• Home
  • About This Blog
  • Contact Me
  • Subscribe
  • Comment Policy

Attempts at Honesty

Reflections on the interplay of the Bible and Culture

  • Westminster Shorter Catechism Series
  • Sermon on the Mount Series
Home Church Leadership Discipleship How did God create man?

How did God create man?

Posted on October 31, 2016 Written by Mark McIntyre 2 Comments


Question 10Question 10 of the Westminster Shorter Catechism asks, “How did God create man?”

The answer is, “God created man, male and female, in His own image and in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness, to rule over the other creatures.”

What really jumps out at me when I read this answer is the second phrase, “in his own image.”

Thankfully, our Western culture is built around the foundational idea of the dignity of man. This thought informs our laws and our practice. We think that murder is wrong. We think that individuals have rights that should not be violated. We think that each person should be able to do or become whatever he wishes to be.

The Bible informs us that man’s dignity is a result from his being created in the image of God. The dignity that we have has been conferred on us by our creator.

I see in my country that there is no longer a consensus regarding the source of man’s dignity or even if there is anything special about man at all. This is not surprising when one starts from a naturalistic presupposition. If life is the result of a chance combination of a few proteins which developed through some chance mutations, then it is hard to see man in a different category from the rest of the universe.

But I have yet to meet anyone who held this position who actually lived consistently with it. While we may deny that man is special, we continue to live as though he is. As a society, we strive to eliminate poverty. We provide help to those who have been made homeless by floods, hurricanes and tornados. We create beauty through the arts. We live as though our lives have purpose.

This question in the catechism reminds me that all of our striving for meaning is a result of our being made in the image of God. Jesus affirmed this when he said, “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10).


Filed Under: Discipleship Tagged With: create, man, purpose

About Mark McIntyre

A follower of Jesus Christ who shares observations about how Scripture should impact the church and the world. Mark is the original author and editor of Attempts at Honesty.

I have the opportunity to go to Istanbul, Turkey this summer to minister to Syrian refugees. If you would like more details about this trip, please use this link Mark McIntyre - Istanbul, Turkey Please note that this trip is fully funded, but I would appreciate your continued prayer. The trip will take place June 27 - July 6, 2025.

Follow Attempts at Honesty

Honesty in your Inbox

Not perfected in love

I am thankful for the words of Jesus in John 8, when he told the woman caught in sin, “I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more.”

Light

You are the light

We are called to dispel the darkness by growing in our relationship to God and being obedient to what he has called us to do. We are to be a beacon of hope to a world that desperately needs something to be hopeful about.

Forgotten God

Francis Chan on the Holy Spirit

I would like to share the following quotation from Forgotten God, by Francis Chan: “I don’t want my life to be explainable without the Holy Spirit. I want people to look at my life and know that I couldn’t be doing this by my own power. I want to live in such a way that […]

Near and Far

Paul’s lament in Romans 7 of his inability to live as he knew he ought to live. We are encouraged to know that we are not alone in our sense of falling short of where we’d like to be.

Extra! Extra!

New news, old news

Malcolm Muggeridge is attributed as saying, “new news is old news happening to new people.” Jeremiah warns us of repeating the errors of ancient Israel.

Post Series

  • Westminster Shorter Catechism Series
  • Sermon on the Mount Series
June 2025
SMTWTFS
1234567
891011121314
15161718192021
22232425262728
2930 
« May    

Categories

Archives

Blogger Grid
Follow me on Blogarama

Copyright © 2025 · Focus Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in