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Image of God

Ambition – In the image of God?

Nov 15th, 2009
by Christian Brady.
6 comments

Tonight I was at a campus function where the guest speaker, seeking to motivate the students, said a remarkable thing.

We are the only creatures that God created who are restless, we are the only creatures who have ambition. …It is part of our having been made in the image of God that we have ambition, drive to become something more.

On one level he is certainly right. Elephants, cows, and cats do not strive for anything beyond their basic needs. We alone seek not only to build shelter, but to create buildings that will stand for generations and be admired by all. We alone strive beyond need…

But is that because we are made “in the image of God”? Is God ambitious? Is ambition even a positive trait? Certainly it can lead to sinful behavior. What do you think?

 

“In a total stranger we perceive man himself”

Nov 14th, 2009
by Christian Brady.
1 comment

ChestertonThe full quote, from The Club of Queer Trades by G.K. Chesterton, is

Then we [two men having just met] had talked for about an hour about politics and God; for men always talk about the most important things to total strangers. It is because in the total stranger we perceive man himself; the image of God is not disguised by resemblances to an uncle or doubts of the wisdom of a moustache.

Given the recent discussions about the image of God lately, it struck me. I like the way that Chesterton equates “man himself” with “the image of God.” I also like notion that we can be distracted from seeing God in others by their moustaches or other such appearance.