-
†. Gen 1:26 . . And God said: Let us make Man in our image,
after our likeness.
The Hebrew word for "man" is 'adam (aw-dawm') which means: ruddy. It's a
very common label in the Bible for human beings.
Webster's defines "ruddy" as having a healthy reddish color. But in this case
ruddy is a noun rather than an adjective.
No doubt by the time the first Ruddy arrived, the world of his portion of the
sixth day scarcely resembled the world that existed when the sixth day
began.
I'm confident in my own mind that quite a number of millennia elapsed by
the time human life came on the scene, and the Earth had already
undergone some large-scale geological incidents resulting in mass
extinctions and catastrophic effects upon the earth's topography and its
various climates and environments; which is not all that bad a thing. A world
suitable for humanoid mammals is, of necessity, going to be different than a
world suitable for giant reptiles and whatever else roamed the earth prior to
humanity's tenure.
The introduction of the plural personal pronouns "us" and "our" into the
narrative at this point has given rise to some interesting speculation
regarding the identities of the antecedents; and there is no easy answer to
this rather difficult conundrum because the Bible thoroughly attests that
there is but one true god. So all other gods; though God-like, are false gods.
The Christians say that God was speaking to His son, and the Jews say He
was speaking to the angels.
The narrative at this point began with the plural pronouns "us' and "our".
But in the end, the plural is dropped, and the possessive pronoun is singular.
†. Gen 1:27 . . God created man in His own image, in the image of God
created he him.
So, Gen 1:26-27 suggests that not only Adam, but also whoever God was
speaking to, were created in God's image and likeness.
This is interesting because the Bible attests to a hierarchy in the scheme of
things: God first, angels second, humans third, and all other forms of life
fourth. (Ps 8:4-8)
Humanity, therefore, though not a true god, is in some ways divine due to
it's status in the scheme of things.
"I said: You are gods, and all of you are sons of the Most High." (Ps 82:6)
The angels are sons of God too (Job 38:3-7). Therefore, they too are gods;
and certainly more so than humanity seeing as how they outrank humanity.
NOTE: It needs to be emphasized that neither humanity nor the angels are
sons of God in the manner of biological offspring; because if God were to
reproduce, the resulting life would be His own; viz: more God. Instead,
humanity and the angels were bestowed the honor after they were created.
Because of the terms "image and likeness" there are some who believe that
creation's God is a human being; or at least resembles one. But according to
Christ, creation's God consists of spirit rather than solid matter.
"God is spirit" (John 4:24)
Spirits don't have solid-matter bodies. (Luke 24:36-39)
Moses warned Yhvh's people to avoid making any kind of mannequin,
figurine, totem pole, or statue representing God since no one has any true
concept of what creation's God actually looks like in person. (Ex 4:10-19)
There exists absolutely nothing in nature physically resembling creation's
creator; except maybe the air in front of your face-- neither Man, nor beast,
nor plant, nor bird, nor bug, nor reptile nor anything out in the void (Rom
1:21-23). Concepts that portray creation's God as a human being are purely
fictional. (Rom 1:25)
†. Gen 1:26 . .They shall rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the
cattle, the whole earth, and all the creeping things that creep on earth.
The word for "rule" is from radah (raw-daw') and means: to tread down, i.e.
subjugate; specifically: to crumble off.
I saw a pretty interesting bumper sticker some time ago that went like this:
We are not above the Earth; We are of the Earth.
Well . . I respect the Native American cultural feelings behind that
statement; and must admit that I agree with it whole-heartedly. But
creation's creator decreed that though Man is of the earth; he is very
definitely above it too, and has the God-given right to subjugate every living
thing on the planet including the whole earth: its forests, its grasses, its
rivers, its seas, its soil, its rocks, its air, its minerals, its mountains, its
valleys, and even its tectonic plates and the very atmosphere itself.
Cont.
/
†. Gen 1:26 . . And God said: Let us make Man in our image,
after our likeness.
The Hebrew word for "man" is 'adam (aw-dawm') which means: ruddy. It's a
very common label in the Bible for human beings.
Webster's defines "ruddy" as having a healthy reddish color. But in this case
ruddy is a noun rather than an adjective.
No doubt by the time the first Ruddy arrived, the world of his portion of the
sixth day scarcely resembled the world that existed when the sixth day
began.
I'm confident in my own mind that quite a number of millennia elapsed by
the time human life came on the scene, and the Earth had already
undergone some large-scale geological incidents resulting in mass
extinctions and catastrophic effects upon the earth's topography and its
various climates and environments; which is not all that bad a thing. A world
suitable for humanoid mammals is, of necessity, going to be different than a
world suitable for giant reptiles and whatever else roamed the earth prior to
humanity's tenure.
The introduction of the plural personal pronouns "us" and "our" into the
narrative at this point has given rise to some interesting speculation
regarding the identities of the antecedents; and there is no easy answer to
this rather difficult conundrum because the Bible thoroughly attests that
there is but one true god. So all other gods; though God-like, are false gods.
The Christians say that God was speaking to His son, and the Jews say He
was speaking to the angels.
The narrative at this point began with the plural pronouns "us' and "our".
But in the end, the plural is dropped, and the possessive pronoun is singular.
†. Gen 1:27 . . God created man in His own image, in the image of God
created he him.
So, Gen 1:26-27 suggests that not only Adam, but also whoever God was
speaking to, were created in God's image and likeness.
This is interesting because the Bible attests to a hierarchy in the scheme of
things: God first, angels second, humans third, and all other forms of life
fourth. (Ps 8:4-8)
Humanity, therefore, though not a true god, is in some ways divine due to
it's status in the scheme of things.
"I said: You are gods, and all of you are sons of the Most High." (Ps 82:6)
The angels are sons of God too (Job 38:3-7). Therefore, they too are gods;
and certainly more so than humanity seeing as how they outrank humanity.
NOTE: It needs to be emphasized that neither humanity nor the angels are
sons of God in the manner of biological offspring; because if God were to
reproduce, the resulting life would be His own; viz: more God. Instead,
humanity and the angels were bestowed the honor after they were created.
Because of the terms "image and likeness" there are some who believe that
creation's God is a human being; or at least resembles one. But according to
Christ, creation's God consists of spirit rather than solid matter.
"God is spirit" (John 4:24)
Spirits don't have solid-matter bodies. (Luke 24:36-39)
Moses warned Yhvh's people to avoid making any kind of mannequin,
figurine, totem pole, or statue representing God since no one has any true
concept of what creation's God actually looks like in person. (Ex 4:10-19)
There exists absolutely nothing in nature physically resembling creation's
creator; except maybe the air in front of your face-- neither Man, nor beast,
nor plant, nor bird, nor bug, nor reptile nor anything out in the void (Rom
1:21-23). Concepts that portray creation's God as a human being are purely
fictional. (Rom 1:25)
†. Gen 1:26 . .They shall rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the
cattle, the whole earth, and all the creeping things that creep on earth.
The word for "rule" is from radah (raw-daw') and means: to tread down, i.e.
subjugate; specifically: to crumble off.
I saw a pretty interesting bumper sticker some time ago that went like this:
We are not above the Earth; We are of the Earth.
Well . . I respect the Native American cultural feelings behind that
statement; and must admit that I agree with it whole-heartedly. But
creation's creator decreed that though Man is of the earth; he is very
definitely above it too, and has the God-given right to subjugate every living
thing on the planet including the whole earth: its forests, its grasses, its
rivers, its seas, its soil, its rocks, its air, its minerals, its mountains, its
valleys, and even its tectonic plates and the very atmosphere itself.
Cont.
/
