Pariah2000

Greetings,
Im a long time fan of the boards, first time poster.
A topic that has always bothered me about the bible is that we are supposedly made in God's image. Does this mean that God has nipples and a belly button? Does God have reproductive organs? If so then what questions does this raise? Please share your views..

patchy

The obvious answer is that we made him in our image.

Given the cultural forces that shaped him, that's why he's a man, and misogynistic, and vengeful, and petty, and violent, and jealous, and violent,
and compulsive. And violent.

coloradoatheist

I think there is many different discussions on it since rabbis have had several thousand years to try to come up with some meaning

1) Image doesn't mean what we think of it and it's really the sould and not physical image, and I think Christians portray it this way.

I think two things happened, one an editing error from the editors trying to merge a polytheistic view as they became more monotheistic (borowed traditions). And two they did mean in a human image on the basis that most religions made gods either half human half beast, all beast, or after some natural thing so the original myth creators just said that God(s) is in human form like Zeus.

Mike

sehrhardt

it is not a made in God's image in the physical sense. it is seen as a made in Gods image from the perspective of his traits like jealousy, compassion, anger, sadness, and more. so he doesn't have a belly button he is transcendent.

neilgodfrey

Gary Greenberg's Myth #11 in 101 Myths of the Bible says that the Hebrew tradition of God creating "man in his image" derives ultimately from an adaption of an Egyptian myth.

What happened when the great He-She made us in 'his' own image is that we turned out "male and female" -- what else can we expect from an androgynous (originally egyptian) deity?


Neil Godfrey

http://vridar.wordpress.com

Gamera

I think in the context it means God is a moral being, and he made humans as moral beings, with free will.

That's what Genesis 1 and 2 seem to be about, after all.

John Kesler

One important fact that is sometimes overlooked is that the text doesn't say that humans are just made in God's image, but that they are made in the image and likeness of God and whomever God was talking to--the "us" and "our" of Genesis 1:26:

Who are the "us" and "our"? Appeal is often made to 1 Kings 22:19, which speaks of "Yahweh siting on his throne, with all the host of heaven standing beside him" or Job 1:6, which mentions "heavenly beings" or "sons of God," presumably angels, who present themselves before Yahweh. I think that these are valid points, so we must ask ourselves what it means to be made in the image and likeness of an angel. Although I don't deny that authority from God could be a part of the "image" of God, I think that bodily form is also in mind. There are various places which speak of God's having body parts (Genesis 3:8; Exodus 24:10; Zechariah 14:4; Isaiah 6:1; Genesis 18:1-2 ff, et al) and the same is said of angels (Daniel 9:21; Genesis 6:1-4; Genesis 18-19; Judges 6:11 ff et al). Genesis 18 is especially informative, as it mentions three "men" who visited, and ate with, Abraham, and were Yahweh and two angels (cf. 18:33 and 19:1).

Gamera

Well, the Hebrew scriptures also describe God as a rock, a refuge and the sun and a shield. Clearly these are metaphors, and it suggests any reference to God's limbs are metaphorical too. He appears as a man in Genesis 18, but also as a burning bush and a pillar of cloud and pillar of fire, which suggest none of these are his "true" form, which appears to be beyond comprehension.

Hence the theme in the Hebrew scriptures that if you really "see" God you'll die.

Genesis 16:13 - So she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, "Thou art a God of seeing"; for she said, "Have I really seen God and remained alive after seeing him?"

Genesis 32:30 - So Jacob called the name of the place Peni'el, saying, "For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life is preserved."

Deuteronomy 5:24 - and you said, 'Behold, the LORD our God has shown us his glory and greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire; we have this day seen God speak with man and man still live.

Judges 13:22 - And Mano'ah said to his wife, "We shall surely die, for we have seen God."

For what it's worth, this nonhumanoid version is Jesus' reading of the OT: John 4:24 - God is spirit,

John Kesler

You have answered your own objection, because as you say, it is clear when metaphorical language is being used. We may today describe people as rocks and refuges, and it is just as clear that such language is not to be taken literally.

This is a non sequitur and begged question.

You are again taking an all-or-nothing approach. And one of your proof-texts below is an interesting choice:

Here is the fuller context:

Where does this passage say that being "spirit" equals being incorporeal? And even if being "spirit" and having a body were somehow incompatible, all this would show is another contradiction in the Bible.

neilgodfrey

This is the sophisticated explanation for those who need to justify hanging on the story. But I see nothing in the story about morality. Wisdom and knowledge yes. "Knowing" (= experiencing?) good and evil, yes. It's not obvious that those things have anything to do with our preoccupations with free will or ethics.

The bit about being made in his image (really 'our image' which can be taken as either a plural of majesty for one being or an indication of a collection of deities as i understand it) is in the context of creating a caretaker (who turns out to be plural) for his brand new creation. Someone was needed to "subdue" it to keep it habitable and their payment was free feed. The obvious creature to create for this purpose would be one in the creator's image. -- to signify that he was the boss over all the other creatures shaped differently. No morality or free will issues at all.

So what were the issues preoccupying those who produced these sorts of stories?

Neil Godfrey

http://vridar.wordpress.com