Imago Dei

Previously in this blog I suggested that Adam, being made in the image of God, reflected, albeit only in a shadowy sense, the creative power of God.  When we speak of the Imago Dei, too often it deals with concerns such as mental acuity – ability to reason – or dominance (what a terrible word in a sense as  to dominate something seems to have such negative connotations).  I would like to focus more on the issue of creative or formative authority.  We have seen that God gave Adam the authority to name the animals.  Throughout the Old Testament we see that names are often reflective of the person – again looking at Genesis and the names for the sons of Jacob.  Recall, Merton’s observations in the prior post – how there is something of the divine in the naming so there is a reflection of the essence through the name.  As well, this idea of names as reflective of essence carries through to the New Testament – the names of John the Baptizer (Luke 1:13) and of course, the names for Jesus (Matt 1:21, Luke 1:31 as well as the Isaiah 7:14 verse)

If we understand Jesus as the second Adam, may we also assume that Adam was a reflection of God in the same sense (1 Cor 15:45 and Romans 4:14), although clearly to a different degree, as Jesus is the perfect representation of the Father?  We see Jesus as exercising authority through the spoken word – witness the numerous episodes where the evil spirits are commanded to leave a person.  As well Jesus gave Peter his name – the Rock (John 1:42 and Matt 16:18).  Recall, in addition to naming the animals, Adam gave Eve her name (Gen 2:23).

The key point to be taken away from this is the power of language – not simply for communication, as important a function as that may be , rather the power of formation and shaping thinking and thereby directly impacting action.  We see this on a concrete though mundane level by watching parents with their young child.  Presumably, though unfortunately not always, parents admonish, guide, etc. their child for the purposes not only for the immediate situation but for development of thinking skills.  If the Father acts through formative speech, is it not a truth that in the creation of humanity such formative speech authority was likewise given?  Eugene Peterson notes, “Jesus also used language to teach.  Unlike the teaching we are accustomed to in our schools, lectures designed to do our thinking for us, Jesus’ teaching sparkled with scintillating aphorisms.  He wasn’t so much handing out information as reshaping our imaginations….”  Tell It Slant at 12.  The narrative comes full circle does it not?