Image? Likeness?

[Deleted]

Please describe what you perceive HIS image and likeness to have consisted of in Genesis 1:26.

Thank you!

[Dave]

Gen 1:26 (ASV) And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness:

Gen 1:26 (KJV) And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness:


As always with scripture, there is meaning upon meaning within every verse (almost every). Scripture is discusses as a composite of the literal and the figurative. However, these few select words just might have layers of meaning that no one has even considered as of yet.

Do I know the answer? - NO!
Nor would I trust anyone who said they knew.

But I love to Ponder to explore creation as it witnesses to the Creator. As a self-proclaimed Gnostic I neither limited to the confines of the Roman canon or its mythology. By exploring these questions on a much broader landscape, a broader reality, in the context of a much bigger picture, many interesting overlapping themes emerge.

Starting simple with a Jewish perspective:

I offer this video clip from the Ancient Hebrew Website:



This is what stands out for me:
1 - 3:00 into the clip – the point is made that it is God, singular, He said, - or rather He, singular, gave the command.

2 - 3:15 into the clip – the point is made that the elohiym is a part of the ‘us’ in “Let us,” but not all of the ‘us’. Meaning that, after the command was spoken, it was a plural / group project.

It is that plural / group image that equates to the our image and likeness

Jeff Brener’s answer for that is – from 3:22 on into the clip we learn that it was She, female, singular, land –and- God’s breath. So, clay and spirit, dust and essence. Done.

Which just seems mechanical an totally void of any possible “metaphysicial speculation”

Christendom takes it a step further by seeing the ‘us’ as simply the Trinity of the God Head. As a multidimensionalist, I an extremely comfortable with the idea that our Creator represent the highest level of each of the 3 dimensions that form me and my reality.

So far, we are cast in a really good image and likeness. Feel good Christians credit all the nice compassionate and giving tendencies to this likeness. A more pragmatic argument might be that God is also vengeful, jealous, and prone to angered outburst.

A Gnostic sees the heaven much heavier populated than most and the Elohiym of the ‘us’ represent a much larger group than just the Trinity. The Roman creation story goes God said, Christ did, - done! Gnostic creation includes the concept of the demiurge, which is just an old word meaning craftsmen or artisans. Angels were appointed different roles to shape and maintain creation. Some angels we guardians of the stars and lead them in their orbits.

1 – Therefore if all these armies and hosts were assisting in the creation process, then the scope of all of these armies and host must be included into the Elohiym of the ‘us’

2 – Isaiah 45:8 tells us that God made the light and the dark, the good and the evil, he made it all. Or as Jeff Brener wrote, ‘God created the function and the dysfunction.’ Christendom has 1/3 of the angels revolting in heaven. There is a war in heaven. If you consider Gnostic literature or the Koran there is yet another group of players in the story known as the Djinn and/or Archon. Sill all a part of that plurality that makes up the Elohiym of the ‘us’

Conclusion
The image and likeness that we are made in could very well be so broad in scope as to include a full range of the dysfunction as well as the function. Like the download was a complete copy of both good and bad (evil? – maybe).

[Dave]

The gender issue

Gen 1:27 (ASV) And God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

Gen 1:27 (KJV) So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.


Every pre-Christian religion included female deities. Christ told us of the Holy Spirit. Christ spoke Aramaic and Hebrew, both of which Spirit to be a female word. It is the Greek translations that call the Holy Spirit an ‘It.’

One of the themes in Gnostic literature is the femininity of the Holy Spirit. She is the Goddess Sophia, the Wisdom giver, the womb of creation. As I re-examine this issue from my current perspective, I say a name is just a name. How many names do we refer to the Creator as? Each, just as respectful as the other. So, does it really matter what name we use?

Does gen. 1:27 say God’s image is both male and female?
Or, did god make man in his own image, then change it into male and female?

If you look back on the Elohiym of the ‘us’ in Gen 1:26, using the Trinity as the Elohiym model you have an androgynous Father, Christ, the male son, and female Spirit ,Holy or Sophia.
Even in the Jeff Brener example the ‘us’ represented the male ‘He” and the She, singular, female, land.

Only if the ‘us’ include a female component doe Gen. 1:27 read correctly. There is not enough vocabulary provided to conclude a drastic change was made after the fact.

Every pre-Christian religion included female deities. Expanding the Elohiym model beyond the Trinity propagates the feminine. Even is a small percentage of armies and host are female – that is a lot. There are at least two female angels written of in Zech 5:9

And why would it matter, if there was a female element to the heavens? Except to threaten the good old boys man’s club of religion and weaken its grip on the attitudes of the population.

