1 / 27

Image of God

Antidote for Abortion and euthanasia. Image of God. Some Laws and Statistics. Introduction. Abortion in Australia. Doctor-assisted suicide begins…. Primum non nocere … or The Age of “Do harm” Medicine. Culture of death?. Quality of life, Sanctity of Life, or…?. The Issue.

obert
Download Presentation

Image of God

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Antidote for Abortion and euthanasia Image of God

  2. Some Laws and Statistics Introduction

  3. Abortion in Australia

  4. Doctor-assisted suicide begins…

  5. Primum non nocere… or The Age of “Do harm” Medicine Culture of death?

  6. Quality of life, Sanctity of Life, or…? The Issue

  7. Quality of life approach Perception…

  8. Sanctity of life approach

  9. Inspired Antidote: Image of God • Gen 9:6 “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, forGod made man in his own image.” • Prohibition includes: • What man is • To whom man is related • Includes & supersedes “sanctity of life” defence

  10. What really is it? Image of God

  11. A very old definition • “In the beginning God made the human race with the power of thought and of choosing the truth and doing right” (Justin Martyr, 2nd century AD) • Image of God = intellect & volition?

  12. A new definitionintroduced in a Christian curriculum • “We also believe that ALL people in the world, regardless of race, gender, religion, economic status, or location, are made in God’s image…” [viii] • “define what it means to be made in God’s image (we create, care, love and forgive)” [57]

  13. Image of God: the capacity to…?

  14. Problems with common def’n • Someone is not very creative. Do they have less of God’s image? • Someone is caring some of the time, but not all the time. Does he gain and lose the image of God? • Do non-communicative people lack the image of God? Can they be put to death? • If people are not yet, or no longer, able to think or think well (e.g., very early life in the womb, last days of life, mentally-challenged), do they lack image? Is it permissible to put them to death?

  15. Biblical definition: created to be children of God… like Father, like children • Gen 1:26-27 • “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” • Gen 5:1-3 • “Adam fathered a son in his own likeness, after his image, and name him Seth” • Luke 3:38 • “Seth, son of Adam, son of God”

  16. Doctrine of Man: Four States Not only this state! And not only this state!

  17. Confessional definition • “God created man good and in his image, that is, in true righteousness and holiness” (LD 4) • “Because Christ, having redeemed us by his blood, also renews us by his Holy Spirit to be his image…” (LD 32) • Biblical basis: • Eph 4:22-24 – renewal of image • Col 3:9-10 – renewal of image • Col 1:15 – Christ as image of God

  18. Calvin’s relational definition: Sermons on Genesis (1559) Like Father, like son INTEGRITY + INTEGRITY

  19. But how does image of God as created apply…?

  20. An important—and challenging—question Unbelievers and Remnant of Image

  21. Bible and Confessions • Scripture • Gen 9:6 – general prohibition of murder on basis of image of God • James 3:9 – prohibition of speaking ill of people made in God’s image • Confessions • BC 14 – “Since man became wicked and perverse, corrupt in all his ways, he has lost all his excellent gifts which he had once received from God. He has nothing left but some small traces, which are sufficient to make man inexcusable.” • CoD 3/4.4 – light of nature: some notions about God, regard for virtue and outward order, etc

  22. Some help from Calvin: Commentary on Psalm 8 (1557) Ruins of Imago: don’t underestimate! Remants of Imago: don’t deny! Reason to distinguish good and evil (earthly realm?) Principle of religion Social bonds (e.g. sanctity of marriage) Regard for what is appropriate Conscience Social laws

  23. Remnant of Image and Children of God • Acts 17:28 “Yet he is actually not far from each one of us… as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are indeed his offspring.’ Being then God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver….” • With respect to creation… all human beings are brought into existence by God and God still looks to how they were created • With respect to salvation… adoption in Christ promised to believers and children, not everyone (1 John 3:1-3)

  24. Antidote to “Culture of Death” Image of God

  25. Two views of Image of God Capacity: What can this creature do? Relational: To whom does this creature belong? To the Creator who is Father… Who always thinks and acts like the Father… Who always deserves to be respected as the Father… Also in how we treat his own creatures and children • Think • Choose • “Create” • Speak • Care Variable and therefore limited defense Invariable and therefore stronger defense

  26. Antidote for Abortion

  27. Antidote for Euthanasia

More Related