What Is Man And His Dignity Worth?

"Where is the one who makes us smarter than the animals and wiser than the birds of the sky?" (Job 35:11, NLT).
"Everyone who is called by My name, Whom I have created for My glory..." (Isaiah 43:7, NKJV). 
"The purpose of man is like the purpose of the pollywog--to wiggle along as far as he can without dying; or, to hang to life until death takes him."--Clarence Darrow, the Scopes monkey trial of 1925 
"There is something about the way God is that is like the way we are."--J. P. Moreland and Scott B. Rae, Body and Soul 

IF YOU WONDER WHO YOU ARE, READ!


What makes us human?  Is man a cosmic accident that came from blue-green pond scum (algae) or is he the result of purposed design?  Are we mere grown-up germs?  A fluke of nature?  Are we from nothing, with no meaning, going nowhere?  Our Declaration of Independence declares we have "certain unalienable rights," "endowed" by our "Creator."  If the State granted us rights, the State can take them away!  Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes didn't attribute any more significance to man than to a baboon!  Even Darwin pondered whether he could "trust the convictions of a monkey."

The reason Secular Humanists are so eager to make us out to be nothing but animals is that they want to live irresponsibly like animals.  If you believe you are an animal, you will act like one.  Some Greeks of antiquity, namely Protagoras, believed man was "the measure of all things [Homo mensura]."  Even at the tower of Babel man sought to make a name for himself (cf. Gen. 11:4).

It is the Christian worldview that gives man dignity, being in the image of God (imago Dei), and a "living soul," (cf. Gen. 2:7), and this dignity is extrinsic (God is the source, not us) since it is because of our relationship with God-man is presently in a fallen state and this image is marred and defaced; nevertheless, it's still there--man alone has an ego issue.  History is the story of the "devolution" of man; even though we have increased in technological knowledge and expertise, we have not solved the basic problems that haunt us, namely: hatred, jealousy, lust, greed, pride, and selfishness, et al.  

Only after we get saved, do we have the capability to overcome our sinful nature and to be renewed in the image of God.  We must remember that "all men are created equal," as our Declaration of Independence says, and we have no right to look down on our fellow man, just as the Bible declares that "all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." (cf. Rom. 3:23).

What does it mean to be in God's image?  We all have intelligence, self-consciousness, dignity, value, worth,  purpose, and meaning, a heart set on eternity, and are designed to bring glory to God.  We have many traits in common with God:  namely, that we are spiritual; rational; emotional; social; intellectual; creative; communicative; reflective; intuitive; interpretive; noble; moral; and ethical beings.  Note that only man can plan, worry, regret, appreciate beauty, enjoy something bigger than himself, appreciate music, and find fulfillment.

We, alone, are made to know God and are the only creatures capable of having fellowship with Him.  God has chosen to glorify Himself through man (cf. Isa. 43:7).   As John Piper interprets man's purpose from The Westminster Shorter Catechism:  "The chief end of man is to glorify God by enjoying Him forever."  We are not mere creatures, but His children who will be joint-heirs with Christ.  Christians are destined to become like Christ (cf. Col. 1:27) and to share in His glory (cf. 1 Pet. 5:10; Psa. 84:11). Man has a destiny:  "You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor" (Psalm 8:5, NIV).

Bildad in Job 18:3, NLT, says:  "Do you think we are mere animals?  Do you think we are stupid?"  Man is the only creature capable of self-analysis, and self-criticism, as well as being a problem solver and able to pass on the information gathered to succeeding generations--he doesn't start afresh each time, but can accumulate a body of knowledge and wisdom--animals know things, but man knows he knows.  Man is not solely driven by and captive to instinct, though he does possess the drive to self-preservation, propagation, and nourishment.  But our relationships are unique, since we are capable of falling in and out of love and know the ebb and flow of emotional ties, and show signs of the nobility of character such as knowing about fair play, sportsmanship, courage, bravery, honesty, truthfulness, integrity, justice, good faith, altruism, and all fifty-two known virtues.

In other words, we have a desire to be like God and this is only fulfilled through Christ.  The logical conclusion of being in God's image is that we have rights bestowed by Him and no government has the right to take them away.  But since we are in God's image, and are fallen creatures, we are capable of disobeying God and committing evil in His sight for which we are culpable and responsible.   We alone know right from wrong (cf. Rom. 2:14-15).  Man alone will be judged and held accountable (cf. Rom. 14:10, 12).  Man alone has rights: "denying justice to a man," (Lam. 3:35); "and to deprive the afflicted among my people of justice," (Isa, 10:2); "As God lives, who has deprived me of justice" (Job 27:2)--all vv. from HCSB.