[Dave]

Gen 2:7 (ASV) And Jehovah God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

Gen 2:7 (KJV) And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

There is a much more metaphysical element to this once adding Gen 2:7 to the equation.
1st century Gnostic literature calls this our inner nous, the part of us you just can’t find in an x-ray, that spark, that gift of breath, that separates us from all else, that part of us that continues on after our physical death

We are spirit suffering through a physical experience. We are being tempted and tested by our mere physicality. We will survive life as a human being! Was being mortal and corporeal enough that we forget who we are?

[Dave]

My argument with Feel Good Christianity

If our image and likeness turned out to be what we see on the nightly news, then what am I actually saying about the image and likeness of the Elohiym of the ‘us.’ Am I actually implying that the dysfunction in this corporeal reality is a mere reflection of the dysfunction within heaven?

Feel Good Christians like to paint images of golden streets and rewards. But then turn right around and preach how the devil and the false prophet accuse Christians in heaven, after the rapture (Gen 11). The there is a huge civil war between Michael and the dragon and the beast and 1/3 of the angels were banished to earth.

As a multidimensionalist, I argue scriptural references to a 10 dimensional reality. These 3D and 7 heavens, or dimensional, or localities of reality. As a Gnostic I see those localities filled with “other players” in the creation story. Armies and host. Interacting here when necessary as all pawns in God’s plan.

[Deleted]

I thank you so much for your time given in order to respond.

I appreciate any contributions to my questions as gifts.

[Dave]

Response?


Agree? Disagree? Comments, suggestions, or a different opinion?

[Dillon]

Here is some religious mumbo jumbo for ya.

Evidently some people think being made in God's image makes us mini gods.

All our lives we've heard that we're "made in the image of God." It's a nice thought, and probably one we've clung to when we need a reminder of our own value. But have you ever stopped to think about what it really means? "Made in the image of God" is an audacious claim—and one that probably carries some responsibility with it. We all know we are not gods—though if we're honest, we know we often think we are the god of our own lives, even if we'd never admit it. The truth is, you are not God. But you are godlike.

Our confusion about whether or not we are God arises from our godlikeness. It's described in the first chapter of the Bible. Genesis 1:26-27 reveals, "Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, in our likeness' ... So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them."


Read more at www.relevantmagazine.com/god/deeper-walk/features/23549-qmade-in-the-image-of-godq#8ojLbJYr98USmh0x.99

[Dillon]

In the Image of God
From the Creation Ministries

When God created man in His own image,7 He purposed that mankind (both man and woman) would resemble God in certain ways, and share certain of the divine prerogatives. Concerning this we note:

1. It was not a physical likeness, but...

Although God is spirit (John 4:24) and does not have a body like a man, when He appeared visibly to men according to the Old Testament record, He did so in the form of a human body (e.g. Genesis 18:1-2; 32:24, 28,30).8 Dr Henry Morris writes: 'There is something about the human body therefore, which is uniquely appropriate to God's manifestation of Himself, and(since God knows all His works from the beginning of the world—Acts 15:18), He must have designed man's body with this in mind. Accordingly He designed it, not like the animals, but with an erect posture, with an upward gazing countenance, capable of facial expressions corresponding with emotional feelings, and with a brain and tongue capable of articulate, symbolic speech.'9,10

Furthermore, the human body was the form in which God the Son would be incarnated or 'made in the likeness of men' (Philippians 2:7). Thus God made man in that bodily form which He Himself would one day assume—the form in which He wished to reveal Himself.

2. It was a mental likeness.

God endowed man with intellectual ability which was and is far superior to that of any animal. Thus man was given a mind capable of hearing and understanding God's communication with him, emotions capable of responding to God in love and devotion, and a will which enabled him to choose whether or not to obey God. Man was thus equipped, not only to 'love God and obey Him for ever', but also to do God's work on earth—to be His regent and govern the creation in co-operation with his Creator.

This is seen in God's command to Adam and Eve11 that they exercise dominion over the earth and its animals (Genesis 1:26,28), in Adam's task of cultivating the garden (Genesis 2:15), and in the statement that Adam gave names to certain of the animals on the earth (Genesis 2:19-20).12

Man's intellectual gifts are further seen in his ability to design things and then make them, to appreciate beauty, to compose glorious music, to paint pictures, to write, to count to large numbers and do mathematics, to control and use energy for his own benefit (e.g. fire, electricity, nuclear power), to organize, to reason, to make decisions, to be self-conscious, to laugh at himself, and to think abstractly. All this behaviour is non-instinctive, as distinct from animal behaviour, and as such it is of unlimited variety.

