Millard Erickso

Where does a person’s value come from? The answer to this question is often given according to one’s accomplishments, intellect, or their community status. “But for the Christian, this is not where a person receives their value. The value and dignity of each human life, male and female, is based on the biblical doctrine that each person is made in the image of God.” Being made in the image of God sets humans apart from the rest of creation. In Genesis the phrase is used uniquely with the creation of man. When God creates the other creatures the Bible states that they where made “according to their kinds,” but man is said to be created in the image of God. According to William Berkhof the image of God is the very essence of man. “According to Scripture the essence of man consists in this, that he is the image of God. As such he is distinguished from all other creatures and stands supreme as the head and crown of the entire creation.” If the image is the essence of man then proper understanding of the doctrine is extremely important. In Christian Theology, Millard …show more content…
Many reasons can be given for this problem including the absence of the phrase within Scripture, but this shortage should not take away from the importance of the image. “The passages that address God’s image may not be large in number, but they are huge in significance and warrant careful attention.” Another issue that arises in understanding the image is how discreet the Bible is regarding an exact meaning for the imago Dei. “If we examine the Biblical witness regarding man, we soon discover that it never gives us any kind of systematic theory about man as the image of God.” This has led different theologians throughout history to produce numerous explanations for what it means to be made in the image of God, but often these explanations have had destructive impacts on the church and