Humankind as the Image of God

Este artigo propõe que a distinção joanina entre "ver" e "entrar" no Reino de Deus (Jo 3.3-5) pode ser iluminada por uma leitura tipológica que conecta Moisés (que vê) e Josué (que entra) com o antítipo cristológico em Jesus. A tese parte da análise bíblica, passa pela exegese e culmina em suas implicações teológicas.

Este artigo propõe que a distinção joanina entre "ver" e "entrar" no Reino de Deus (Jo 3.3-5) pode ser iluminada por uma leitura tipológica que conecta Moisés (que vê) e Josué (que entra) com o antítipo cristológico em Jesus. A tese parte da análise bíblica, passa pela exegese e culmina em suas implicações teológicas.

Este artigo propõe que a distinção joanina entre "ver" e "entrar" no Reino de Deus (Jo 3.3-5) pode ser iluminada por uma leitura tipológica que conecta Moisés (que vê) e Josué (que entra) com o antítipo cristológico em Jesus. A tese parte da análise bíblica, passa pela exegese e culmina em suas implicações teológicas.

Este artigo propõe que a distinção joanina entre "ver" e "entrar" no Reino de Deus (Jo 3.3-5) pode ser iluminada por uma leitura tipológica que conecta Moisés (que vê) e Josué (que entra) com o antítipo cristológico em Jesus. A tese parte da análise bíblica, passa pela exegese e culmina em suas implicações teológicas.

[This file may be viewed and downloaded at https://www.gatherthepeople.org/resources/Downloads/RAD_DEMOS.pdf with dynamic links between the text and bi-lateral endnotes that allow instant access from text to endnotes and instant return from endnotes back to text.] This essay highlights the mostly unacknowledged role of the demos in creating American covenantal democracy, the debilitating effects on that governing principle from the phenomenal rise in corporate power, the corporate re-engineering of humankind from values-driven citizens to corporate accounting ciphers, the subsequent immiseration of the people, the attendant loss of their constitutional sovereignty, the requirements to restore the exercise of that sovereignty, the means for the demos to secure a necessary share of the public powers, the structure that will enable each citizen to be permanently empowered, and why the demos are the only believable hope for rescuing American democracy. (21 pp.)

AMAC Magazine 19:2 (March 2025): 12-14. You don't have to be religious to be against abortion. If you believe in human rights, you can see that these rights apply to all humans, including those at the earliest stages of life--biology tells us that. But for those who look to the Bible, one can see in both Old and New Testaments both the value and the humanity of children, even in the womb.

Il grande messaggio biblico secondo la lettura ebraica della Bibbia è un messaggio etico-morale. Da una parte si afferma la moralità divina e dall'altra la moralità dell'Uomo che acquisisce una sua dignità e una sua autonomia. Il racconto biblico della genesi narra che, solo dopo l'espulsione dall'Eden, l'Uomo diventa pienamente un essere vivente degno di poter stipulare un patto col divino. L'obiettivo particolare di questo scritto è di presentare alcuni principi psicologici contenuti, a nostro avviso, nel testo ebraico della Genesi. Principi che in parte corrispondono ai principi fondamentali della psicoanalisi lacaniana e per altri divergono da essi.

Det här är ett utdrag ur boken Skapelseberättelsen ett unikt litterärt mästerverk som ges ut 2025 av Claphaminstitutet.

Jag behandlar såväl betydelsen av att människan skapas till Guds avbild, som till Guds likhet. Detta innebär att människan skapas som Guds representant på jorden, men också att det finns en viss yttre likhet mellan människa och Gud.

This is the question that every religion and every single human philosophy has sought to answer. It is that for which every human who has ever lived wants to have a sufficient answer.
    This so-called “basic question” seeks an answer about what is inexhaustible, bottomless, eternal in depth, non-human, unseen, likely infinite in scope, and possibly omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, omnitemporal, and every other cosmic term we have in the lexicon!
    This question is still at the heart of our cultural quests despite that some folks say that the question of God is dead. And, esp. in the case of the USA, not only the question of God, but the ongoing presence of our [cultural] Christianity can be found in nearly every film, book, and cultural artistic expression. This is not always obvious, but the more we pay attention we will see it everywhere (see Anderson and Dyrness, Modern Art and the Life of a Culture). Jesus, for example is on the cover of the special edition of the December 2024 Time magazine and has been on the front of all the major magazines countless times! Over 150 films have been done about Jesus.