3. It was a moral likeness.

Man only, of all God's creatures, has a spirit or God-consciousness, that is, a capacity for knowing God and holding spiritual communion with Him through prayer, praise, and worship. Since the Fall (Genesis chapter 3), man has had inborn moral awareness of good and evil, or conscience, which he perceives in his spirit.13

Man was made not only negatively innocent (that is, without sin), but positively holy, otherwise Adam could not have had communion with God, who cannot look upon iniquity (Habakkuk 1:13). This is further confirmed by Genesis 1:31, when God affirms that everthing He had made (including man) was 'very good', which would not have been true if man had been morally imperfect.

4. It was a social likeness.14

God's social nature and intrinsic love is seen in the doctrine of the Trinity. God—who is love—created man with a social nature and a need for love. The statement in Genesis 3:8 that 'they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day' suggests that Adam and Eve enjoyed fellowship and communion with God, perhaps on a daily basis.

God also provided for human fellowship and love in a very special and intimate way. Before He created Eve He said, 'It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a help meet for him' (Genesis 2:18). He then made Eve out of a bone taken from Adam (Genesis 2:21-24), a fact which Jesus used in His debate with the Pharisees to uphold the sanctity of marriage and the intimacy of love within the marriage relationship (Matthew 19:4-6; Mark 10:6-8).15

[Dave]

Apr 30, 2014 15:37:36 GMT -5 Dillon said:

In the Image of God
From the Creation Ministries

1. It was not a physical likeness, but...

Although God is spirit (John 4:24) and does not have a body like a man, when He appeared visibly to men according to the Old Testament record, He did so in the form of a human body (e.g. Genesis 18:1-2; 32:24, 28,30).8 Dr Henry Morris writes: 'There is something about the human body therefore, which is uniquely appropriate to God's manifestation of Himself, and(since God knows all His works from the beginning of the world—Acts 15:18), He must have designed man's body with this in mind. Accordingly He designed it, not like the animals, but with an erect posture, with an upward gazing countenance, capable of facial expressions corresponding with emotional feelings, and with a brain and tongue capable of articulate, symbolic speech.'9,10

Furthermore, the human body was the form in which God the Son would be incarnated or 'made in the likeness of men' (Philippians 2:7). Thus God made man in that bodily form which He Himself would one day assume—the form in which He wished to reveal Himself.

Are you sure?

As a multidimensionalist and Trinity, I absolutely agree that whenever God interacts in the 3rd dimension in the form of a man it is the Christ. But this Christendom version begs the question: does God stoop to the lowly human form - or - does in his image mandate the humanoid form?

10 dimensions of space and one of time - divided into the Omniscient and omnipotent singularity that forms the initial singularity that all other dimensions are based upon. The omnipresent second dimensional plane of the universe. The matrix, or either, that provides the foundation for our 3D corporeal reality. Jewish text speak to 7 heavens. The expression I am in 7th heaven is a Jewish expression meaning I am in paradise. Hebrew has seven words for heaven. Islam has 7 heavens. Hindi has 7 heavens (with each divided in 1/2 making 14. Enoch speaks of 10 heavens and so does the Apostle Paul. Science says 10. 3+ 7 = 10. Just a different way to describe multidimensionalism.

Hebrew text a part of Rabbinic study is the Zohar. Sections of this Hebrew text are dedicated to - Chapter XVII, THE DEVACHANIC OR HEAVENLY SPHERES -and- chapter XVIII, HIGHER DEVACHANIC OR HEAVENLY. Each of ten heavens is populated with many humanoid forms.

The Apocalypse of Paul - was delivered as a part of a third epistle to the church in Corinth. Quickly rejected from canon and buried under the weight of heretical censorship. As if the Apostle Paul could write a complete text of heresy along side 85% of the New Testament canon? This text also speaks of 10 heavens populated by many humanoid forms.

Enoch wrote of ten heaves populated by many humanoid forms - seems to be a theme here. Not that the image of god truly does have a humanoid form in the body of Christ. But all of creation is also in this same image.

[Deleted]

Apr 30, 2014 3:06:11 GMT -5 Dave said:

The gender issue

Gen 1:27 (ASV) And God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

Gen 1:27 (KJV) So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.


Every pre-Christian religion included female deities. Christ told us of the Holy Spirit. Christ spoke Aramaic and Hebrew, both of which Spirit to be a female word. It is the Greek translations that call the Holy Spirit an ‘It.’

One of the themes in Gnostic literature is the femininity of the Holy Spirit. She is the Goddess Sophia, the Wisdom giver, the womb of creation. As I re-examine this issue from my current perspective, I say a name is just a name. How many names do we refer to the Creator as? Each, just as respectful as the other. So, does it really matter what name we use?

