Tuesday, September 15, 2020

Joshua Foster vs. Image/Likeness in Genesis 1:26 Being Moral Only

 

Joshua Foster, a former Protestant and graduate of Liberty University and who joined the Church in 2008, wrote the following against the belief that the “image” and “likeness” in Gen 1:26 is moral only:

 

Others say that the ‘image and likeness’ of God that we were formed after is only a ‘moral image and likeness.’ But if this were the case then why is the inherent morality of man rebellious, weak and so often wicked? If we were created in god’s moral image then he would be the very reason for the fall of man and pain and suffering in existence . . . Note: Had Adam been complete, if he was made in the balanced male/female ‘moral image’ of God as most sects believe, then Eve would not have been necessary; yet she was. Thus the moral image claim from these sects is contradicted by the evidence. Additionally, the term “Help meet” means something like ‘equal compliment’. Showing that Adam’s likeness was not complete without the equal female compliment of Eve. Here it should be stated that equal does not mean the same; the purpose of having an equal compliment is to have male and female balance. For analogy, the right and left hands are not exactly the same but they are both equal and together provide a wonderful balance in a greater purpose. (Joshua Foster, Legacy: Why I’m a Latter-day Saint [2020], 50, 54)

 

Further Reading

 

Lynn Wilder vs. Latter-day Saint (and Biblical) Theology on Divine Embodiment