The prevalent worldviews today deify or exalt man and dethrone God and make Him irrelevant or unbelievable; they start with man and explain the universe rather than with God, the Creator, and explain creation.  Where you start determines where you'll end up!  They rule God out of the equation from the get-go and don't even consider Him in their solution.  When you take God out of the reckoning, man becomes his own judge and lives irresponsibly with no concept of right and wrong--for without God "all things are permissible," according to Fyodor Dostoevsky--consequently, man is no mere creature of habit.

The ultimate worth of mankind is that God became a man and thought we were valuable enough to die for and restore a relationship with--God didn't die for animals--they weren't bad enough!   This leads us to the uniqueness of man's nature:  the desire to know God; for man alone is a religious creature, who builds cathedrals and chapels and has been nicknamed Homo religiosus, or the religious man.  Man alone has a conscience that makes him aware of right and wrong and is therefore culpable to God.  Wouldn't you be surprised to see a monkey erecting a chapel or praying to God?

The ultimate image of God (and this is not the replica of God--God sees Himself in us and relates to us in a mutual way--but the icon of God), is manifested in his ability to reflect and reason; in his conscience and ability to discern good and evil, having a sense of guilt in wrongdoing; consciousness of morals and values; in his desire to know God and have a relationship with Him and this conviction that he belongs to God and can worship and praise Him.  Even in man's scientific name, Homo sapiens is Latin for "the wise man." 

t is said that man alone, in contrast to animals, has the will to obey God, the intellect to know Him, and the heart to love Him.  In short, we were made to have a relationship with God!  Man is the magnum opus of God's creation.   And it's because of the imago Dei that we have rights, not the government, and if we're are descended from hominids, when did those hominids acquire rights?   Soli Deo Gloria!

Man: One Of A Kind!

"Where is the one who makes us smarter than the animals..?" (Job 35:11, NLT).
"Do you think we are mere animals?  Do you think we are stupid?"  (Job 18:3, NLT).
"There is something about the way God is that is like the way we are."--J. P. Moreland, Scott Rae

It is vital to know that mankind is not some grown-up ape or descended from any species of the animal kingdom; he's the climax of creation and the special creation of God, in His image or imago Dei, i.e., he has a spirit, soul, mind, heart, and will to know God.   Mankind is the magnum opus of God's creation--His ultimate expression and woman is the finishing touch!  What makes us so unique though? Our DNA is actually closer to pigs though!   There are similarities with the apes on a superficial level, but most evolutionists are inclined to believe we're apes or animals because they don't want to be responsible and want to act like animals with no accountability (cf. Psalm 10:4).

Animals communicate on a limited level, but mankind knows that he communicates; e.g., dogs bark, but don't bark about barking; i.e., they don't argue, have conversations, or communicate with their barking!  We learn through dialogue.  Animals may be conscious, but we're self-conscious!  We alone have a developed language and are intelligent beings with the ability to reason.   We increase our knowledge and pass it on to the next generation; we don't start from scratch with each generation but have a legacy.  Mankind alone is conscious of God and has the volition to obey God, the heart to love God, and the intellect to know God--to communicate with God.  Animals are oblivious to God's presence and have no appreciation nor awareness of Him, while mankind has eternity in his heart and feels the tug towards God, and a yearning to know Him and have a relationship.

Mankind alone has meaning, purpose, dignity, and fulfillment in life beyond himself or his kin.  He lives for something bigger than himself, and something that will outlast him. Most live in light of eternity not for the here and now.   All the senses of mankind, hearing, taste, tactile, vision, olfactory, and even balance are at a much higher level of awareness than that of the animals.  We know that we taste, smell, see, hear, etc. We alone see all the colors and appreciate art that uses them.  We appreciate good tasting food with discrimination and are creative in our cooking beyond what is instinct, we appreciate with our vision fine art and beauty, we fall in and out of love, we have a love for music, we have a sense of humor, and the ability to laugh, we love to have conversations and dialogue, and we love to smell fine aromas and scents.

