II. What Is the Image of God? (Gen. 1:26-27, 5:1-3, 9:6, James 3:9) Imago dei names our resemblance to God, and God's resemblance to us
What about us images God? Several answers:
1. Our human appearance? (cf. Finis Jennings Dake)
2. Fellowship with God (Calvin, Barth: covenant)
3. Cultivation of creation (Gen. 1:26, Gen. 2:15, Ps. 8, Gen. 9:6)
as God's earthly representatives (Childs)
4. Reasoning / speaking (Athanasius); our human mind (Augustine)
5. Human community and genderedness (Barth; cf. Gen. 2:18)
6. Jesus (Barth; Col. 1:15, Heb. 1:3, Rom. 5:12-21, 1 Cor. 15:49; Ps. 8:4's "son of man")
7. The Church's likeness to God, restored through Jesus Christ
(Calvin; Eph. 4:22-24, Col. 3:10)
The imago dei grounds our special relationships with
God, each other, the rest of creation, and ourselves (Kuyper)
The imago dei gives us a place in both God and the creation
(against both the modern "turn to the self" and postmodern decentering)
The imago dei enables the divine-human conversation
(examples: Christian worship; Lord's Prayer; "telling God's story")
III. Was Death Good Too? Two Options
1. Humanity is created "able not to die" (Church Fathers; Gen. 2:17; Rom. 6:23)
2. Death is part of God's good creation (Leith; Ps. 104:29-30, Ps. 8:4,1 Cor. 15:36, 42-57, 1 Thess. 4:13-18)
How does each affect the Christian attitude toward death?
What would a good death look like?
