What it means for us to be created in the image of God in Genesis 1:27

The Darwinian evolutionary view is that human beings are the result of macro-evolutionary processes from “the amoeba to man.” This view believes that the complexity of the human body and the solar system, the beauty in nature, and all ideas of morals and ethics came from blind, non-rational, non-moral, natural biological and physical forces.

The biblical view of man’s origin is in Genesis 1:26-27:

This view believes that human beings are specially-created by an eternal, living and loving God. The image of God in man does not refer to physical characteristics since God is an immortal, invisible Spirit (I Timothy 1:17; John 4:24) whom no man has ever seen (John 1:18; 6:45-46). To be in the image of God means that we can know God and communicate with him and he with us. It means that we are rational beings with consciences, who can know right and wrong, and who can listen, understand and obey the will of God. It means that we are responsible to God and that God evaluates our thinking and our behaviors. We recognize God and worship him. This is not true of anything else in all creation.

Which view of the origin of life do you accept? Why do you believe that? What evidence is there for your faith? What you believe about the origin of the human species will determine your morals and ethics, how you view the purpose of man, your philosophy and value of life, and your goals and priorities.

Believers in God see evidences in the universe for the existence of God. The fact that something exists means that it came from somewhere. Something cannot come from nothing. Something cannot create itself because in order to create it must exist. Those who reject the idea of God must believe that matter is eternal or that it created itself. Some advocate the “Big Bang” theory that believes that 15 billion years ago there was a “big bang” that spun off the universe. But everything that begins to exist has a cause, and the universe began to exist, therefore the universe has a cause. What or who is that cause? Nothing can cause itself. If nothing existed before the “big bang,” then nothing is literally “no-thing.” There would be no matter, no air, no hydrogen, no oxygen, no energy, no force, no power, no light, no atoms, no molecules, no vacuum, no carbon, no time, absolutely nothing. Believers affirm that God is the first cause, the uncaused cause who is the cause of all other causes and effects.

Believers believe in God because they see specified complexity in the universe that can best be accounted for by a supreme designer who is God. They believe that the intricacy of the human body seen in such things as the DNA of the cell, the functioning of the eye and the brain and the precision of the solar system requires a designer who is God. Since the complexity of a watch, a computer, a cell phone, a jet plane, a space station and an automobile requires a designer and maker, then believers say that it is reasonable that the complexity of man and the universe also demands a designer and a planner.

The awe-inspiring beauty of the natural world points to a divine mind behind it all. The existence of objective morals and ethical practices indicate a divine source and standard.

Believers also see a strong reason to believe in God because of Jesus of Nazareth. The four gospel writers (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John), while they each provide details that supplement and complement each other, agree that Jesus died on the cross, was buried, raised from the dead on the third day, and appeared to his disciples. Since no dead man can raise himself back to life, the resurrection of Jesus means that a supernatural power (God) raised him from the dead. All credible historians admit (1) Jesus was a real human being who existed in the first century; (2) Jesus died by crucifixion on a Roman cross; (3) He was buried in a rock tomb; (4) Three days later his tomb was empty; (5) In the days following, his disciples claimed to have seen him, talked with him and ate and drank with him; and (6) Because of their faith in the resurrection, the lives of his disciples were radically changed. No recognized, credible historian denies these six facts. They may not believe in Jesus and they may accept other views about the resurrection but they do not deny the above six facts. Believers believe that the most reasonable explanation is that a supernatural being (God) raised Jesus from the dead. Dead men don’t raise themselves and God would not raise a con man (a fraud) from the dead.