Hey guys welcome back to Critical Thinking Aloud and a study on Abortion and the concept of the Image of God .
Image Of God= His Representatives
Ultimately an image is the representation of something. I think a good place to start this conversation is by pondering the question of how do we as a species generally feel about/ what importance do we ascribe to images? For example the sole remaining image of a deceased loved one represents them, and how would one feel about that representation being permanently destroy?
Asia Minor Reflections
Serving in Asia Minor, in a country that has a lot of national pride for its land and culture, it is a massive offense to disrespect the flag which is a representation/ image of this land and the people as a whole. The founder of the republic of our host nation is evaluated to near “god” statues here and everyone pays homage to him. There are statues and pictures of him everywhere. I could not imagine the wrath that would come a whooping down on the one who is ignorant enough to defame his image. I pity the fool who would be so brazen. He is literally called the father of this nation’s people.
To destroy anything that reflects the value of this image (a statue or flag) is such a huge offense here because you’re not only disrespecting “the father” but all members of “his family” (the nation/people) as well. Likewise on a smaller scale the father or oldest male is the representative for the whole family and the same concept applies. There is still the deep roots from the A.N.E. mindset alive in this culture and the value of representation is still strong over here.
An Observation
Trying to be as least political as one can be while talking about this subject, when observing what has taken place in the over west in recent years, the destruction of that which represents American culture and its formation has really driven home how far we have come from this communal representation mindset. Let’s take the desecrating of the flag and statues in America. Once seen as abhorrent, now a days is viewed by many as heroic and or patriotic (personally an idea which I vehemently oppose).
An individualistic stance (or the interpretation thereof) has replaced the totality of the value of which these images once held. Though these things as of recently have been wrapped up in politics and culture warfare, I can’t help but see a connection to moral issues such as abortion.
If the individualistic nature takes precedence to eradicate the collective in relation to our culture, is this a driving force behind the notion that an individual can eradicate the corporate in a humanitarian sense? In other words does this pervading mindset promote the concept that the worth of an individual human supersede that of humanity collectively? An even more pointed question is, has this concept of an individualist cultural worldview devalued life simply because it doesn’t fit into same outlook on life? Seems to me, balance needs to be restored to “the force” and a healthy view of all as equal and worthy to be God’s statue on the earth, renewed.
We are all Gods representatives on this earth and He loves all people despite the fact they are fallen. Fallen unique individuals which comprise the collective is what makes up the beauty in the corporate. Unfortunately history has repeatedly proven that the worst of humanity gets displayed when an individual recons themselves above the rest. Usually a devised plan to exterminate those who are considered unworthy is lurking in the shadows ready to be deployed.
My opinion
In my opinion this is what abortion is. A systematic solution to eradicate anything that stands in the way of exulting ones self. I guess in a way it is idolatry of self. Although God granted all humans to be His imager, by making a selfish decision that you are more worthy to live, then another Imager of God (God forbid even one as innocent as a fetus in the womb), you have elevated yourself to “god” statues.
Abortion is so terrible not only because you are literally destroying your own image but because you are destroying God in effigy. Abortion when it comes to Biblical Theology its is much like the view still held in Asia Minor today, to devalue or to hurt the family is an assault on the father, and an attack on the father is an offense to his children.
Peace and Blessings
Biblical Doctrine Derives From the Biblical Text
The Unseen Realm Course
This is a response I wrote to a question that was asked durning my semester of The Unseen Realm 101 Course. I highly recommend this online course for anyone who is interested in the topics that are covered here on Critical Thinking Aloud. To see a course overview and a schedule for when the classes start click here
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