Harbin begins with the observation that Leviticus is part of Israel’s foundational documents and the core of a “socioeconomic-judicial-political-religious system designed not only to govern Israel but to transform it into a kingdom of priests who would mediate between God and the world and set the stage for the coming Messiah, who would redeem reconcile the world to himself” (9). This makes Leviticus one of the most challenging books of the Old Testament for Christian preachers and teachers. How does a Christian read and apply these laws appropriately? Biehl says Leviticus addresses two key questions: what does it mean to worship a holy God? What does it mean to love our neighbor? “The answers to these questions are incomplete without a deep dive into Leviticus” (12).

This paper will examine Irenaeus’ theology of the Imago Dei, focusing on his understanding of humanity’s creation in God’s image, how image and likeness are differentiated, sins effects upon the Imago Dei and God’s ultimate plan of recapitulation through Christ. This paper will look to Irenaeus’ major work, Against Heresies along with his Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching as source texts.

It is not an overstatement to declare that “the imago Dei is the foundational concept for understanding the biblical teaching concerning the nature and value of human personhood.” As Christians, our self-understanding of our humanity develops from this starting point, as do our positions on a whole host of ethical dilemmas. But what do we mean when we say that humans were created in the image and likeness of God? What should we understand about ourselves from this revelation?
In this paper, we will analyze one of the interpretations, namely, the view that the imago Dei actually consists in the existence of humanity as both male and female. This paper will argue against Karl Barth’s claim that sexual differentiation constitutes the divine image. We will show that this understanding is not only a misreading of Genesis 1:27, but is also untenable in light of the whole of Scripture. In closing, we will briefly mention some implications of this study.

What does it mean to be human? This simple query touches the very core and purpose of our existence and is, thus, one of the most important questions we can ask. The answer, however, is complex and requires that we view the topic from a variety of angles, as we are doing in this issue of Dignitas. What follows are some reflections on how the Bible addresses this pressing question.[1] Specifically, we will consider our significance and identity in light of humanity’s creation in God’s image and likeness (Gen 1:26–27), terms that define humanity as God’s children whom he created to function as kings, priests, and prophets for the blessing of all creation. We will discover that although all people are made by God in his image and are thus of inestimable worth, the fullness of our humanity is realized in a familial relationship with God and his people. We are most fully human when we live in right relationship to God and work together to fulfill our role as channels of blessing to others.

With this article I honor my friends Hans Harald Mallau and his wife Hildegard. Hans was my teacher in Old Testament in the late 1960s, and then we were colleagues at the Baptist Theological Seminary in Rüschlikon, Switzerland 1977-95. 2. See Frank Crüsemann, Bewahrung der Freiheit: Das Thema des Dekalogs in sozialgeschichtlicher Perspektive (München: Chr. Kaiser, 1983), 28-35. 3. "You shall not kill!" is grammatically a strong imperative; yet in light of the introduction to the "ten words," which emphasizes that God has liberated God's people from slavery, we may also read: because God has set his people free, therefore "you will not kill!"

Abusch's full critical edition of the series was published by Brill in 2016. This is a shorter and more accessible version, which sets the transcribed Akkadian text and English translation on facing pages, with sets of endnotes for each. An introduction gives the background to the incantations and ceremony, then outlines and discusses the content of the original 'short' version and the standard, much-expanded one.

