How do we know that we look like god?

  • Thread starter Thread starter kewl42
  • Start date Start date
  • Christian Chat is a moderated online Christian community allowing Christians around the world to fellowship with each other in real time chat via webcam, voice, and text, with the Christian Chat app. You can also start or participate in a Bible-based discussion here in the Christian Chat Forums, where members can also share with each other their own videos, pictures, or favorite Christian music.

    If you are a Christian and need encouragement and fellowship, we're here for you! If you are not a Christian but interested in knowing more about Jesus our Lord, you're also welcome! Want to know what the Bible says, and how you can apply it to your life? Join us!

    To make new Christian friends now around the world, click here to join Christian Chat.
K

kewl42

Guest
Alright, so it is written in the bible that we were created in the image of god. I've got a few problems with that. Let me present my argument: In ancient greece, gods were depicted as looking like humans. A greek philosopher by the name of Xenophanes challenged the idea of the gods. the was well travelled. And in his travels, he went to places like Germania, the middle east etc... he noticed something; that the gods in the different cultures were depicted as looking like the people from those cultures. for example, the Germanian gods were ususally tall with blonde hair. the Greek ones were shorter, with dark skin, and dark hair, and different facial features than those of the Germanian gods. He then went on to say that the hierarchy in the Greek god system oddly represented hierarchy among humans. So he came to the conclusion that, because of the way the gods worked, they were a human construct. and that is also reflected in the way they look. So, here's my point: in the bible, it is written that god made us in his image. But who wrote the bible? god? no. humans wrote it. The word "Bible", by its definition, means an encyclopedia of books. Each of these books were written by a human, like John, or Mark, you get the point. And so these books were put together to make the Bible. So it must therefore have been a human that wrote that god looks like us. But as we've already seen, humans tend to impose human characteristics on things they try to explain. It is likely that someone asked the person who wrote that, what god looks like, and he could only come up with the explanation; that god made us in his image, so he looks like us. At that day and age, it would have been all but impossible to concieve that some form of intelligent life, like us, could look anything but like us. So, how do we know what god looks like?
 
Pretty sure it's not talking about a physical image here since God is a spirit, but rather we possess His image in a quality sense. He made us with the same qualities, emotions, free will, patterns of thought (not to say our intelligence is anything close to His).
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jullianna
Well played sir. A good point. I hadn't thought of that. I had hoped that my question would have sparked other ideas. I am curious to see what others will think about the matter. Thank you.
 
kewl42 said:
Well played sir. A good point. I hadn't thought of that. I had hoped that my question would have sparked other ideas. I am curious to see what others will think about the matter. Thank you.
Click to expand...

Thanks. That's just the way I was taught about what this verse meant. I'm pretty interested to hear some other responses.
 
kewl42 said:
Alright, so it is written in the bible that we were created in the image of god.
Click to expand...

1Jn 3:2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he (Jesus) shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

Let us create man to look like what? Let us create man to be like the Son. The Son, fully human and fully God. God can not lift man up to His level, otherwise, man would have to be God himself.
So God came down to our level and put on flesh, in the image He chose before anything
was created.
So why didn't the Son write the Bible? Well, He wrote the Ten Commandments.
But other than that, He gave the task to the prophets and others. Why? To show His power
and will throughout all that time. To show how He worked in their life, so all can have
assurance He will work in their life.
 
"Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he (Jesus) shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is."
to me, this quote says that, Jesus is like the ultimate mentor. he is the model of how we shall all live for eternal peace. The verse says that we don't know what wer are -- or we have not found our true humanity yet. it then goes on to say that we will be like him because we see him for what he is: the good of humanity -- and then we will follow that good, as Jesus was put here to Guide us on the path. Just some more food for thought. pure speculation. I've taken the time to re-evaluate my stance on the matter, now having more carefully read the quote, and some other replies. again just trying th throw thought provoking ideas out there. hopefully more people will comment on this thread :P
 
kewl42 said:
Alright, so it is written in the bible that we were created in the image of god. I've got a few problems with that. Let me present my argument: In ancient greece, gods were depicted as looking like humans. A greek philosopher by the name of Xenophanes challenged the idea of the gods. the was well travelled. And in his travels, he went to places like Germania, the middle east etc... he noticed something; that the gods in the different cultures were depicted as looking like the people from those cultures. for example, the Germanian gods were ususally tall with blonde hair. the Greek ones were shorter, with dark skin, and dark hair, and different facial features than those of the Germanian gods. He then went on to say that the hierarchy in the Greek god system oddly represented hierarchy among humans. So he came to the conclusion that, because of the way the gods worked, they were a human construct. and that is also reflected in the way they look. So, here's my point: in the bible, it is written that god made us in his image. But who wrote the bible? god? no. humans wrote it. The word "Bible", by its definition, means an encyclopedia of books. Each of these books were written by a human, like John, or Mark, you get the point. And so these books were put together to make the Bible. So it must therefore have been a human that wrote that god looks like us. But as we've already seen, humans tend to impose human characteristics on things they try to explain. It is likely that someone asked the person who wrote that, what god looks like, and he could only come up with the explanation; that god made us in his image, so he looks like us. At that day and age, it would have been all but impossible to concieve that some form of intelligent life, like us, could look anything but like us. So, how do we know what god looks like?
Click to expand...

But how do you know that God did not cause the bible to be written? If God wanted a bible to be written wouldn't He use humans to do it? The bible has 40 authors (that's what I've heard anyway). Who is to say whether these authors were writing what God wanted them to write or if they were just writing for themselves...

The answer is verification. There is much evidence discovered through the ages by historians, scientists and archeologists which points to the bible being true, even things that could not have been scientifically known when it was written are proving to be true 2000 years later.

Case in point - scientists have recently discovered proof that snakes once had legs. This defies evolution (because legs/apendages are supposed to develop, not disappear from a developing species, especially if it lives on the ground among rocks and grass, etc..), and it gives more credibility to the biblical story of how God punished the serpent by making it crawl on its belly for the rest of its life (Genesis 3:14). Also, they've recently found out that snakes really do eat dust (Genesis 3:14 also).
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back