The Image and the Idol

Glory to man in the highest! For man is the master of things. (Algernon Charles Swinburne, 1837-1900) In the scriptures there are two interrelated reasons for God’s hatred of idolatry: 1. Idols (both mental and physical images of false gods, as well as representations of the one true God) always detract from God’s glory; dishonoring and displacing Him. Idols are literally nothings produced by the human heart and used by the Devil to deceive and enslave us. The true and living God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit is the Maker and Ruler of all things. He rightly intends for his universe...

Andrew Prideaux

5 Secrets: How the Bible Helps You Understand Your Life and Its Meaning.

Andrew Moody

Is it Always the ‘Woman’s Choice’?

Anon

Review: Made Man by Craig Hamilton

Matt Scheffer

Image and Order: God’s Design for Men and Women

Joy Arundell

What is the Image of God?

Matthew Payne

In Genesis 1:27 we read that “God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them”. However, the passage doesn’t define what “Image of God” means. Consequently “Image of God” has been interpreted in a vast number of ways throughout church history. Does it refer to human capacity for reason, free will, relationship, creativity, ethical conduct, or something else? It doesn’t take too long to notice that interpretations sometimes seem self-serving—as though “Image of God” referred to whatever I think is important in life. The philosophers think it refers to reason, the artists think it’s...

What is the Image of God?

Matthew Payne

Should a Sheep Have the Same Rights as a Person?

Murray Campbell

If you’ve ever felt sheepish, the reason may be more acute than you first thought! Melbourne is in the middle of a world wide campaign to fight for the rights of animals*. I wasn’t aware of this fact until pictures of sheep started appearing on social media this morning, but apparently “Melbourne is becoming known as one of the world’s most vegan-friendly cities”. Leaving aside what this must mean for another of our most beloved titles, “Australia’s food capital,” what are we to make of these posters? After doing a little research I discovered that I missed out on “World Vegan Day,”...

Should a Sheep Have the Same Rights as a Person?

Murray Campbell

Image of God (7) – Humanity in Resurrection & Ascension

Peter Orr

Peter Orr concludes our series on the Image of God (see part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6) with some deep thinking about how the resurrection and ascension of Jesus revise our understanding of what it means to be human. One of the central themes developed in this series on the Image of God has been the idea that humans have the highest place in God’s plans because of their relationship to God. In this final post we’ll reflect briefly on how our understanding of this truth is filled out by the resurrection and ascension...

Image of God (7) – Humanity in Resurrection & Ascension

Peter Orr

Image of God (6) – Image of God in discussion with Islam

Samuel Green

In this penultimate instalment of TGCA’s seven part series on the Image of God (see part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5), Samuel Green highlights the significance of the Jewish/Christian idea of the Image of God, for discussion with Muslims. A common mistake Christians make when talking to Muslims about the divinity of Jesus is to start at Jesus. We assume that Christians and Muslims agree about God and humanity, and only differ when it comes to Christ, and so we argue about him (diagram 1). These conversations tend to go round and round. However, Christians...