Imago Dei

Imago Dei is the Christian doctrine that human beings are created in the image of God. It grounds accounts of human dignity, moral responsibility, and humanity’s relationship with God.

Human dignity: The inherent worth attributed to every human being, independent of status, ability, or achievement. Imago Dei is a major Christian basis for treating every person as intrinsically valuable.
Genesis 1: The opening chapter of the Bible, which describes God creating the world and humanity. Its account of humanity in God’s image is the doctrine’s foundational biblical text.
Substantive interpretation of the image of God: An interpretation locating God’s image in human capacities such as reason, language, or moral agency. It treats the image as a feature of human nature rather than chiefly a relationship or task.
Christian bioethics: Ethical reflection on medicine and life sciences grounded in Christian beliefs and traditions. The image of God figures in arguments about the moral status of human life.
Human rights: Rights held by people simply by virtue of being human. Christian appeals to the image of God have helped ground arguments for universal rights.
Genesis 5: A biblical chapter that links Adam’s likeness to God with the birth of Seth. Its wording extends image-and-likeness language beyond humanity’s original creation.
Relational interpretation of the image of God: An interpretation locating God’s image in human relationships with God and other people. It contrasts with accounts that identify the image primarily as an individual capacity.
Disability theology: Christian theological work that centers disabled people’s experiences and challenges exclusionary interpretations. It rejects accounts that make dignity depend on capacities some disabled people lack.
Stewardship (theology): The theological duty to care responsibly for what God entrusts to human beings. The doctrine links human status to responsibility for other creatures and the earth.
Genesis 9: A biblical chapter that grounds a prohibition on murder in humanity’s creation in God’s image. It connects the image of God to the protection of human life after the flood.

Linked from 12 pages