Meandering Reflections on Human Existence and the Problem of Sin and the Solution God Provides (original) (raw)

2014, Wesley Biblical Seminary Lecture

Central to the Christian faith and the theology of the Christian religion is the doctrinal tenet expressed in the book of Genesis that human beings are made "in the image of God" and "after God's likeness." A theology of Creation, and especially the creation of humans, must contend, therefore, that human beings have a unique and exalted place in the universe as we know it. The question to be asked, however, is what it means to be created in the image of God and after the divine likeness as biological creatures. In the following essay, I want to explore this tenet of Christian faith to show two things: 1) what the Christian doctrine of human sin means in light of the fact that we were created in the image of God; and 2) what this implies for our doctrine of salvation.