In the biblical perspective, stories about the creation of the world in Gen 1-2 remain to be the basis to a discussion about human creativity. The premise of the text-creation of man "in the image of God"-makes us assume that, according to the Bible, creativity of man is to be the image of God's creativity. Verification of this thesis goes from presenting history of interpretation of the biblical idea, namely creation of man "in the image of God, " then points to the need of analyzing the narrative of this phrase. Since the image of God presented in Gen 1 is not descriptive, the second part of the paper examines the way God reveals himself in this text through his creative action. The key to God's creativity is his word of creation which he uses to differentiate created beings and establish relationships among them in order to build harmony in the newly founded world. The final part of the paper focuses on the analysis of verbs which in Gen 1-2 refer to human creativity; those verbs also point to their possible association with words as instruments for creating, organizing and arranging reality shaped by man. Following that comes the conclusion that God's creativity is extended into creativity of man who was made "in the image of God."

This research was motivated by concerns about the problem of modern slavery. The author will interpret Exodus 20:8-11 on the Sabbath to respond to the issue of slavery. The method of interpretation that will be used is deconstruction and social criticism. The use of the social criticism method sees the text as a practice of discourse that is ideologically charged and has specific interests. The text is not neutral but rather is advocating. In the text itself, two social groups conflict with each other. The interpretation of the existing Sabbath is interpreted normatively, legalistically, ritualistically, sociologically, theologically and eschatologically. The results of reinterpreting the Sabbath using a deconstructive method show that the Sabbath has been abolished because every day is interpreted as a forced workday. Forced labour is driven by fear and worry. The Sabbath was forgotten for political and economic motives. The Sabbath was abolished because time was money, so people were traded and enslaved for the sake of making money. The reinterpretation of the Sabbath text with the method of social criticism finds the theological meaning of the Sabbath. The God of the Sabbath is described as the forerunner of the liberation of slavery throughout the ages. God's Sabbath-keeping people today have a liberation mission to help people who are victims of modern slavery.

Chronic economic disparities are painfully evident throughout the world, and in this context challenging questions of missional hermeneutics, formation, and practice arise. This article seeks to tease out some noteworthy economic implications of Gen 1-3, implications that are both theologically and missionally evocative and often at odds with widespread anthropological assumptions, market-centric values, and conceptions of socioeconomic justice. Drawing together insights from Gen 1-3, the Babylonian Enuma Elish Creation Myth, neoclassical and contemporary economic perspectives, and Catholic Social Teaching, the article highlights key anthropological and socioeconomic values that can contribute to a biblically authentic missional hermeneutic.

Chronic economic disparities are painfully evident throughout the world, and in this context challenging questions of missional hermeneutics, formation, and practice arise. This article seeks to tease out some noteworthy economic implications of Gen 1-3, implications that are both theologically and missionally evocative and often at odds with widespread anthropological assumptions, market-centric values, and conceptions of socioeconomic justice. Drawing together insights from Gen 1-3, the Babylonian Enuma Elish Creation Myth, neoclassical and contemporary economic perspectives, and Catholic Social Teaching, the article highlights key anthropological and socioeconomic values that can contribute to a biblically authentic missional hermeneutic.

Chronic economic disparities are painfully evident throughout the world, and in this context challenging questions of missional hermeneutics, formation, and practice arise. This article seeks to tease out some noteworthy economic implications of Gen 1–3, implications that are both theologically and missionally evocative and often at odds with widespread anthropological assumptions, market-centric values, and conceptions of socio-economic justice. Drawing together insights from Gen 1–3, the Babylonian Enuma Elish Creation Myth, neoclassical and contemporary economic perspectives, and Catholic Social Teaching, the article highlights key anthropological and socio-economic values that can contribute to a biblically authentic missional hermeneutic.

The final position of the tenth commandment might suggest that it is intended as the climactic statement of a series of 'ten words' and is linked to the first commandment to form an inclusio. While the first commandment insists that there is no other God and that this is rooted in an internal posture; so too the tenth commandment is opposed to an inner attitude of self-interest that could influence and precipitate actions that violate one of the preceding commandments.

We live in a culture far removed from that of the ancient Near East (ANE), yet all too often we approach the Old Testament with our own preconceptions, expecting it to speak to us on our terms. By comparing other ANE creation myths with Genesis, we can observe the uniqueness of its monogenistic account, the goodness of its portrayal of biological sex, the importance it places on marriage and procreation, and the royal role it bestows upon humanity, all of which can deepen our understanding of what it means to be created male and female.

