Time reports on a campaign among Evangelicals that seeks to refocus their engagement with the culture and also to present their beliefs in a more positive light.
Time quotes the campaign's statement of purpose, "The Imago Dei, or Image of God, pledge is simple: “I recognize that every human being, in and out of the womb, carries the image of God; without exception. Therefore, I will treat everyone with love and respect.”""
Now, as a Catholic, this really seems like a big so-what? Of course a Christian recognizes the inherent dignity of every human being from conception to natural death and recognizes his responsibility to God and to his fellow creature to treat him with love and respect. We often fail, but we ought never forget our responsibility exists.
During this week of the March for Life, I would expect Time to notice the explicit reference to "in and out of the womb."
Nah. Like clockwork, Time buried the Pro-Life lede two days before the March for Life.
TIME's headline is funny, really - but not in a good way:
The Imago Dei Campaign: Evangelical Groups Say Gays Made in God’s Image
Like it's breaking news, or something.
Because, of course, Evangelicals have always thought that every human being - except gays - were created in God's image. I'm trying to recall when Ken Ham or Jerry Falwell said, "Man was created on the 6th Day of Creation, out of mud, 10,000 years ago; except Gays. Gays evolved from monkeys in West Africa."
Apparently Time heard them say that somewhere. Maybe in a dream.
Seems like the Imago Dei Campaign recognizes the work cut out for it exemplified by Time's ignorant and biased vision of Evangelicals. Its list of objectives includes:
Enrich and redeem the narrative of American Evangelicalism by replacing the perceived image of an angry homogenous evangelical demographic that opposes everything to a convicted yet compassionate multi-ethnic kingdom culture community committed to sharing truth with love.
People are having similar difficulties with Pope Francis' efforts to evangelize folks like Time, its readers and Elizabeth Dias, the author. So called 'liberal Catholics' and those ignorant of the teachings of the Church (like Time, et.al.) leapt at some of his comments as hints that he was open to changing Church doctrine on homosexual acts, divorce, birth control, etc. and figured he misspoke or was throwing a bone to B16-philes when he said, "of course I'm a son of the Church" and that he affirms everything the Church teaches on those issues.
Perhaps this pictorial essay in The Week may help Time readers to understand how we can recognize a person as created in the image of God while he or she is attempting to obscure the Imago Dei.
God sees us as He created us, kind of like the picture on the left (Gen 1:27 So God made man in his own image, made him in the image of God. Man and woman both, he created them. 28 And God pronounced his blessing on them....31 And God saw all that he had made, and found it very good.)
Our own accretions to ourselves, when they diverge from God's design for us, may be colorful, entertaining, 'edgy', or whatever. We may think they are authentic expressions of who we think we really are. We may think they make us more happy.
But God sees us as we really are, as He created us. And He sees that all He has made is very good. The things we do to ourselves to alter that creation are not really improvements. They aren't beautiful, true and good.
Christianity demands that I recognize, love and respect the human person created in God's image beneath the caricature of a person as she represents herself in the picture on the right. I needn't love or respect the rib cage corset or skull headpiece. In fact, I ought, in a loving way, share with her that she would be more comfortable, more authentic and more truly happy being as God created her to be.
Nor does loving a person Imago Dei require me to love or respect his disfigurement of his sexuality, his responsibilities to the poor or to the defenseless. That is how I do my duty to my fellow man, created in God's image, and to God, Who created him.
ADDENDUM: Here is another example of the Imago Dei exposed and concealed.
Of course, Our Father sees us in our hearts, as we really are. I pray he doesn't see a made-up clown when He looks at me.
Time quotes the campaign's statement of purpose, "The Imago Dei, or Image of God, pledge is simple: “I recognize that every human being, in and out of the womb, carries the image of God; without exception. Therefore, I will treat everyone with love and respect.”""
Now, as a Catholic, this really seems like a big so-what? Of course a Christian recognizes the inherent dignity of every human being from conception to natural death and recognizes his responsibility to God and to his fellow creature to treat him with love and respect. We often fail, but we ought never forget our responsibility exists.
During this week of the March for Life, I would expect Time to notice the explicit reference to "in and out of the womb."
Nah. Like clockwork, Time buried the Pro-Life lede two days before the March for Life.
TIME's headline is funny, really - but not in a good way:
The Imago Dei Campaign: Evangelical Groups Say Gays Made in God’s Image
Like it's breaking news, or something.
Because, of course, Evangelicals have always thought that every human being - except gays - were created in God's image. I'm trying to recall when Ken Ham or Jerry Falwell said, "Man was created on the 6th Day of Creation, out of mud, 10,000 years ago; except Gays. Gays evolved from monkeys in West Africa."
Apparently Time heard them say that somewhere. Maybe in a dream.
Seems like the Imago Dei Campaign recognizes the work cut out for it exemplified by Time's ignorant and biased vision of Evangelicals. Its list of objectives includes:
Enrich and redeem the narrative of American Evangelicalism by replacing the perceived image of an angry homogenous evangelical demographic that opposes everything to a convicted yet compassionate multi-ethnic kingdom culture community committed to sharing truth with love.
People are having similar difficulties with Pope Francis' efforts to evangelize folks like Time, its readers and Elizabeth Dias, the author. So called 'liberal Catholics' and those ignorant of the teachings of the Church (like Time, et.al.) leapt at some of his comments as hints that he was open to changing Church doctrine on homosexual acts, divorce, birth control, etc. and figured he misspoke or was throwing a bone to B16-philes when he said, "of course I'm a son of the Church" and that he affirms everything the Church teaches on those issues.
Perhaps this pictorial essay in The Week may help Time readers to understand how we can recognize a person as created in the image of God while he or she is attempting to obscure the Imago Dei.
God sees us as He created us, kind of like the picture on the left (Gen 1:27 So God made man in his own image, made him in the image of God. Man and woman both, he created them. 28 And God pronounced his blessing on them....31 And God saw all that he had made, and found it very good.)
Our own accretions to ourselves, when they diverge from God's design for us, may be colorful, entertaining, 'edgy', or whatever. We may think they are authentic expressions of who we think we really are. We may think they make us more happy.
But God sees us as we really are, as He created us. And He sees that all He has made is very good. The things we do to ourselves to alter that creation are not really improvements. They aren't beautiful, true and good.
Christianity demands that I recognize, love and respect the human person created in God's image beneath the caricature of a person as she represents herself in the picture on the right. I needn't love or respect the rib cage corset or skull headpiece. In fact, I ought, in a loving way, share with her that she would be more comfortable, more authentic and more truly happy being as God created her to be.
Nor does loving a person Imago Dei require me to love or respect his disfigurement of his sexuality, his responsibilities to the poor or to the defenseless. That is how I do my duty to my fellow man, created in God's image, and to God, Who created him.
ADDENDUM: Here is another example of the Imago Dei exposed and concealed.
Of course, Our Father sees us in our hearts, as we really are. I pray he doesn't see a made-up clown when He looks at me.
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