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Youth Resource

The Image of God: The Concept, An Illustration, & The Impact

From the Documentary: For the Love of God Episode 2

These three segments come from Episode 2: Rights + Wrongs.

Modern Westerners take it for granted that every life is valuable. But ideas like equality before the law and the importance of caring for the vulnerable are by no means self-evident. So where did they come from? Why are we so attached to the idea of “inalienable human rights”? These segments look at how the biblical idea that every human is made in the “image of God” led early Christians to confront the Greek and Roman practice of exposing infants, as well as the practice of slavery.

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Theme Question

Do Christians value individuals, or restrict and oppress them?

Engage

  1. Find an article or video about a search and rescue mission. Estimate the cost in terms of time, people involved, and money spent on the rescue. What does this tell us about the value of a life?
  2. On 28 July 2017, British infant Charlie Gard died from a genetic disorder known as mitochondrial DNA depletion syndrome (MDDS). In the months leading up to his death, his parents had been engaged in a prolonged legal battle over Charlie’s treatment. Read this BBC article “Charlie Gard: The story of his parents’ legal fight”, and answer the following questions:
    1. In what ways does this case show the high value our society places on human life?
    2. In what ways might it also show the opposite?
    3. Do you agree with the decision made by the court? Why or why not?
  3. Read this quote by J.K. Rowling from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and complete the activities below:

    1. Give examples of other books or movies that demonstrate this idea.
    2. Do you agree with Rowling’s quote? Why or why not?
    3. What do you think a single life is worth?
  4. Is the value of each human life the same across all cultures and all eras?

Understand & Evaluate

Watch the segments: “The Image of God: The Concept” and “The Image of God: An Illustration”

  1. Sketch how you imagine the place where children were discarded in ancient Greece and Rome.
  2. What are some of the reasons parents discarded their children?

  3. What is your reaction to this extract from the letter from a husband to his pregnant wife? What does this tell us about their view on the value of human life?
  4. Compare and contrast the Egyptian concept of the “image of God” with the Jewish idea.
  5. How does the analogy of George Washington’s house help shed light on what it means to be made in the image of God?
  6. What is the basic concept of the “image of God” as it is expressed in the Bible? How is it connected to human worth and dignity?

Watch the segment: “The Image of God: The Impact”

  1. How did the concept of the “image of God” shape the actions of Christians with regards to …
    1. The practice of exposure?
    2. The practice of slavery?
  2. Put the following events in order:
    1. Whenever slave ships came into port, locals told church officials, who mobilised funds and volunteers to free the slaves
    2. The New Testament urges masters to treat slaves as equals and urges slaves to love their masters
    3. A Christian text written in Rome urges wealthy Christians to use their money to buy slaves and then free them
  3. Is there anything surprising about the ways in which the early Christians tried to challenge the Roman practice of slavery?  
  4. Read this quote from Nick Spencer and explain what he means. 

Bible Focus

Read Genesis 1:24-31

  1. What is noticeably different about the account of how God created animals and how he created humans?
  2. What unique qualities and responsibilities does God give to humans in this passage?
  3. How does this passage demonstrate the Bible’s view of the equality and dignity of all humans?  

Apply

  1. In the segment, John Dickson says “If you think that every human life is infinitely valuable, regardless of capacity or usefulness, then you’ve been influenced by the Bible’s teaching about the ‘image of God’”. What might an atheist response to this quote be?
  2. Do you think there are any ways in which our society is starting to lose the belief of the inherent dignity and worth of all people? Give examples.
  3. Imagine a dystopian future where the following groups of people are no longer valued: children, the elderly, the sick, and migrants and refugees. Write a plot outline and first paragraph of your dystopian novel.
  4. If you were being marked from 1 to 10 (1 being lowest, 10 being highest) on how you treat other people, what do you think your score would be? What would raise your score?
  5. Hold a press conference, with some students acting as journalists, and one student acting as the leader of the Police Search and Rescue Squad who is ordering a major operation to search for a lost bushwalker. Ask the “journalists” to come up with several questions challenging the value of such an operation, and ask the “police officer” to justify it, drawing on themes from this lesson.

Extend

  1. Read this ABC Online article ‘Why we need the Christmas story’ by CPX’s Simon Smart, and write short answers to the following questions:
    1. How has the Christmas story, as well as the idea of the “image of God”, shaped our understanding of the human person?
    2. Does the Christian story agree with the idea of the fundamental goodness of human beings? Do you agree with this idea?
    3. Why does Simon Smart say we need the Christmas story? What do you think about this?
Contributors: Anna Grummitt, Anne Pickering, Simon Smart, Natasha Moore
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