This dissertation focuses on how the theme of the image of God (Gen 1 :26-27) is seen and developed in the Pentateuch. The image of God in man (Gen 1 :26-27) has been interpreted in various ways. Predominant opinions have changed over time from the Early Jewish interpretation to the present period. Today there is a wider range of opinion regarding the image of God than ever. This dissertation follows a biblical-theological approach from a Reformed tradition of Genesis 1 :26-27, thus starting with an examination of 1 :26-27 in the context of Genesis 1 where the key words, pronouns and the Ancient Near Eastern concept of the image of God are examined. Genesis 1 :26-27 is examined in the context of Genesis 2-1 1 and we discover that the image of God in Genesis 1:26-27 is both moral and relational in perspective: it involves moral likeness lo God and a relationship between God and man like that between parent and child. The theme of the image of God is traced in both narrative and legal material of the law; certain features of the law suggest that defining God-likeness is at least one goal of the law. Some laws are based on moral God-likeness and others are not based on inherent morality. but on the relational aspect of sonship. The theme image of God is also seen in the New Testament, where Christ is the perfect expression of the image of God. He is the Son of God and morally, he is like the Father. Through his death on the cross, believers are individually adopted in God's family and they become his children. They are to be morally like him. Through sanctification, the Church is being renewed into the image of God. Believers are called to be like Christ. They are to imitate Christ's moral-likeness and submission to the Father.

The purpose of this article is to define the image of God in Gen 1:26-27 in light of Gen 1-11. Does Gen 1-11 define or imply a definition of the image and likeness of God? The biblical-theological (or canonical-chronological) approach will be used which looks at how the idea of God-likeness (Gen 1:26-27) is seen in Gen 2-11. The article argues that the image of God is both moral and relational in perspective: it involves a moral likeness to God and a relationship between God and humans like that between parent and child. This is such an important topic because South Africa is experiencing a state of moral decay. The statement of human kind's creation in the "image of God" clearly constitutes an important and positive affirmation about human's original place in the created order. Various NT passages such as Col 3:10 and Eph 4:24 also emphasise this theme as the goal of the Gospel. A This article interprets the image and likeness of God in human kind in Gen 1:26-27 in light of Gen 2-11. 15 The biblical-theological (or canonicalchronological) approach, 16 from a Reformed tradition, 17 is followed. Critical issues will be noted where they are relevant to the subject under study. When Gen 1 is treated as an introduction to Gen 2-11, it would be observed that the temptation involved a promise of God-likeness (Gen 3:5), which can be considered in light of the fact that according to Gen 1:26-27, 11 Sawyer, John F. A. "The Meaning of ~yhi Þ l{ a/ ~l, c, î B.

The purpose of this article is to show that the image of God (Godlikeness) is an important theme in the OT. In the interest of space, the discussion on the image of God will be limited to the study of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In this article, I argue that the idea of God-likeness (i.e. moral-likeness to God and a relationship between God and humankind like that between parent and child), seen in Gen 1-11, is also seen in Exodus-Deuteronomy. The biblical theological approach is used in the study of Exodus to Deuteronomy. A thematic and theological study of the Law is done in which aspects of the Pentateuch (especially the legal material) are highlighted which demonstrate that those who live in conformity to the law display God-likeness and those who do not, display serpent-likeness (i.e. behaviour of those who are at enmity with God).

Emotion , electronic motion. We mean to suggest that much is expected of the philosopher, to solve even the most intricate dilemmas of social life, but the coin on a flip side, that is, the philosopher may be socially regarded as a scapegoat who wants to be rid of such situations. Whether he has made himself a scapegoat, we don't know. But his action has this double effect, in front the good, behind the evil.

The final position of the tenth commandment might suggest that it is intended as the climactic statement of a series of 'ten words' and is linked to the first commandment to form an inclusio. While the first commandment insists that there is no other God and that this is rooted in an internal posture; so too the tenth commandment is opposed to an inner attitude of self-interest that could influence and precipitate actions that violate one of the preceding commandments.

