The Image of God
In the account of man’s creation, found in Genesis 1, God declares, “Let Us make man in Our image” (Gen 1:26). The multifaceted debate over the meaning of the image of God has gone on for centuries in the Christian community. Most theologians argue that the image of God is not related to the way we look. Rather, the fundamental qualities of the image of God are characteristics of the mind and soul, however we understand them, including the ability to love selflessly; engage in meaningful relationships; exercise rationality; maintain dominion over the earth; and embrace moral responsibility.
Humans did not have a fully formed moral consciousness prior to the time of Adam and Eve.1 However, general consciousness must have already evolved so that a moral consciousness and the associated responsibility were possible.2 When Adam and Eve entered into relationship with God, they became capable of “imaging” God.3 Now, as a result of being in relationship with God, they knew it was possible to disobey God; they understood the difference between good and evil. They were free to choose evil, to remove themselves from being in an open and free relationship with God, and sadly they did so (see Gen 3:1-13).
When Did Humans Become God’s Image Bearers?
We cannot know the exact time that humankind began to bear God’s image. If Adam and Eve were two historical people chosen by God for a special covenant relationship, it may have occurred instantly. If, on the other hand, Adam and Eve were representative of a larger group, the image of God may have emerged gradually over a period of time. Perhaps God used the evolutionary process to equip humankind with language, free will and culture so that they might then enter into a meaningful relationship with God through obedience, prayer and worship. When we became image bearers and whether it was a sudden or gradual process is less important than the fact that we were created—and are still called—to be God’s image bearers in the world.4
What is the Significance of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil?
After receiving the image of God, Adam and Eve were capable of living in a full, perfect relationship with God. They were instructed only to avoid eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil with the consequence of death for disobeying (Gen 2:16-17).
The serpent, we are told, approached the woman at one point, telling her that she can become “like God” by eating of the fruit. In what way did eating from this tree actually make her like God? What does it mean to know good and evil? Why, after knowing good and evil, would God banish them (and us) from the Tree of Life? These are rich theological questions which get to the heart of what it means to be living in a fallen world.5
Adam and Eve consciously chose evil when they disobeyed God’s orders and ate from the tree, and humankind has been doing the same ever since. We seek to establish our own form of morality rather than God’s—our own definition of what constitutes good and evil. Following their sin, Adam and Eve became self-conscious and ashamed; they covered their naked bodies and hid from God. In essence, by their actions, they removed themselves from their peace-filled abode with God. They were alienated from God through a spiritual death. So it is with us. This event is widely known as the Fall. Humankind is in need of redemption and it was Christ whose perfect life and death on the cross makes it possible for us—each of us—to enter into a perfectly restored, intimate relationship with God again.
What About the Soul?
The soul is a complex, mysterious concept representing the essence of a person. Author Walter M. Miller, Jr., described it this way: “You don’t have a soul . . . You are a soul. You have a body, temporarily.”6 There are many opinions about the meaning of the soul, but nothing about its existence is threatened by the BioLogos view.
Perhaps the soul was bestowed as a part of humans receiving the image of God (Gen 1:27).7 Perhaps human souls appeared with the breath of life that God breathes into his creation, as described in Gen 2:7. We also cannot know whether God supernaturally intervened in the evolutionary process at this point, or whether the unfolding evolutionary process produced the human soul.8 That humans live and breathe and have their being in relationship with God is one of the deepest mysteries of our existence; for Christians, it is also our greatest source of joy.
Notes
- Two models of Adam and Eve are discussed in "The First Humans". The scientific data make it clear that the entire human race cannot trace its lineage back to two unique individuals. Adam and Eve were either two unique individuals with whom God entered into a relationship, and who were thereby created in his image, or they are in some manner representative of humankind as a whole. Throughout this discussion, we refer to them as the first couple. If, as some believe, they represent a group of people who gradually (or suddenly) entered into relationship with God, the discussion throughout this question still holds.
- John Polkinghorne, “Taking Genesis Literally,” John Polkinghorne Q & A (accessed Oct 21, 2011).
- For articulate elaboration on this point, see this BioLogos video featuring N.T. Wright (accessed Oct 21, 2011).
- See Joseph Lam, “The Biblical Creation in its Ancient Near Eastern Context” (April 2010), http://biologos.org/uploads/projects/lam_scholarly_essay.pdf (acce,ssed Oct 21, 2011).
- These questions are nicely addressed by two BioLogos blogs: Steve Rodeheaver, “Genesis Two Rewrites, Part 1” (Aug 1, 2011) and "Part 2" (Aug 2, 2011) (accessed Oct 21, 2011).
- Although C.S. Lewis is often given credit for this phrase, the quote in fact comes from Walter M. Miller, Jr., A Canticle for Leibowitz, New York: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1959: pg. 281.
- Avery Cardinal Dulles, “God and Evolution,” First Things: The Journal of Religion, Culture, and Public Life (October, 2007) (accessed Oct 21, 2011).
- Roman Catholic theology affirms the traditional view of a separate soul that is “added” to the body.