We know that we have these senses and can communicate about them and appreciate them with pleasure animals don't know.  For instance, we see all the colors and animals don't!  God made us so that we would see beauty and things from His perspective, appreciating the beauty!  We are highly discriminating in our tastes and know it.  Mankind also has the unique ability to fall in love and to stay in love, and even to fall out of love, romantic love is unique, even though some animals have a courtship, they aren't creative, but go by instinct.  It is said that elephants mourn their dead and eagles mate for life as similarities, but we know we do and get closure, resolution, meaning, or satisfaction!

Mankind is no animal!  God placed us as stewards of the earth and to rule over it and subdue it with responsibility  We are at the top of the food chain!  Mankind alone has a sense of time and a consciousness of past and present, but this is to his detriment when misused:  he tends to worry about the future and regret the past and anticipate the future while living in the past!  Animals clearly live for the here and now!  Mankind alone plans for the future, and not just storing nuts for the winter!  Indeed, man is so creative that God said that if He let us be, we could do anything (referring to the tower of Babel). Have you ever observed an animal building a chapel?

The reason we are in the image of God is so that we can communicate with God and relate to Him; there's something about us that God is like--everything a person is, except sin and evil, God is! God is more and not less than we are and our Creator, so he knows our needs and desires.  In fact, God is able to satisfy the desires of all creatures, and as creatures, and we have the inherent duty to obey God, whether rewarded or not.  Animals have no choice to obey God as creatures, but God gave us the choice to choose Him and to obey Him willingly, not of coercion from some outside force.

In the image of God, we are spiritual, rational, emotional, humorous, musical, communicative, and moral beings (according to scholar Mark Fackler). Mankind senses the moral code or compass of God, and has a conscience to guide behavior, knowing fair play, decency, good faith, unselfishness, justice, good works in progress, whereby we become conformed to His image from glory to glory.   Being in the image of God, we were made to know God (cf. John 17:3) and there is no greater thrill than sportsmanship, altruism, courage, bravery, integrity, honesty, truthfulness, fair play, straightforwardness, and all known fifty-two known virtues, (all biblical) that are from our image of God.  We have this image so we can bring praise to God in a meaningful relationship and enjoy Him to the max forever.   We alone are created for God's glory (cf. Isa. 43:7).  We wonder at the image of Christ becoming manifest in our lives as God finding us.  Per contra, animals don't build cathedrals!

God has searched us and knows us (cf. Psalm 139:1).  "He made [our] hearts, so he understands everything [we] do"  (Psalm 33:15, NLT).  We not only know God, but He knows us (cf. Gal. 4:9).  Not only do we relate to God, but He also relates to us and since Jesus became a man in the incarnation, God feels our pain and is in a position to understand us and what we go through (would you worship a God who knew nothing of pain and suffering?).  We are to find out about the Lord's goodness on our own ("Taste and see that the LORD is good..." cf. Psalm 34:8).  We wouldn't know what crooked was, unless we had an understanding of what straight is!   Soli Deo Gloria!

What Makes Us Human?

Man is not an animal; they want you to believe that because they want to act like animals! We are stewards of the animal kingdom, not part of it.   However, man has no inherent dignity, but only as extrinsic from God, being imago Dei, or in the image of God--bearing the image and likeness of God as His icons, so to speak.  There isn't much worth in being a grown-up germ or glorified monkey!  Even Darwin scoffed at the idea of trusting the convictions of a monkey.

 One news magazine published an article that said we are all "lucky to be here!"  Some biologists believe this Great Lie that man has evolved from the ape (sometimes called the "naked ape"), as a credo that is really a "time-honored, scientific tenet of faith." That means the only reason some scientists believe it is because it's so universally accepted and for such a long time--only recently have serious issues and doubts been raised (in fact it doesn't even fit the definition of scientific theory).   There is no fossil evidence for evolution either, and Darwin said that if the theory were correct, there would be!

It has been said that evolution is unproven and unprovable--it's never been observed, and no one has ever been able to create a new species, much less pull off an origin of life experiment.  Even if you have a primordial soup (where did this soup come from?) perfect with methane, ammonia, water, nitrogen, etc., and jolt it with electric shocks, the simple amino acids formed (the building blocks of protein, which is necessary for life) are destroyed simultaneously by the oxygen in the atmosphere, and they have proved that the early earth atmosphere had oxygen present. Truly, the Achilles' heel of evolution is that they cannot explain what life is, nor explain how it originated--if they have to add an intelligent input, that would prove only that a Creator was in charge.