This research was motivated by concerns about the problem of modern slavery. The author will interpret Exodus 20:8-11 on the Sabbath to respond to the issue of slavery. The method of interpretation that will be used is deconstruction and social criticism. The use of the social criticism method sees the text as a practice of discourse that is ideologically charged and has specific interests. The text is not neutral but rather is advocating. In the text itself, two social groups conflict with each other. The interpretation of the existing Sabbath is interpreted normatively, legalistically, ritualistically, sociologically, theologically and eschatologically. The results of reinterpreting the Sabbath using a deconstructive method show that the Sabbath has been abolished because every day is interpreted as a forced workday. Forced labour is driven by fear and worry. The Sabbath was forgotten for political and economic motives. The Sabbath was abolished because time was money, so people were traded and enslaved for the sake of making money. The reinterpretation of the Sabbath text with the method of social criticism finds the theological meaning of the Sabbath. The God of the Sabbath is described as the forerunner of the liberation of slavery throughout the ages. God's Sabbath-keeping people today have a liberation mission to help people who are victims of modern slavery.

This dissertation focuses on how the theme of the image of God (Gen 1 :26-27) is seen and developed in the Pentateuch. The image of God in man (Gen 1 :26-27) has been interpreted in various ways. Predominant opinions have changed over time from the Early Jewish interpretation to the present period. Today there is a wider range of opinion regarding the image of God than ever. This dissertation follows a biblical-theological approach from a Reformed tradition of Genesis 1 :26-27, thus starting with an examination of 1 :26-27 in the context of Genesis 1 where the key words, pronouns and the Ancient Near Eastern concept of the image of God are examined. Genesis 1 :26-27 is examined in the context of Genesis 2-1 1 and we discover that the image of God in Genesis 1:26-27 is both moral and relational in perspective: it involves moral likeness lo God and a relationship between God and man like that between parent and child. The theme of the image of God is traced in both narrative and legal material of the law; certain features of the law suggest that defining God-likeness is at least one goal of the law. Some laws are based on moral God-likeness and others are not based on inherent morality. but on the relational aspect of sonship. The theme image of God is also seen in the New Testament, where Christ is the perfect expression of the image of God. He is the Son of God and morally, he is like the Father. Through his death on the cross, believers are individually adopted in God's family and they become his children. They are to be morally like him. Through sanctification, the Church is being renewed into the image of God. Believers are called to be like Christ. They are to imitate Christ's moral-likeness and submission to the Father.

The final position of the tenth commandment might suggest that it is intended as the climactic statement of a series of 'ten words' and is linked to the first commandment to form an inclusio. While the first commandment insists that there is no other God and that this is rooted in an internal posture; so too the tenth commandment is opposed to an inner attitude of self-interest that could influence and precipitate actions that violate one of the preceding commandments.

The focus of this article is the Sabbath commandment as it is expressed in Exod 20. A number of factors that contribute to its expression are examined: the place of the Decalogue in the life of Israel, the stipulations for proper Sabbath observance, and the reasoning and motivation that lie behind its keeping. Additionally, various facets of human life that mark the seventh day of creation are connected to specific terminology within the fourth commandment. The article concludes by arguing that the Sabbath commandment in Exodus, properly observed, is a picture of the seventh day of creation and that a desire to recover that situation motivates its keeping.

In this article, the nature of God's rest in the first creation account is examined by describing what "rest" entailed for God. It is suggested that God's notion "rest" emerges from the creational activity of the first six days, that it continues into the present time, and that it serves as a counterpoint to the notions of rest presented by other cultures of the ANE. It is also argued that, while God rested on the seventh day, humanity was busy with its appointed tasks of subduing the earth, exercising dominion, and expanding the borders of the garden as they multiply and fill the earth.

