created in Gods image?

Question

this is in regards to a question just a few moments ago about whether or not we are bad people
http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Al7iyrxjlZrSZ2CRy6HElqlFLxV.;_ylv=3?qid=20071014123546AAORoNd

some Christians answered yes ... that they are sinners
now a serious question please
where you raised with people telling you this ?
parents , preachers etc ?
what does this do to your self esteem ?
do you not believe that God created you in his image .. therefore you are wonderful beings ?

I just struggle with this
I think people are amazing with amazing potential
I teach my children that they are amazing... that they can make a difference in this world
and the only way we can make this world better is to believe in ourself and to believe in others

do you struggle with this ?
what do you teach your children in regards to this ?
help me understand , thank you xx

Answer 1

This is an issue that I must admit, needs much explanation-especially since it is mainly one of personal views and opinions as there is no one correct answer. I will however try to be brief.

It is my personal belief, that we are all born in with a nature capable of enormous love, and yet one that is corrupted with a tendency to sin. Due to original sin, I believe that we all have potential to be sinners and sin. On this issue, I must explain that I don't believe that original sin inflicted us because a women ate an apple! That's simply ridiculous, and I say this with complete confidence- and I'm Catholic. It's utterly unbelievable in my opinion, as it is in the opinion of many others, that the God we love and worship is an entity of such materialism, which is seen in the classical view that God punished humans because of the physical act of eating the apple! The truth is that I believe in Original Sin, as a very true fact, but not in the sense mentioned above. In my opinion, original sin inflicted humans due to the breaking in the bonds between us and God, and because we sought paths that were sinful! Because we broke the loving relationship with God, by our own choice, we brought about the spiritual defect of a sinful tendency. The story of Adam and Eve is just a simple method of explaining all this to the early Jews.

That said, I don't believe children should be introduced to this concept early on as it might not be healthy. For example, I grew up learning that God loves us, and that Baptism is what make us his children and what gives us the blessings of the Holy Spirit, and that sinning is a bad thing that upsets God- all of which is true. This, as far as I can remember, was easy enough for me to understand, and had no negative effect whatsoever. On the other hand, explaining to children that we are all contaminated with a spiritual tendency to sin, and that we need baptism to wash away original Sin, and that being good is not that easy, is not the right way to go. This does not mean that we should lie, to them and teach them wrong concepts, only that we should simplify things and avoid confusing them and frightening them from religion, as this is likely in cases where there is no correct and confused spiritual guidance.

When we say we were created in God’s image and liking this has many explanations. One is that we, in our physical shapes were created in the shape of Christ, who had a preexisting form, that later became the shape of humans. I personally am against this because I believe more strongly in the following explanation, and therefore cannot join between the two. The second explanation is that the human spirit was created to be as God’s nature is, and that: loving. We were made with the characteristic of capability of great love. It was not the creation in God’s image that causes us to have a weak nature that tends to sin, how can it be when God’s nature only and fully loves! Sin was introduced into our spiritual DNA by ourselves.
I do struggle with this, but then again I struggle with most religious concepts. The answer though is to trust God, knowing that what we cannot understand is only due to the unbridgeable gap between our maximum intelligence and God’s!

Children are truly amazing, and they do have the potential to do great things! So if you feel explaining things like this early on will decrease their self esteem or affect their future potential, I see nothing wrong with you perhaps delaying these concepts until they are old enough to understand them correctly and without being negatively affected by them. May God bless you and guide you.

Answer 2

I did go to church when I was younger, but stopped recently when I realised I was being hypocritical. Now I no longer feel guilty for having an open mind and the further I detach from religion, the more amazing I see this world is. I suppose I never really attached to religion because my father never went to church and thus wasn't exactly a good role model. He never forced me to believe anything, and always told me to find things out for myself. I have discovered how fantastic and amazing the world is by studying science.

So now, in spite of going to church, I still think the world is amazing.

I think parents should teach children to make their own decisions based on fact, and through this they will learn to have confidence in their abilities. I don't think they need to be or should be told they are amazing - I think it only encourages big-headedness.

Answer 3

It's possible the girl asking is looking for answers for her own life - i don't know her - but maybe God is showing her she is a sinner soon to be saved by His grace - like i say if i had more knowledge of the girl i could say.
It's not easy to explain Pangel - i know where ur coming from - i'm sure ur children are amazing - yes we are all amazing but when sin came in to mankind we all fell under that curse -- this is why only Jesus blood could redeem us (only a Holy sacrifice could do this work) Jesus broke the curse of sin & death. I know u have asked this before and u know the answer about sin - what hasn't happened yet is the Holy Spirit speaking to u about the fall of man - only He can do this.
If i can add it isn't psycological (the way we've been raised) it's spiritual. In God's time He reveals our sin - then He reveals who we are from before the foundation of the world - He knew us before our mothers even thought of having us - it's all in His perfect time for each of us. I know there are ppl here praying for u and long for u to meet the Jesus we know - just as u long for some of us to know what u know.

