We are Made in the Image of God
by CAPP-USA
“Then God said: Let us make man in our image, after our likeness”. So “God created mankind in his image; in the image of God he created them”. (Genesis 1: 26-27)
Because we are made in the image of God, no one and nothing can devalue or take away our dignity as persons.
What Does This Mean?
Being made in the image of God means we share qualities with God!
It implies we have a moral conscience, the capacity for understanding good and evil, the ability to love, reason, create, and choose freely.
Being made in God’s image underscores our inherently relational nature, reflecting God’s triune nature (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) and His desire for relationship with His creation.
Being made in the image of God affirms the inherent worth and equality of every human being, serving as a foundation for principles like human rights and justice.
“In comparison with all the other living beings…man has an unmistakable originality.” (Pope Benedict XVI)
Being made in the image of God is a profound reality.
To Bear God’s Image Has Implications!
Because man “is the only creature on earth which God willed for itself…all men are called to one and the same goal, namely God Himself”. (Gaudium et Spes, 24)
“As one created in the image of God, each individual human being has the dignity of a person…free, self-giving and entering into communion with others.” (Pope Benedict XVI, 2)
And this dignity “is to be respected in all circumstances…because human beings possess an intrinsic worth”. (Pope Francis, 213)
We are “spirit, soul and body. We are part of this world…while at the same time we are open to an infinite horizon, able to converse with God and to welcome him within us”. (Pope Benedict XVI)
Human Dignity, rooted in a correct view of the human person, is the prime principle of the Catholic social doctrine. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1700)
The Image of God and Catholic Social Teaching
Human Dignity is the prime principle in Catholic social teaching.
Where do human rights come from? Human dignity – from our being made in God’s image. This is “the basis…of our inviolable human dignity”. (Pope Benedict XVI)
“In effect, beyond the rights which man acquires by his own work, there exist rights which do not correspond to any work he performs, but which flow from his essential dignity as a person.” (Pope St. John Paul II, 11)
Why does Catholic social teaching insist upon inalienable human rights such as the right to life, the right to religious freedom, the right to work, the right to a family, etc.? Because of our human dignity, for which “respect should be complete, total and unimpeded”. (Pope Benedict XVI)
Human Dignity, rooted in a correct view of the human person, is the prime principle of the Catholic social doctrine. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1700)
Attacks on Human Dignity are Attacks on the Image of God
“No man may with impunity outrage that human dignity which God Himself treats with great reverence.” (Pope Leo XIII, 40)
Abortion, euthanasia, consumerism, racism, transgenderism, pornography, and so much more, are tragic and destructive at many levels! But at their core these structures of sin are an attack on the very image of God imprinted on us.
Pope Benedict XVI also warned that “peace is in danger when human dignity is not respected”. (Communiqué Announcing the theme of 40th World Peace Day)
We must understand that “Fundamental rights are neither created by the lawmaker nor granted to the citizen. The value of human dignity…takes precedence over all political decision-making”. (Pope Benedict XVI)
Why? Because “No one can take away this human right”. (Pope St. John Paul II, 9)
The principle of human dignity, rooted in our being made in God’s image, is foundational for forming our consciences and for all decision-making – private and public.
What Can I Do?
Much!
But first our “inner, spiritual unity must be restored, so that faith may be the light and love the motivating force of all [our] actions.” (Pope St. John XXIII, 152)
We have a responsibility to practice CST (human dignity, solidarity, and subsidiarity) “in a manner corresponding to his vocation and according to the degree of influence he wields”. (Pope Benedict XVI, 7)
“Is it consistent to profess our beliefs in church on Sunday, and then during the week to promote business practices or medical procedures contrary to those beliefs? Is it consistent for practicing Catholics to ignore or exploit the poor and the marginalized, to promote sexual behavior contrary to Catholic moral teaching, or to adopt positions that contradict the right to life of every human being from conception to natural death?”
Pope Benedict XVI told us “[a]ny tendency to treat religion as a private matter must be resisted.” Because “only when their faith permeates every aspect of their lives do Christians become truly open to the transforming power of the Gospel.” (Meeting with the Bishops of the U.S.)
This connects with long standing Church teaching going back to, at least, Pope Leo XIII who declared in 1885 that it “is unlawful to follow one line of conduct in private life and another in public, respecting privately the authority of the Church, but publicly rejecting it.”
Why? “[T]his would amount to joining together good and evil, and to putting man in conflict with himself; whereas he ought always to be consistent, and never in the least point nor in any condition of life to swerve from Christian virtue.” (Immortale Dei, 47)
As Pope Francis pointed out, “Christian consistency” is a chief trait of being a Christian. In all things of life, he said, we need “to think like a Christian; to feel like a Christian and to act like a Christian”. (Homily, The Scandal of Inconsistency)
“[E]qual dignity as persons demands that we strive for fairer and more humane conditions. Excessive economic and social disparity between individuals and peoples of the one human race is a source of scandal and militates against social justice”. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1938)
We must fight “[n]ew ideologies, characterized by rampant individualism, egocentrism and materialistic consumerism, [which] weaken social bonds”. (Pope Francis, 1)
Bottom Line
We must “Respect, protect, love and serve life, every human life!” (Pope St. John Paul II, 5)
“The world exists for everyone, because all of us were born with the same dignity. Differences of color, religion, talent, place of birth or residence, and so many others, cannot be used to justify the privileges of some over the rights of all.” (Pope Francis, 118)
