Are we made in "God's Image" Physically or Spiritually? (MAKE UP YOUR MINDS, CHRISTIANS)?

Question

MAKE UP YOUR MINDS, CHRISTIANS. About half of you have said "mentally" and half have said "physically." Some of you have even said both.


If you can't even agree with each other, how am I supposed to take you all seriously?



Arguements for both:


Physically- if we are physically made in God's image, why are we so diverse?


Spiritually Mentally- if we are mentally made in God's image, why did Eve disobey God? (If she was a perfect being she would have known the snake's evil and firmly refused)



Thanks in advance for THOUGHTFULLY answering.

*sorry, there's a slash sign between the words spiritually and mentally

Answer 1

Same questions over and over again.

Man is made in God's image. God is to man as man is to a photograph.

Jesus told Peter to feed his sheep.

God is to man as man is to sheep.

Can we please use some thought when asking questions?

Answer 2

A very good question! And when you spend sometime thinking about it very profound. The physical image really doesn't matter in any case, but the mental one does. Given two choices, "right" and "wrong", what sort of god would create a people that almost overwhelmingly chose the wrong path?

Seriously, think about it for a few minutes, within a short time period of creation Eve gives in to temptation and chooses "wrong", almost as if the whole situation had been set up. This would seem to indicate that "wrong" has been made much more attractive than right, which is counter intuitive. Look at the OT, all in all you have a higher percentage of people doing wrong than good, this argues for a predisposition for doing wrong.

It's amazing that many answerers to this question discount love as an animal characteristic and fail to see how much we have in common with many of our relatives.

Answer 3

We are both. Physically, we are made of the same "stuff" shall we say as God is. We are flesh and blood, and our body is made up the way his is. Spiritually, I believe He created our spirits, so we are made in His image that way also. To me, image doesn't mean just like him, it just means that we have characteristics that are the same as His. We can be diverse and still carry some of the characteristics as our creator.

I understand what you mean about each different sect of christian answering this differently. Most sects believe some of the same basic principles, it's interpretation that makes them all different. Take my religion for instance, I've been told (today in fact) that I'm not christian because of my beliefs. So even Christian sects discount other ones because they don't believe the exact same thing. That's the problem. We can't look at each other and see some of the same things that we believe, everyone looks at the points that aren't the same and pick at them. I don't understand why we just can't agree to disagree on some stuff.

Answer 4

Since no one I know has seen God and is able to compare, I believe it is the spiritual sense that we were created in. God gave us a functioning mind to chose and rule over nature. As to why we disobey God, that is because God gave us free will so that we had the choice to choose Him, because you can't make true love. Although we sometimes choose the wrong because we are tempted and weak enough to fall into the trap. But God loves us so much that He will do everything in His power to help us.

Answer 5

My vote is for spiritual, or emotional. I don't agree with the physical part because God is a spirit creature- we don't know what He looks like. We can't look like God because we have physical bodies, and "flesh and bone can not inherit God's Kingdom." So God is a spirit being, we are not. Physical similarities disqualified.

Now for the spiritual part: God made us in His image in the sense that our major, inherent attributes are the same as His: wisdom, power, justice and love, to name a few.

"God is love"- 1 John 4:8. What is a human's primary quality? What sets us apart from birds and cats and lizards? The ability to reason, for one thing, but also the ability to love. Love is the one quality we all want, in one way or another. Same with God. He is the ultimate respresentation and display of love. As His creation, we mirror that attribute (for the most part)

Justice is another big one. Think about it: search the World over and you will find that most laws and moral codes resemble one another. It's wrong to steal, murder, assault, etc. just about everywhere you go. Why? Because God created us with a built in sense of justice that mirrors His own. Of course, many people ignore it (conscience) but on the whole, I would say that 99% could agree that murder is morally wrong. That sense of justice in us also creates indignation when justice "falls short." We want to see murderers punished, criminals put in jail and child molesters strung up by their you know what's because we feel that they must pay for their heinous crimes. . . justice.

Wisdom and power: these two go hand in hand when it comes to God, but not mankind. (Darn imperfect nature!) Mankind is continuously struggling for wisdom and understanding in ALL areas: science, nature, medicine, technology, etc. God is the ultimate source of wisdom, seeing as how He created all things, but we also have that craving to know the how's and why's of our environment (and beyond).

As for the power, "man has dominated man to his injury." Lust for power is wrong, but who here doesn't enjoy winning a poker game? Or making a game winning touchdown? Perhaps getting a big promotion at work? Or maybe seeing your child(ren) make the Honor Roll at school? All small and acceptable forms of power.

Answer 6

I can't answer for anyone other than myself but I would say he created me in his image physically - This way he could look down on my face in the mornings, as the dawn breaks, and it will remind him how he is even better looking than me and I so far above all the other creations thus he is the one true, powerful, beautiful, only God. I shall think of the spiritual part later for now I would like to stand in front of the mirror and enjoy gods everlasting beauty and love for mankind by sending me to look upon and knowing that there is a loving god that thinking of you.

Answer 7

Both - the Bible simply says that man is "made in the image of God."

As for your question of how:

physically - we may be diverse, but we all are human. With senses, emotions, a mind, life in general. Our physical nature reflects who God is, we do not LOOK like him physically; he is a spirit. He has no real "physical" characteristics. Humans beings LOOKING diverse just means God wanted us to be individuals not clones.

spiritually - as in we have a spirit. Sin was possible because of choice. Sin had nothing to do with Adam and Eve's nature (BTW, BOTH Adam and Eve sinned, not just Eve.). It wasn't because of "who they were" but because of what they chose. God made beings, not robots. Children, not drones. If they have no ability to rebel, you do not really have life and a mind.


Made in the image of God does not mean we ARE God. We are made to reflect him, but he still made us to be our own persons.

Answer 8

Spiritually, we were made in His image, but we are not exactly like Him, so we are not perfect.

Also, I have never heard anyone say physically. I guess some Christians might say that, but I don't know any church who teaches that. Are you making stuff up?

Answer 9

He specific has given me and all who stick to Him that spirit of a valid concepts. i admire that verse in 2 Timothy a million:7. not sure what you advise with regard to the distinction of Christianity, however.

Answer 10

well angry young person

God is spirit, and those who worship Him worship Him in spirit and truth(it's in His book. Look it up.)

it's essence, made up of spirit, thoughts, etc
gives us the copacity for love, hope and desire to embrace a loving creator who longs to embrace them.

like okay?