Answer 4

I teach my children that we are all born good, pure and loving. Along the way in some people's development, something bad happens to them which causes mental and emotional issues. These issues can cause people to make negative choices out of fear or anger. Just because someone chooses a bad path, it does not mean that THEY are bad, it just means that they have gotten lost and need some help to get back to a more positive path.

My children have much more compassion than many people because they never label someone as bad or evil, therefore they never see another human being as "deserving" of punishment or revenge. They just see them as needing rehabilitation or help dealing with mental and emotional issues.

The important thing is, that even though I have taught them to have compassion, I have also taught them to be cautious and to know that it is not their responsibility to try to "save" those types of people. If a person is obviously doing things that could be emotionally or physically harmful, then they know it is best to avoid that person for the sake of their own personal safety.

They also know that it is normal to make mistakes, and they have become pros at forgiving themselves and others. They definitely know how wonderful they are, yet they are humble enough to admit that they mess up and try to make amends when they make mistakes.

Answer 5

You've touched on one of the main things that undermines the credibility of Christianity and one of the main reasons why it's unhealthy. Original sin. The idea that somehow, because of the actions of our ancestors countless generations ago, we are all born guilty and tainted with evil. Because of something we weren't there for and had no control over. And we have to spend our whole lives trying to atone for it with no hope of being released from our inherited guilt until the afterlife. What do you suppose that does to people's sense of self-worth and personal dignity?
If that absurdity were true, which fortunately it isn't, it would indicate that God is unjust and sadistic.

Answer 6

We were created in the Image of our Creator, and our Creator is Spirit. Made Male and Female according to the two aspects of the Lifeforce, we understand as the Masculine and Feminine, which come together and form, and sustain Life on every level.
The spirits that live in humans on this level, were never intended to live in this world. We came here of our own volition, and cannot escape this world until we make the effort on our own. The book of Romans says, "When we knew God, we worshipped him not as God. But became vain in our imaginings, and turned the incorruptible, (eternal), image of God, (spirit), into the corruptible, (temporary) image of man,
(flesh)!"

Answer 7

You are right. People dwell on the idea of being perfect or not perfect. If we are not perfect, then everything is "perfectly" right the way it is.

Concerning being bad or good. We are not bad... we are what we came to be and we do what we know better. So many things I did in my life that I thought I was right at the moment, and only with the passing years, experiences and knowledge I realized that I was wrong. We progress and knowing that we ALL progress, makes me think we are all perfect.

Peace!

Answer 8

We were created in God's own image... MALE! God expected Adam to mate with some of the animals that he created. They both looked hard one by one. They had plenty of time to do it while Adam was naming ALL the animals that God created. Adam must have tried an ewe or what have you, but no suitable "help meet" or mate was found for Adam. So AFTER God created man unto his own image God admits a glitch in his creation that somthing is "no good"! So he creates Eve as an afterthought! This is the honest Bible truth.

God Admits twice in Genesis 2:18 and 2:20 that "it is no good for man to be alone" so after Adam names ALL the animals that God created. They verified that they couldn't find a suitable mate for Adam so God created Eve...!!! (Genesis 2:20) She was created who knows how long after the original creation of Adam in God's own image. We have no statistical information on how long it took Adam to name the animals and try them for a mate. By the time Eve was created Adam knew a lot about sex! So when Eve was presented to Adam he was not really a nerd!

We are notbad people if we were created in God's image! Can his image become corrupt? The story of the creation of Adam and Eve sounds immoral because the clergy is constantly pounding our heads with guilt that's how they have the bread on their table on us! So watch out for the clergy!

Answer 9

Sometimes I think we give man to little credit. Look how far we've gone and what we've done in the last thousand years. The fact that we have been on this earth within the blink of an eye, and it that short time, look at what we have done. Sure we made mistakes, but we are still learning. And maybe just maybe, we can make something really great on this little piece of rock.

Answer 10

I think you misunderstood the answers in the other question.

We were created in God's image. We have endless possibility and potential. We are born innocent, pure, and free of sin.

OTOH, the Bible also teaches that we are all fallen and sinners. Because of our humanity, we fall short of perfection, stumbling along the path leading back to Father. This does not make us evil or bad, unless we make a habit of knowingly choosing things against Father's will. We will be forgiven as long as we sincerely repent.