An Argument That Man Is Made in the Image of God
An Argument that Man is Made in the Image of God
I. Introduction
In this paper, I seek to prove that Man is made in the image of God philosophically, given that God is the creator of the universe and that there are no other created beings in the universe other than those found on earth. I shall do this by proving that God displays and has certain noble and noteworthy features, and show how Man is unique in all creation in that we exemplify and reflect those features. These features that I will explore are that God and Man are intelligent, have free will, love, are relational beings, create out of love and understanding, and have dominion over other beings. In proving these features, I will be satisfied to conclude that in this limited sense Man is Imago Dei.
II. That God and Man are Intelligent
In order to prove that God is intelligent, I appeal to Saint Aquinas’ argument that all intelligent causes are caused by something intelligent, and God is the first cause of all things. Since there are many intelligent created beings found on earth, namely Man, God who created all these beings has to be intelligent. Also, the measure of how perfect a thing is by how far away it is from non-perfection. Since God has being in its totality, all non-being is removed from Him. All things imperfect must be caused by something perfect, therefore the first cause (God) must be most perfect. Since intelligence is a form of perfection, God is perfectly intelligent or perfect in understanding.
It is hardly contestable that Man is more intelligent than other created beings on earth, seeing how Man is the only animal that is able to create complex tools like machines and erect buildings made from complex materials. Therefore in this aspect, Man is far more the image of God than any other created being.
III. That God and Man Have Free Will
It will be fitting to use Plato’s discussion on the three parts of the soul to illustrate that Man has free will. Using the thought
I. Introduction
In this paper, I seek to prove that Man is made in the image of God philosophically, given that God is the creator of the universe and that there are no other created beings in the universe other than those found on earth. I shall do this by proving that God displays and has certain noble and noteworthy features, and show how Man is unique in all creation in that we exemplify and reflect those features. These features that I will explore are that God and Man are intelligent, have free will, love, are relational beings, create out of love and understanding, and have dominion over other beings. In proving these features, I will be satisfied to conclude that in this limited sense Man is Imago Dei.
II. That God and Man are Intelligent
In order to prove that God is intelligent, I appeal to Saint Aquinas’ argument that all intelligent causes are caused by something intelligent, and God is the first cause of all things. Since there are many intelligent created beings found on earth, namely Man, God who created all these beings has to be intelligent. Also, the measure of how perfect a thing is by how far away it is from non-perfection. Since God has being in its totality, all non-being is removed from Him. All things imperfect must be caused by something perfect, therefore the first cause (God) must be most perfect. Since intelligence is a form of perfection, God is perfectly intelligent or perfect in understanding.
It is hardly contestable that Man is more intelligent than other created beings on earth, seeing how Man is the only animal that is able to create complex tools like machines and erect buildings made from complex materials. Therefore in this aspect, Man is far more the image of God than any other created being.
III. That God and Man Have Free Will
It will be fitting to use Plato’s discussion on the three parts of the soul to illustrate that Man has free will. Using the thought