog is never embarrassed about being naked.  But my guess is we are as a species much more influenced by these problems than others.


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## ted_BSR (Mar 8, 2011)

atlashunter said:


> If I'm following the logic correctly, I suppose that means if it turns out the writing claimed as divine is man made myth, we aren't really human after all...



Maybe not all of us.


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## Nicodemus (Mar 8, 2011)

atlashunter said:


> Perhaps I misunderstood your initial reply. I asked "What exactly is it about us that makes us in his image?"
> 
> Your answer: "It is the eternal soul."
> 
> ...





Who says the Neanderthal are extinct? Ever take a close look at Leonid Brezhnev?


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## NCHillbilly (Mar 8, 2011)

Nicodemus said:


> Who says the Neanderthal are extinct? Ever take a close look at Leonid Brezhnev?





Or Ron Perlman....


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