3 ms·

I'm a Christian, but I don't think that passage means human biology is based on God's. God the Father is clearly not in a physical form throughout the Bible. I

I'm a Christian, but I don't think that passage means human biology is based on God's. God the Father is clearly not in a physical form throughout the Bible. I believe that's why "graven images" are forbidden in the Ten Commandments, as they'd mislead people into thinking of him as a physical being. God the Father as depicted in the Bible is closer to an omnipresent, omniscient mind that runs the universe as a simulation inside itself and occasionally talks to entities inside the simulation through avatars, dreams, and visions. Rather, I think "in his own image" there refers to sapience, self-awareness, and creativity - what is called elsewhere in Scripture "the breath of God". Much of what makes the Incarnation of Christ so meaningful is precisely that God is made man, with hands, feet, head, and heart. He is Emannuel, "God with us," come to debug and repair the system we broke from within, knowing our suffering and giving us the knowledge and strength to help repair it ourselves. That all loses a lot of its meaning if God the Father is just a big man on a throne in a cloud somewhere (an image that I have never found anywhere in the text and am puzzled as to where it came from). He was always just one of us if that's the case. So, yeah. Despite apparently sharing your fundamental beliefs about the world, I think you're way off base about why humans walk.

rriepe 7y ago
The image of God as a big man in the clouds comes from two sources: Renaissance paintings and The Simpsons. I'm not kidding. I've thought a lot about this. Another "in his image" interpretation I've heard is that it's something of a mistranslation. That it's more like "in his imagination" or "he imagined/conceived us" than "we look like him." That's the one I've always gone by, but I like your take too.
- orthoxerox 7y ago
  Surprisingly, you are right about the Renaissance paintings. Orthodox Christian icons almost never depict him. The so-alled Pantokrator icons depict regnant Jesus, the Son.
andredz 7y ago
I found two verses in which a throne and clouds are related to God: Psalm 97:2 - "Clouds and darkness surround Him; Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne." Job 26:9 - "He covers the face of His throne, And spreads His cloud over it." Of course, I'd think that "throne" is used to evoke the idea of sovereignty rather than a literal throne. There's also the whole of Revelation—I won't try to interpret in a mere comment—but includes plenty of thrones and clouds such as in Revelation 14:14. And you can also find the Ancient of Days in Daniel 7:9-22 At the beginning of this post (starting from Begin digression), there's an exploration of anthropomorphic metaphors that might interest you: http://www.wall.org/~aron/blog/god-and-time-iv-impassibility-and-the-bible/ http://www.wall.org/~aron/blog/god-and-time-iv-impassibility... Also, have you read The Everlasting Man by G.K. Chesterton? It has some ideas found in your comment regarding the Incarnation and it is overall a fun read.
- NateEag 7y ago
  Thanks for the references. As you say they seem clearly metaphorical, but I guess I can see how they could have contributed to the misconception, especially when American evangelicalism decided the whole book was literal. I have read several of Chesterton's books, but I don't think I have ever gotten around to The Everlasting Man. Someday.

rriepe 7y ago

The image of God as a big man in the clouds comes from two sources: Renaissance paintings and The Simpsons. I'm not kidding. I've thought a lot about this. Another "in his image" interpretation I've heard is that it's something of a mistranslation. That it's more like "in his imagination" or "he imagined/conceived us" than "we look like him." That's the one I've always gone by, but I like your take too.

orthoxerox 7y ago
Surprisingly, you are right about the Renaissance paintings. Orthodox Christian icons almost never depict him. The so-alled Pantokrator icons depict regnant Jesus, the Son.

andredz 7y ago

I found two verses in which a throne and clouds are related to God: Psalm 97:2 - "Clouds and darkness surround Him; Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne." Job 26:9 - "He covers the face of His throne, And spreads His cloud over it." Of course, I'd think that "throne" is used to evoke the idea of sovereignty rather than a literal throne. There's also the whole of Revelation—I won't try to interpret in a mere comment—but includes plenty of thrones and clouds such as in Revelation 14:14. And you can also find the Ancient of Days in Daniel 7:9-22 At the beginning of this post (starting from Begin digression), there's an exploration of anthropomorphic metaphors that might interest you: http://www.wall.org/~aron/blog/god-and-time-iv-impassibility-and-the-bible/ http://www.wall.org/~aron/blog/god-and-time-iv-impassibility... Also, have you read The Everlasting Man by G.K. Chesterton? It has some ideas found in your comment regarding the Incarnation and it is overall a fun read.

NateEag 7y ago
Thanks for the references. As you say they seem clearly metaphorical, but I guess I can see how they could have contributed to the misconception, especially when American evangelicalism decided the whole book was literal. I have read several of Chesterton's books, but I don't think I have ever gotten around to The Everlasting Man. Someday.