God is Dead and so is His Image

Nietzsche's phrase, "God is dead" is a phase that has either impacted or reflected our society for the past several decades. The rise of outspoken atheism in American culture is an indicator of our spiritual temperature. And it is clear that we have reached a place and time where many people are comfortable or even delighted to say with conviction..."God is dead."

But with God's burial we must admit that humanity has changed. Some would say this change is for the better. Others would disagree. From a Biblical perspective we find that Man's being is wrapped up in God's being. Man was created in God's image (Genesis 1:27). And although many would disagree about exactly what it means to be created in God's image, all would recognize that if God is dead, then His image is also dead. What I am saying is this: If we remove a most basic belief in God, then we also remove the foundational principle that allows us to say that Man is different from other creatures. Scripturally, the lives of human beings are specially protected from harm due to this doctrine that Man is created in God's image. According to Genesis 9:6 it is the reason that murder deserves capital punishment. So it seems that an assault on God's image is equated with an assault on God himself.

But if God is dead then His image is also dead. So now we find that we are confused about how we are supposed to view ourselves. Are we just an advanced species? If we are just a product of evolution can we really say that our lives are more important than other species? What right do I have to say that my life is more important than my dog's? The reason we have to ask these questions is because degree of importance is rooted in purpose. But if we exist only because of chance then there can be no purpose, and if there is no purpose there can be no importance. And if there is no importance then it is absurd to talk about degrees of importance.

So we find ourselves in a society where a group of people are outraged that the president swatted a housefly, yet they do not give a second thought to the the destruction of hundreds of thousands of unborn human babies. If God is dead, in what principle can human rights be rooted? If God is dead, you are no different than your dog, your house plant, or President Obama's dead fly.