Anthropology – Week 1
Introduction & Imago Dei
Quotations
“What a piece of work is a man! How noble in reason! how infinite in faculty! in form, in moving, how express and admirable! in action how like an angel! in apprehension how like a god! the beauty of the world! the paragon of animals! And yet, to me, what is this quintessence of dust?” – Shakespeare
“What a stupendous, what an incomprehensible machine is man! Who can endure toil, famine, stripes, imprisonment and death itself in vindication of his own liberty, and the next moment . . . inflict on his fellow men a bondage, one hour of which is fraught with more misery than ages of that which he rose in rebellion to oppose.” – Thomas Jefferson
Know then thyself, presume not God to scan;
The proper study of mankind is Man.
Placed on this isthmus of a middle state,
Being darkly wise and rudely great;
With too much knowledge for the Skeptic side,
With too much weakness for the Stoic’s pride,
He hangs between; in doubt to act, or rest;
In doubt to deem himself a God, or Beast…
Sole judge of truth, in endless Error hurled:
The glory, jest, and riddle of the world! – Alexander Pope
“The better I get to know men, the more I find myself loving dogs.”
― Charles de Gaulle
“The average dog is a nicer person than the average person.”
― Andy Rooney
“Man is the cruelest animal.”
― Friedrich Nietzsche
“A sense of humour is the only divine quality of man”
― Arthur Schopenhauer
“To be able to laugh and to be merciful are the only things that make man better than the beast”
― Ruskin Bond
“Man is the only creature who refuses to be what he is.”
― Albert Camus
The astonishing hypothesis is that ‘you’ – your joys and your sorrows, your memories and your ambitions, your sense of personal identity and free will, are in fact no more than the behavior of a vast assemblage of nerve cells and their associated molecules. – Francis Crick
Nearly all the wisdom we possess, that is to say, true and sound wisdom, consists of two parts: the knowledge of God and of ourselves. – John Calvin
Aslan to Prince Caspian: “You come of the Lord Adam and the Lady Eve…and that is both honor enough to erect the head of the poorest beggar, and shame enough to bow the shoulders of the greatest emperor on earth.”
What is Christian Anthropology?
Some topics we’d like to hit include: What is man for? What are the parts of man? Man in community – marriage, the family and state. Man at work. Man at leisure. Man as sinner. Man in death. Man’s destiny.
The creation of man
Read Genesis 1:26, 27
Man’s creation seems to be calculated to both humble and honor him. He is one creature among many. “The essence of all pantheism, evolutionism, and modern cosmic religion is really in this proposition: that Nature is our mother…The main point of Christianity was this: that Nature is not our mother. Nature is our sister.” – G. K. Chesterton
Man appears last in the creation, as the most swelling part of the crescendo. Then again, everything else is made before him, which means he was last. As Archbishop James Usher said, Man hath not to boast of his Antiquity, all the Creatures being made before him, even to the vilest worm.
Then again, man is honored, because God has prepared everything, furnished a world for, planted a garden…for him!
Man is made of dust from the non-human creation, undifferentiated – humbled. But then again, God breathes into his nostrils – honored.
We do see that the creation of man is spoken of differently than the rest of the creation narrative. Not only is man created in God’s image. We’re told man is created in God’s image. Moreover, we’re told that by way of a conversation in the heavenly council. There is a pause in the creation.
Man is the most exquisite piece in the creation. He is a microcosm, or little world. Man was made with deliberation and counsel. ‘Let us make man.’ Gen 1:26. It is the manner of artificers to be more than ordinarily accurate when they are about their masterpieces. Man was to be the masterpiece of this visible world, therefore God consulted about making so rare a piece. A solemn council of the sacred persons in the Trinity was called.” – Thomas Watson
Imago Dei
What does it mean to be made in the image of God? It’s never specified. Perhaps Moses assumed his readers would know what he was talking about. We can say some general things:
· Man is an image – not self contained, not the final reference point in our lives. We are not God but in his image.
John Stott: The biblical revelation reminds us that human beings are not self explanatory. They derive their meaning from outside themselves, from God in whose image they are made. We are not autonomous individuals, creating ourselves constantly by the decisions and choices we make. No, we are images, we are reflections. The dignity of our humanity is derivative; it comes from him whose image we bear. We are dependent beings.
