Quote:
Originally Posted by HeavenlyOne
We have attributes of dirt (what we return to after death) and God Himself (the spirit and soul we have).
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See your arguments confuse me at times. At first I thought here you were denying you were arguing dirt had an image we were made in, but then you say this. The grammar of
Gen 1:26 is a that there is one image and one likeness. It's not that of dirt, but that of God. See God took HIS OWN Image and formed a likeness of it FROM the dirt and then breathed His Spirit into that form to make a living being like Himself. God is a living being. He has volition. He has a will. He makes choices. He has emotion. He has a creative imagination and so do we. Of all the creation God made only man is like God. We are not equal to Him in ability and knowledge and existence, but we are like Him.
Gen 11:6 And Jehovah said, Behold! The people is one and they all have one language. And this they begin to do. And now nothing which they have imagined to do will be restrained from them.
And just a side thought. Humans very often decide to pro-create. They plan families. Though we see more and more that is not happening, animals though do not do this. They are driven by hormones and the natural call to reproduce, like trees and plants. They do it not because of will but because of a hormone based response. Man, on the other hand, has the same drive, but they function on will. That is why we have laws against rape, because it's not an argument that some guy just could not help himself.
God is a moral agent and man is also a moral agent. We have stated laws and God has given us laws or morality. Animals have no such thing. Even animals have been known to engage in homosexual behavior, but they are not called sinners.
The "image" or "Likeness" really has nothing to do with dirt. It's a moral/spiritual thing. The only thing about dirt is that God chose to "reproduce" or reflect His image by means of the dirt, like an artist might do so with canvas. Dirt has no image or likeness.
Consider this thought though. What if God did have a "spirit" image...like what Isaiah saw in His vision? Im speaking theoretical not saying this is my opinion or this is bible fact. God has an image that He made for himself. It's a visible spirit image that angels can see. God might be said to have both an image and a likeness....a shape (image) as it were and a spiritual/moral likeness too. And so then God formed an earthen image of Himself out of clay...certainly not in anyway equal to God, but nevertheless an lower earthly reflection of the Spiritual. We can see a plan developing here where God wants many sons to be in His family. We see Jesus coming, dying and then being transformed into a spiritual body. We see Revelation saying He will be with us forever and we will SEE his face. And also we shall be like him for we shall see Him as he is. Remember Im still postulating here.
Do not angels, in scriptures, appear to have a similar image or shape? Dirt has no image, but if angels have a similar form as what God might have, that Isaiah saw, not an equal form but like it...and too they have a moral reflection of God's character too and are themselves spirits (look, the man has become like one of us, to know evil and good)...then do you see how easy it would be for God surrounded by the heavenly host and to include them or talk to them in this mannor and then do the creative act Himself?
Let's revisit the verse in 2 kings. you say the spirit was not an angel. Ok, but notice please that God is enthroned and is surrounded by the heavnely host (a reference to angels) and God speaks to them asking them a question and some of them give answers. See how God includes them in His plans? Even if they do not actually do the deed themselves?