Image of God
The "image of God" (Hebrew: צֶלֶם אֱלֹהִים, romanized: ṣelem ʾĔlōhīm; Greek: εἰκών τοῦ Θεοῦ, romanized: eikón 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.
Biblical sources[edit]
Hebrew Bible[edit]
The phrase "image of God" is found in three passages in the Hebrew Bible, all in the Book of Genesis 1–11:
Imago dei and transhumanism[edit]
Negative view of transhumanism[edit]
The understanding of imago dei has come under new scrutiny when held up against the movement of transhumanism which seeks to transform the human through technological means. Such transformation is achieved through pharmacological enhancement, genetic manipulation, nanotechnology, cybernetics, and computer simulation.[77] Transhumanist thought is grounded in optimistic Enlightenment ideals which look forward to the Technological Singularity, a point at which humans engineer the next phase of human evolutionary development.[78]
Transhumanism's assertion that the human being exist within the evolutionary processes and that humans should use their technological capabilities to intentionally accelerate these processes is an affront to some conceptions of imago dei within Christian tradition. In response, these traditions have erected boundaries in order to establish the appropriate use of transhumanistic technologies using the distinction between therapeutic and enhancement technologies. Therapeutic uses of technology such as cochlear implants, prosthetic limbs, and psychotropic drugs have become commonly accepted in religious circles as means of addressing human frailty.[79] Nevertheless, these acceptable technologies can also be used to elevate human ability. Further, they correct the human form according to a constructed sense of normalcy. Thus the distinction between therapy and enhancement is ultimately questionable when addressing ethical dilemmas.
Human enhancement has come under heavy criticism from Christians; especially the Vatican which condemned enhancement as "radically immoral" stating that humans do not have full right over their biological form.[80] Christians concerns of humans "playing God" are ultimately accusations of hubris, a criticism that pride leads to moral folly, and a theme which has been interpreted from the Genesis accounts of Adam and Eve and the Tower of Babel. In these stories, God was in no real danger of losing power; however, Patrick D. Hopkins has argued that, in light of technological advancement, the hubris critique is changing into a Promethean critique. According to Hopkins, "In Greek myth, when Prometheus stole fire, he actually stole something. He stole a power that previously only the gods had."[81]