To rest, we must accept Nature's limits and our own. When we come to our limit, we must be still. 1 I grew up in the land of Walmart. In those days (the 1970s and 1980s) in southern Missouri, not far from the Arkansas border, many small towns had a Walmart, including my hometown, Farmington. There were Walmarts in several of the towns that surrounded us, five stores in a twenty-five mile radius. Of course, when I was growing up, these were not the Walmart "Supercenters" of todayopen twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year-with full grocery stores, auto repair shops, garden centers, and pharmacies included. These were relatively modest shopping centers, open during waking hours with a somewhat limited variety of goods and services. Nevertheless, our local family-owned stores had a hard time competing against Walmart and, as happened in many small towns, some of these smaller stores closed because of it. My grandfather, a devout Lutheran and a milkman by trade, refused to shop at Walmart. He did so not out of loyalty (though he was friends with many of the

Die Gottebenbildlichkeit ist eine Ähnlichkeit, die auf Verwandtschaft beruht. Mesopotamischen Mythen und ägyptischen Vorstellungen (Lehre des Merikare, aber auch zahlreiche Königstitulaturen) ist dieser Zusammenhang nicht völlig fremd. Ähnlichkeit oder gar Ebenbildlichkeit gilt immer für beide Seiten, sie funktioniert reziprok. Mann und Frau bilden (etwas von) Gott ab, aber Gott bzw. das Gottesbild trägt umgekehrt menschliche Züge. Der Gottebenbildlichkeit des Erdlings entspricht die Menschenebenbildlichkeit Gottes. Die biblische Anthropologie dokumentiert das Schillern zwischen Menschen- und Gottesbildern praktisch in ihrer ganzen Breite (Begriffe der Anthropologie, aber beispielsweise auch das Konzept der göttlichen Boten in menschlicher Gestalt u. a. m.). Auch die Kunst der Levante könnte darauf ein Reflex sein, weil im Gegensatz zu Mesopotamien und Ägypten die Gottheiten seit jeher, insbesondere in der Terrakottakunst, nicht markant durch feste und unverwechselbare Götterattribute gekennzeichnet sind, was es oft erschwert, Artefakte zu deuten, z. B. Göttin, Priesterin und Verehrerin zu unterscheiden.

The literary description of Israel’s land as “flowing with milk and honey” is stable enough to be known as a stock phrase yet the nature of its meaning and the ways in which these potential meanings can be appropriated lies open to further consideration. This paper explores a metaphorical appreciation of the phrase by investigating the place of cognitive intimacy in context of the interpretation of biblical metaphors and the models they often presuppose. The paper proceeds in three steps. It will first comment on the contextual and lexical data of the phrase and then consider how one may approach the meaning of the phrase as a metaphor, concluding with a discussion of how one may respond to the metaphor’s invitation to intimacy.

In 1 Cor 9:9, Paul cites Deut 25:4 (“Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain”) and asks, “Is it about oxen that God is concerned?” This question seems to be waiting for the definitive answer, “No, it is not.” Is Paul really saying that God is not concerned about the oxen? This paper considers various passages in the OT (especially law texts) that appear to deal with the protection of animals. The thesis is that God is indeed concerned about animals. Since God is the creator of everything, he cares for his entire creation. The article discusses the OT texts from a canonical perspective, looking for the common ideas instead of discussing possible developments of thoughts. It understands the biblical law texts concerning creation as examples of an “order of creation” (R. Murray), which lies behind these laws. https://doi.org/10.17159/2312-3621/2020/v33n3a10

The focus of this article is the Sabbath commandment as it is expressed in Exod 20. A number of factors that contribute to its expression are examined: the place of the Decalogue in the life of Israel, the stipulations for proper Sabbath observance, and the reasoning and motivation that lie behind its keeping. Additionally, various facets of human life that mark the seventh day of creation are connected to specific terminology within the fourth commandment. The article concludes by arguing that the Sabbath commandment in Exodus, properly observed, is a picture of the seventh day of creation and that a desire to recover that situation motivates its keeping.

