Genesis - The Responsibility of the Imagers - Notes

 To understand ethics, you have to know the definition of being born in the image of God.

What does it mean to be made in God's image?

A society does not have the right to define what humanity is. 

• The image of God is not a physical attribute.
• The image of God is not defined as an ability dependent on the human brain. Intelligence, rationality, emotions, volitional will, sentience and the ability to communicate.
• The image of God is not bestowed intermittently or incrementally.
• The image of God is not the spiritual abilities of humans: belief in God, they can pray, know right and wrong. Can a baby have belief in God? No.
• The image of God is not the immaterial nature of humans: soul, spirit dead unto God.

The image of God is a  position. Representatives of God on earth, imaging God's presence on earth. Given at conception and never leaves us.  Represent God wherever you go. 

The image of God is not a quality within human beings, it is what humans are positionally. 

The image of God, God gives us responsibility. If God calls us to be responsible, the devil calls us to victim-hood: someone is oppressing you.

Made in the image of God requires responsibility. Oppressors vs victims that is Marxism,

You can't even things out, not in this world: the fall happened.

Victims don't understand what their behavior does to other people.

In South America, The Jesuit Catholic + Indian animism + Liberation Theology( a blend of Marxism and Christianity) = Oppressor vs Victim. 

Victims in the family affect the whole family, poor me, and then they just run roughshod over other people.

Entitlement mentality. Trying to equalize things is playing e the role of God. Make excuses for one's behavior.

Deal with your lumps in life, do something and fix yourself do not play the victim.

God has given you the power of contrary choice. You can be an imager or choose the road of victimhood.

What have you done with the options available to you? blame God, blame others?

Have you given away your ownership, your responsibility?

You start demanding fairness like the Marxists or narcissistic politicians and educators .

We become idealistic and perfectionists and if not, we are depressed and don't even try. 

You get into fantasy land and check out of reality.

The next life is where it's at, the how it should be but don't try to think in this life you will have paradise. 

Nothing will ever be right and everything will have to be perfect. 

You will be negative, bitter and critical and noone will want to be around you and then you start blaming others for their mistakes.

Excuses, typically untrue become comfort food for us. 

God wants you to embrace the responsibility that He gave you and you will get stuck and can't move forward. Holding on to what is should have been. ht 

Let go of how things ought to have been.