Now, what does this image mean to us?  Man is like God and God formed us in His image, we didn't form God in ours!   There is a bona fide similarity because God is a person, we are too, and able to communicate with each other; we have a mind to know God, a heart to love Him, and a will to obey Him--animals don't but are driven by instinct.  Man is capable of rebelling against God and going his own way, and he does!  The obvious truth is that if we are persons, God has to be greater than a person or a person Himself to a greater degree in order to create us!  Except for our sin and limited nature, whatever we are as persons, you can say about God.

How are we like God then?  We are rational, emotional, communicative, moral beings, that have dignity, purpose, and meaning in life.  We can relate to God as a person because of this--God is just perfect, infinite, immutable, almighty, invisible, omniscient, holy, etc., and God is Spirit, while we have bodies!    Originally Adam and Eve had no sin and were innocent, not knowing good and evil, nor what that means, but now they are guilty before God as sinners in need of redemption, and this image is marred and will be restored someday in glory.  Being like God, we are creative and have an imagination that can be communicated and enjoyed.

How do we know we are not animals, that we're unique?  Have you ever observed an animal of any species building a chapel, or communicating with God in prayer?  Do animals have a conscience, and feel guilty when they've disobeyed or sinned?  Animals have a will of their own, for sure, but not to disobey or obey God--animals are oblivious to God's presence and dimension.  Only man has the ability to reflect on the past, present, and future, making plans, etc., and to criticize himself or see himself through other people's eyes objectively.  Man alone is rational (you can reason with him, and he can reason and learn from it), and is able to communicate all thoughts and feelings, in written, verbal, and body language.  Man alone judges and this is because he has a conscience that knows right and wrong by nature; you don't call something crooked if you don't have some idea of what straight is.  Man has discernment, the ability to distinguish spirits, and insight; however,  animals have instinct--they're basically creatures in heat, seeking food and shelter, only to perpetuate their kind. Do animals appreciate art and design, though they may be beautiful, none appreciate it, except the opposite sex for the mating ritual?   Do you realize that man alone can enjoy something vicariously?  Man can accumulate and increase a body of knowledge and pass it on to succeeding generations and build civilizations and cultures.  Animals stay at the same level of learning (by instinct) their full lives and never increase in knowledge generation after generation. Animals can mate for life, but they do not fall in and out of love, it's a basic instinct, hormones, and testosterone in action, not the soul or spirit.  Animals, such as dogs and cats can show similar qualities of love and affection but have no desire on the abstract level with God (or ideas, learning, wisdom, causes, etc.), and that dimension of the relationship.

Now, God says in Genesis One that He breathed into Adam the breath of life and he became a living being (soul)!  This is the distinction:   God has only given man the concept of eternity and the hope of eternal life in his heart, he alone ponders the afterlife and looks for answers to life's spiritual dilemmas. Aren't you glad that you aren't some grand fluke of nature or cosmic accident, but have a reason for being and purpose in life?  And so it's not as simple as the proverb:  To err is human, to forgive divine!   Soli Deo Gloria!  

You Shall Be As Gods

"I am the LORD, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God (Isaiah 45:5, NIV).
"Surely God is with you, and there is no other; there is no other god (Isaiah 45:14, NIV).
"There is no God apart from me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none but me (Isaiah 45:21, NIV).
"Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other (Isaiah 45:22, NIV).
"... Before me no god was formed, or will there be one after me" (Isaiah 43:10, NIV).

(Note that Erich Fromm, noted psychologist, wrote the book, You Shall Be As Gods, to downplay the validity and meaning of sin, and claimed that if we get rid of that notion we will be free to be our own gods, as it were, quoting Satan from Genesis 3:5.

God reveals His Son in us (cf. Gal. 1:16), and through us as ambassadors of reconciliation (cf. 2 Cor. 5:20), and we are thus able to share in His divine nature (cf. 2 Pet. 1:4), but upon becoming sons of God, we do not become gods in the process! We are only "gods" in the sense that we rule over nature and are in the image of God.   We represent God to the lost:  "And whatever you do or say, do I as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father"  (Col. 3:17, NLT).

These are the famous words and rationale of Satan to Eve (cf. Gen. 3:5), that her eyes would be opened, knowing good and evil; this would make her as one of the gods (or like God).  We are not ever meant to be gods as the Mormons believe in their dogmatic theological axiom:  "As man is, God once was, and as God is, man may become."  This is the lie that has been perpetrated upon mankind since the beginning.  God isn't looking for men who want to be gods, but who desire godliness (cf. 2 Pet. 1:6-7) and to share in His divine nature (cf. 2 Pet. 1:4).  Jesus quoted from Psalm 82:6 (NASB):  "I said, 'You are gods, And all of you are sons of the Most High.'"  He did this to show their unreasonableness in begrudging Him to assume the title "Son of God."