· Man is gloriously unique: The fact that we are in the image of God prevents us from thinking too little of ourselves. A majestic sunset is not in the image of God, a murmuration of migrating martins is not in the image of God, nor is a breathtaking beach, a rainforest, a radiant sunset, or a raging waterfall. Only one creature in the vast cornucopia of creation’s diversity is dignified with this honor: you, me, and every human being from the richest and grandest to the poorest and lowliest. – Watkin
· The image of God is not earned
· Every human bears the image of God
There have been some good guesses about what imago dei specifically entails
· Some capacity or ability which differentiates him from the rest of the Creation and renders him similar to God
o Man’s unique intellectual power. (Thomas Aquinas, who thought that what was lost in the fall was a gift of grace that enabled reason to rule the lower parts of human nature [Donne: Reason, Your viceroy, me should attend..]. Of course this could get you into the trap of implying that the mentally retarded or Alzheimer’s patient doesn’t have the full image of God.
o Having a soul distinct from the body
o Ethical qualities such as knowledge, righteousness, holiness
o Man’s ability to develop and progress. “Curiously unfinished at birth.”
o A combination: The likeness of God extends to the whole excellence by which man’s nature towers over all kinds of living creatures…And although the primary seat of the divine image was in the mind or heart, or in the soul and its powers, yet there was no part of man, not even the body itself, in which some sparks did not glow. – Calvin
· Keying in on the male and femaleness of man coming right after the being made in the image of God. Karl Barth. Just as God exists in relation to Persons, namely, the Trinity, so humans image God by existing in relationship to one another, first in our male and femaleness. We are in relationship (whether we acknowledge that or not). We are most human when we relate to one another wisely. We have the capacity for relationship – freedom, reason, conscience. Sachs: What and who my real “self” is, is a mystery which is constituted by the mystery of others…. My humanity is something always profoundly greater, even other, than I am.
· A functional meaning – humans are made in the image of God in that we rule in his place. We are given dominion over the rest of the creation (except for the days 1&2 parts). In the ancient near-east, it was common for rulers to have images of themselves placed in the far-flung parts of the realm. Or the Imago Dei function is that we out of all worship God.
o The theologian John Frame divides up this function in terms of King – we exercise great power over the creation; so-called “cultural mandate”; Prophet – we are given language, to name the animals, which is more than simply naming but a scientific classifying; and Priest – we fill the earth with the presence of God by procreation; throughout the earth we in God’s place care for the earth and in every place pray and worship to God.
In summary: man stands between the rest of the creation and God, like a curved mirror. A priest. Not just inertly but in a disposition of trust and love.
Do we still bear the image of God?
You betcha. Look at Genesis 9:1-7. Look at James 3:9.
What are some implications of this doctrine?
1. We cannot understand or define human beings (ourselves) apart from God.
Tara Condell: I realize I am undeserving of thinking this way because I truly have a great life on paper. I’m fortunate to eat meals most only imagine. I often travel freely without restriction. I live alone in the second greatest American city (San Francisco, you’ll always have my heart). However, all these facets seem trivial to me. It’s the ultimate first world problem, I get it. I often felt detached while in a room full of my favorite people; I also felt absolutely nothing during what should have been the happiest and darkest times in my life. No single conversation or situation has led me to make this decision, so at what point do you metaphorically pull the trigger?
I’m going to miss doing NYT crosswords (I was getting really good). That one charcuterie board with taleggio AND ‘nduja. Anything Sichuan ma la, but that goes without saying. A perfect plate of carbonara (no cream!). Real true authentic street tacos. Cal-Italian cuisine. Hunan Bistro’s fried rice. The pork belly and grape mini from State Bird Provisions circa 2013. Popeye’s of course. Bambas too.
I’m also going to miss unexpected hugs. Al Green’s Simply Beautiful. Cherries in July. Tracing a sleeping eyebrow. Smoking cigarettes. The Golden Gate Bridge at sunset. That first sip of iced cold brew in sticky August. Making eye contact with people walking down the street. When songs feel like they’re speaking to your soul. Jeopardy. Saying I love you. Late night junk food binges. Shooting the sh*t. And especially the no-destination-in-sight long walks.
2. Evangelism – no such thing as an independent, autonomous human being. It is good to begin with a doctrine of a creator. See 2 Ways to Live
3. Every human being is special and has an honorable rank within the creation. Don’t slight (or worse) the aged, the handicapped, the retarded, the not-yet-born…)
You’ve heard that famous quote from C.S. Lewis’ Weight of Glory
It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare.
All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or other of these destinations.
It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities, it is with the awe and circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics.
There are no ordinary people.
You have never talked to a mere mortal.
Nations, cultures, arts, civilization—these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat…
The Spirit of the 2nd Adam is showing us how to treat people as they should be treated in light of who they are. Cliff Notes: Love is what binds it all together!
For further reading:
Francis Schaeffer Genesis in Space and Time Chapter 2: Differentiation and the Creation of Man
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