The "image of God" (Hebrew: צֶלֶם אֱלֹהִיםṣelem ʾĔlōhīm; Greek: εἰκών τοῦ Θεοῦeikón toú Theoú; Latin: imago Dei) is a concept and theological doctrine in Judaism and Christianity.[1] It is a foundational aspect of Judeo-Christian belief with regard to the fundamental understanding of human nature. It stems from the primary text in Genesis 1:27, which reads: "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female he created them." The exact meaning of the phrase has been debated for millennia.
Following tradition, a number of Jewish scholars, such as Saadia Gaon and Philo, argued that being made in the image of God does not mean that God possesses human-like features, but rather the reverse: that the statement is figurative language for God bestowing special honour unto humankind, which he did not confer unto the rest of creation.
The history of the Christian interpretation of the image of God has included three common lines of understanding: a substantive view locates the image of God in shared characteristics between God and humanity such as rationality or morality; a relational understanding argues that the image is found in human relationships with God and each other; and a functional view interprets the image of God as a role or function whereby humans act on God’s behalf and serve to represent God in the created order. These three views are not strictly competitive and can each offer insight into how humankind resembles God. Furthermore, a fourth and earlier viewpoint involved the physical, corporeal form of God, held by both Christians and Jews.
Doctrine associated with God's image provides important grounding for the development of human rights and the dignity of each human life regardless of class, race, gender, or disability, and it is also related to conversations about the human body.
^Novak, Michael (January 2007), "Another Islam", First Things, archived from the original on 2014-04-04, retrieved 2014-10-18
of Adam (whose imageof near touching hands ofGod and Adam is iconic of humanity, being a reminder that Man is created in the Image and Likeness of God...
representation of a god used as an object of worship, while idolatry is the worship of a "idol" as though it were God. The use ofimages in the Ancient...
belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or...
the Ten Commandments given by God to Moses on Mount Sinai forbids the making of "any graven image, or any likeness [of any thing] that [is] in heaven...
"imageofGod". From the biblical perspective, "to be human is to bear the imageofGod.": 18 "Two main modes of conceiving human nature—the one of which...
principle of Tawhid. According to Vincent J. Cornell, the Quran also provides a monist imageofGod by describing the reality as a unified whole, with God being...
The gender ofGod can be viewed as a literal or as an allegorical aspect of a deity. In polytheistic religions, gods often have genders which would enable...
soul as mirroring the divine (after Genesis 1:27, "God created man in His own image, in the imageofGod He created him, male and female He created them")...
Book of Deuteronomy, were spoken by God to the Israelites and then written on stone tablets by the Finger ofGod. It continues, "... any graven image, or...
like the soul, it is also created by God in his image. This is considered important even today, as the existence of a soul is the basis for much Church...
friends represents God rejoicing with the angels. The imageofGod rejoicing at the recovery of lost sinners contrasts with the criticism of the religious...
defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit...
John of Damascus argued "that God's taking on human form sanctified the human image, noting that the humanity of Christ formed an imageofGod; therefore...
skin), created Adam. The soul of Adam is the imageofGod, and as God fills the world, so the soul fills the human body: "as God sees all things, and is seen...
marks the recognition of the imageofgod to represent "a particle of the divine whole, the divine perceived not in man's image as a separate entity but...
God the Father is a title given to God in Christianity. In mainstream trinitarian Christianity, God the Father is regarded as the first Person of the...
worshipping an idol, a stupa or any other imageofGod, confesses a belief in the rebirth or incarnation ofGod, disrespecting the Quran or Islam's Prophets...
the firmament (Hebrew: רָקִ֫יעַ rāqīa) is the vast solid dome created by God during the Genesis creation narrative to divide the primal sea into upper...
the form of Murti (Sanskrit: मूर्ति, IAST: Mūrti), or Vigraha or Pratima. A Murti is itself not the god in Hinduism, but it is an imageofgod and represents...
earth is made in the imageofGod. Within man "is both the powerful surge toward the good because we are made in the imageofGod, and the darker impulses...
For instance, the phrase false god is a derogatory term used in Abrahamic religions to indicate cult images or deities of non-Abrahamic Pagan religions...
regarded as God the Mother, a female imageofGod, be titled Heavenly Mother, or simply Mother, and together with Ahn Sahng-hong be regarded as God (for which...
be shed, for God made man in his own image. — Genesis 9:6 (ESV) The Torah portrays murder as a capital crime and describes a number of details in the...
created man in His own image, in the imageofGod created He him; male and female created He them. 28 And God blessed them; and God said unto them: 'Be fruitful...
Global Information