He did this to make them realize that it wasn't farfetched that He claimed to be the Son of God, which was clarified in Psalm 2 as follows:  "... He said to Me, 'You are My Son, today I have begotten You" (cf. Psalm 2:7).  We are born from above or again from God and inherit the right to be called the children of God according to John 1:12.  We are truly "children of God" by adoption and can claim as our privilege of God as our Father, but Jesus enjoys a unique Sonship that we don't, which is because of His deity.  It would be hard to believe that man can become God, but our gospel tells us that God became man, this is easier to believe.

Our privilege entitles us to unique authority in prayer as we approach the throne of grace with confidence and boldness (cf. Heb. 4:16) and represent Christ in the world as His emissaries and missionaries.  The problem with sinners is that they won't give up their authority over their lives (or others') to God in lordship.  We have to stop being our own gods and controlling our own destiny and start trusting in God's providence to make it happen for us.  It is never our prerogative to play God in someone's life or to lord it over God's sheep--we all answer to the same Chief Shepherd.  As Christians, we do have spiritual authority from God to be used in our gifts in their rightful domain, but this doesn't come with the right to lord it over others; we are to commend them to the Lord's care.

Though man may see himself as a god, he shall die like a man and be humbled in Psalm 82:7 (NASB):  "Nevertheless you will die like men And fall like any one of the princes."  The glory of Christ is that His deity stood out the most at his death and He didn't die like a mere man.   Great men of the past (in the world's eyes, that is) have often fancied themselves gods (just look at Augustus Caesar and his successors).  Jesus wasn't deified by men but claimed this authority and there was no discrepancy between His behavior, works, words, and His claims, which were verified by multiple witnesses.

If Jesus were not God, and this was His claim, He was the most deceived (and biggest deceiver) of men ever to walk this earth.  But He was no impostor and didn't beat around the bush with His claims.  The Pharisees knew who He was claiming to be, even though the disciples didn't figure it out till after the fact of the resurrection.  We have to commit ourselves to monotheism, and flee the sin of polytheism, which the Mormons have resorted to, and humble ourselves in the sight of God, that He may exalt us--for the way up is down in God's economy, just as John the Baptist said:  "He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30, NASB).  Note that John (John 3:27, NASB) said, "... A man can receive nothing unless it has been given him from heaven."

Jesus never exalted Himself, but depended upon God the Father to give Him back the glory He gave up by becoming man for our sake.  Jesus via Scripture said in Isaiah 42:8 (NASB):  I am the LORD, that is MY name; I will not give My glory to another, Nor My praise to graven images."  The ironic thing about John the Baptist's witness is that they thought he was the coming one and he had to bow to Jesus and His glory at His baptism or inauguration.

Now we are the icons of Christ, bearing His image to the world at large and the only Christ some will see is the one in us.  God the Holy Spirit's sanctifying work is to perfect us into that image and to make us useful for His work among the lost.  Paul summed it up well:  "Christ in you, the hope of glory" (cf. Col. 1:27).   That is, that others may see Jesus shining through you is the highest of compliments.  Now, the only authority we have is as servants of the Lord and to do His will, not to glorify ourselves or for financial gain--that is, we don't cash in on spiritual gifts, but their fruits are free and available to the body (note that I'm not referring to those supported by the church in ministry, etc.).

In summation, we must all come to the realization that there is a higher power we are accountable to besides the so-called "God-within" as New Agers will have you think, and this recognition of authority is what heals us in the final analysis, because we are not sovereign over ourselves but God is in control as Lord of all, whether we acknowledge it or not (we may find ourselves fighting God!).

This is really either the first step to recovery or the step toward a chaotic, self-defeating life.  We cannot control our own destiny but are subject to God's sovereignty, which is none the less limited because of our freedom.  We must all come to the epiphany that God is real and we are His servants, not independent gods--there is no middle ground.  Our glory is not that we are gods, but that we know God and have fellowship with Him!  Peter adds (again cf. 2 Pet. 1:6) that we should add "godliness" to our faith (not god-ness!).   Soli  Deo Gloria!