This dissertation focuses on how the theme of the image of God (Gen 1 :26-27) is seen and developed in the Pentateuch. The image of God in man (Gen 1 :26-27) has been interpreted in various ways. Predominant opinions have changed over time from the Early Jewish interpretation to the present period. Today there is a wider range of opinion regarding the image of God than ever. This dissertation follows a biblical-theological approach from a Reformed tradition of Genesis 1 :26-27, thus starting with an examination of 1 :26-27 in the context of Genesis 1 where the key words, pronouns and the Ancient Near Eastern concept of the image of God are examined. Genesis 1 :26-27 is examined in the context of Genesis 2-1 1 and we discover that the image of God in Genesis 1:26-27 is both moral and relational in perspective: it involves moral likeness lo God and a relationship between God and man like that between parent and child. The theme of the image of God is traced in both narrative and legal material of the law; certain features of the law suggest that defining God-likeness is at least one goal of the law. Some laws are based on moral God-likeness and others are not based on inherent morality. but on the relational aspect of sonship. The theme image of God is also seen in the New Testament, where Christ is the perfect expression of the image of God. He is the Son of God and morally, he is like the Father. Through his death on the cross, believers are individually adopted in God's family and they become his children. They are to be morally like him. Through sanctification, the Church is being renewed into the image of God. Believers are called to be like Christ. They are to imitate Christ's moral-likeness and submission to the Father.

Despite the centuries of change in commerce and vocation, Deuteronomy can help us better understand how to live in response to God's love and serve others through our work. The book's dramatic, unified presentation makes it especially memorable. Jesus quoted from Deuteronomy at length. In fact, his first scripture quotations were three passages from Deuteronomy

Governing (Genesis 1) and parenting (Genesis 2) are the two fundamental tasks given humans at creation. Every person's identity is a gift from family and community. It is something one can neither earn nor bestow upon oneself. 

Marriage is designed to reveal in human flesh an image of the Trinitarian God, that is, a unity of diversity bound irrevocably by love in perfect trust. Love is by nature expansive, always extending and deepening. Creation gave God more to love, just as reproduction multiplies the objects of love for us. Children who see in their parents and extended family system a high level of mutual trust in the perfection of love will have little trouble conceptualizing one God in plural personalities bonded in love. Genesis 1:26-28 declares our creation in God's image, but it gives only one clue as to what that means. The clue is the creation of male and female. This essay describes the implications of this teaching.

Ancient creation stories define humanity in relation to the gods. In the Atraḫasīs Epic, for example, humans were created as a labor force to relieve the lower caste of deities from their toil. In Gen 1-2 humanity was also created to serve God, but the commands to rule and subdue the earth, and to care and cultivate the garden of Eden, are framed by the preceding statement in Gen 1:26-27 that humanity was created in God’s image and likeness, that is, as his children. To appreciate Genesis’s claim, we must consider it in light of its ancient Near Eastern environment. For Gen 1-2 this includes a set of ritual texts from Mesopotamia, the "Washing and Opening of the Mouth," which describe the process by which divine images, or statues of the gods, were created. Genesis 2 seems to draw from these rituals, or at least the ideas they represent, in order to elaborate on the meaning of בְּצֶלֶם אֱלֹהִים in Gen 1:26-28. If our aim is to understand how Genesis 1-2 redefines human identity and purpose, we must consider the prevailing views on human creation and the birth of the gods (in their statues) with which it interacted.

This research was motivated by concerns about the problem of modern slavery. The author will interpret Exodus 20:8-11 on the Sabbath to respond to the issue of slavery. The method of interpretation that will be used is deconstruction and social criticism. The use of the social criticism method sees the text as a practice of discourse that is ideologically charged and has specific interests. The text is not neutral but rather is advocating. In the text itself, two social groups conflict with each other. The interpretation of the existing Sabbath is interpreted normatively, legalistically, ritualistically, sociologically, theologically and eschatologically. The results of reinterpreting the Sabbath using a deconstructive method show that the Sabbath has been abolished because every day is interpreted as a forced workday. Forced labour is driven by fear and worry. The Sabbath was forgotten for political and economic motives. The Sabbath was abolished because time was money, so people were traded and enslaved for the sake of making money. The reinterpretation of the Sabbath text with the method of social criticism finds the theological meaning of the Sabbath. The God of the Sabbath is described as the forerunner of the liberation of slavery throughout the ages. God's Sabbath-keeping people today have a liberation mission to help people who are victims of modern slavery.