Imago Dei, the image of God. Michelangelo’s image of God reaching His hand across (not down, not up) to a man – God’s hand no larger and no different than that of the man – has molded much of society’s image of God for centuries. The images are both of flesh, as though Imago Dei is flesh, and yet the Bible consistently refutes that image.
John 4:24: “God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”
If God is spirit, then doesn’t it stand to reason that the Imago Dei is exactly that? Must He have 10 fingers, toes, and a nose? For some it is pretty disconcerting to imagine that God would not appear as a face, most expect white hair, a beard even.
It all seems harmless enough at first. If man was made in “God’s image” then surely God must look like man. For us our easiest concept of “image” is what something/someone looks like. Yet images have consistently gotten mankind in trouble, from graven images and the golden calf to the “image” of the beast warned of in Revelation. Maybe we should be much more careful about what attributes of man we ascribe to God.
We’ve already discussed here the apparent significance of the year 1844 but did you know that just a few years earlier the first discernible human picture using light alone was captured? Late in 1839, Robert Cornelius captured “the first light picture ever taken” and so began the era of images.
Don’t get me wrong, mankind has been producing images for nearly as long has he has existed. The crude early method still revealed in current translations of the Bible as “graven” or “carved.” It’s not really any surprise that we humans take our images so seriously, what’s surprising is how far we’ve come.
Since the middle 1800s society has been steadily molding every man, woman, and child within its reach into its own image. In fact by the early 21st century far too many exist almost entirely as a manufactured images and perceive most of their world through those same manufactured images. Reality is fading quickly and along with it God’s Spirit is being grieved. How much longer will He contend with this?
At first it seemed so harmless didn’t it? Now the older generation still living can see a stark contrast between a century ago when most of life was viewed directly with ones eyes and now when most of our time is spent viewing an alternate reality indirectly via smart phones and social media. For the younger generation, this is the only life they’ve ever known.
So what of Imago Dei? Is it to be found in a selfie? I think that is impossible. Is it found in Michelangelo’s rendition? No, quite the opposite. What is found in these images is the opposite of Imago Dei. A preoccupation with the flesh and blood, hair and skin on the outside is Imago Dei, it’s Imago Hominis. It’s celebrating the wrong part of who we are. In fact, it’s celebrating a part that isn’t us at all, instead it’s a creature that came from the dust and will return to the dust.
So what’s the big deal with appreciating the short-lived beauty of the human form? The problem is it is anti-Christ. It saturates our minds with images of flesh and blood leaving us less aware and concerned with Spirit and Truth. We’ve, as a society: “exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.” (Romans 1:23) We reject Imago Dei in exchange for the pride of life. What happens when the “tent” (1 Corinthians 5:1) matters more than what dwells inside of the tent? How can such a person ever hope to enter the Kingdom of God?
With God this is possible with repentance and rebirth. Let’s pray for this generation, that many will see beyond the images and choose to face reality. In Jesus’ name.