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b-hebrew - Re: [b-hebrew] Divine Embodiment - Peter Kirk

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  • From: Peter Kirk <peterkirk AT qaya.org>
  • To: Kevin Graham <kevlds AT hotmail.com>
  • Cc: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Divine Embodiment - Peter Kirk
  • Date: Thu, 08 Sep 2005 13:00:32 +0100

On 08/09/2005 12:35, Kevin Graham wrote:

...

== Thus when Genesis 1:26-7 mentions that man was made "in the image of God", Hellenists look for physical attributes,

Which is belied by all the evidence (unless you're relying strictly on story of Mt. Olympus) as I indicated above. The Platonic tendency was to striop God of any anthropomorphic attribute. ...


I suspect that the point here is something like this: Hellenists were familiar with the old myths of the Olympian gods with all kinds of physical attributes and passions. They rejected these myths in favour of a concept of a formless God. When they came to read the Hebrew Bible, they understood (misunderstood, in my opinion) references to God's eyes, face etc not as metaphorical extended senses but as literal - and rejected them. Meanwhile the less Hellenised Jews continued to understand these references according to their proper Hebrew meaning.

...
== how man acts like God while fulfilling his role as God's representative as a created being in charge of the created universe.

It is true that as the image of God, man serves as God's representative, having dominion over the earth. But scholars are generally in agreement over the fact that dominion is merely a consequence of the image, not its defining element.


Kevin, please stop saying things like "scholars are generally in agreement", and come up with some good arguments against this rather obvious point that the meaning and purpose of the image of God in Genesis 1:26 is explicitly stated in that same verse, that humanity will have dominion. Dominion was God's purpose in creating humanity, and this was possible because the image of God distinguished them from the animals etc. While I would not claim that this is all there is to the image, the link in this verse is so close that "defining element" seems to me exactly how it should be described.

--
Peter Kirk
peter AT qaya.org (personal)
peterkirk AT qaya.org (work)
http://www.qaya.org/



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