Does gen. 1:27 say God’s image is both male and female?
Or, did god make man in his own image, then change it into male and female?

If you look back on the Elohiym of the ‘us’ in Gen 1:26, using the Trinity as the Elohiym model you have an androgynous Father, Christ, the male son, and female Spirit ,Holy or Sophia.
Even in the Jeff Brener example the ‘us’ represented the male ‘He” and the She, singular, female, land.

Only if the ‘us’ include a female component doe Gen. 1:27 read correctly. There is not enough vocabulary provided to conclude a drastic change was made after the fact.

Every pre-Christian religion included female deities. Expanding the Elohiym model beyond the Trinity propagates the feminine. Even is a small percentage of armies and host are female – that is a lot. There are at least two female angels written of in Zech 5:9

And why would it matter, if there was a female element to the heavens? Except to threaten the good old boys man’s club of religion and weaken its grip on the attitudes of the population.

In regards to gender...I also consider the possibility of gender references attributing to energy characteristics commonly used in many ancient languages that I'm aware of. For example, I believe Latin and all modern languages derived from Latin still use gender references. When you refer to layers, I suppose this view would fall into that category when I study The Bible or any other ancient writing whether it was included in The Bible or not. 

[Deleted]

Apr 30, 2014 3:33:16 GMT -5 Dave said:

Gen 2:7 (ASV) And Jehovah God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

Gen 2:7 (KJV) And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

There is a much more metaphysical element to this once adding Gen 2:7 to the equation.
1st century Gnostic literature calls this our inner nous, the part of us you just can’t find in an x-ray, that spark, that gift of breath, that separates us from all else, that part of us that continues on after our physical death

We are spirit suffering through a physical experience. We are being tempted and tested by our mere physicality. We will survive life as a human being! Was being mortal and corporeal enough that we forget who we are?

Mmmm..."that gift of breath". In Jeff Benners MT, Genesis 2:7, "and he exhaled in his nostrils", I find it oddly reassuring that when we die, we exhale.

I'm a rather fanciful creature...

[Deleted]

Apr 30, 2014 15:32:40 GMT -5 Dillon said:

Here is some religious mumbo jumbo for ya.

Evidently some people think being made in God's image makes us mini gods.

All our lives we've heard that we're "made in the image of God." It's a nice thought, and probably one we've clung to when we need a reminder of our own value. But have you ever stopped to think about what it really means? "Made in the image of God" is an audacious claim—and one that probably carries some responsibility with it. We all know we are not gods—though if we're honest, we know we often think we are the god of our own lives, even if we'd never admit it. The truth is, you are not God. But you are godlike.

Our confusion about whether or not we are God arises from our godlikeness. It's described in the first chapter of the Bible. Genesis 1:26-27 reveals, "Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, in our likeness' ... So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them."


Read more at www.relevantmagazine.com/god/deeper-walk/features/23549-qmade-in-the-image-of-godq#8ojLbJYr98USmh0x.99

Personally speaking only, if I were to compare my present state to God, I wouldn't even make it to miniscule godhood!

[Deleted]

Apr 30, 2014 11:14:42 GMT -5 Dave said:

Response?


Agree? Disagree? Comments, suggestions, or a different opinion?

Assimilating...

I'm not practiced in responding. Thank you for the nudge.

[Larry]

Apr 30, 2014 21:54:08 GMT -5 @absorto said:

Apr 30, 2014 15:32:40 GMT -5 Dillon said:

Here is some religious mumbo jumbo for ya.

Evidently some people think being made in God's image makes us mini gods.

All our lives we've heard that we're "made in the image of God." It's a nice thought, and probably one we've clung to when we need a reminder of our own value. But have you ever stopped to think about what it really means? "Made in the image of God" is an audacious claim—and one that probably carries some responsibility with it. We all know we are not gods—though if we're honest, we know we often think we are the god of our own lives, even if we'd never admit it. The truth is, you are not God. But you are godlike.

Our confusion about whether or not we are God arises from our godlikeness. It's described in the first chapter of the Bible. Genesis 1:26-27 reveals, "Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, in our likeness' ... So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them."


Read more at www.relevantmagazine.com/god/deeper-walk/features/23549-qmade-in-the-image-of-godq#8ojLbJYr98USmh0x.99

Personally speaking only, if I were to compare my present state to God, I wouldn't even make it to miniscule godhood!

Christian Science and out American Indians also embrace the idea that God is in all things. Split open a rock and there He is.

A lot of Christian commentary argue against this pagan belief, but in light of the discussion about God BARA the heavens in Gen 1:1 this idea of everything consisting of God is not all that bazar.

I guess the pagan part of it is praying to those spirits individually versus directing your prayers to the Great Spirit specifically.