Image of God

Discuss the question:

“Do you think Christianity is more about valuing individuals, or restricting and controlling them?”

Students research an article or video about a search and rescue mission, they estimate the cost in terms of time, people involved, and money spent on the rescue. Discuss what does this tells us about the value of a life? (Image of God Slides)

• Article: Charlie Gard: The story of his parents’ legal fight

Students read the article ‘Charlie Gard: The story of his parents’ legal fight’ then students either discuss or provide a written response to 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?

Display the J.K. Rowling quote and discuss the following: (Image of God Slides)

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?

Watch the documentary excerpt ‘The Image of God: The concept’. (7:13)

Students create a sketch of how they imagine the place where children were discarded in ancient Greece and Rome, and discuss the reasons parents discarded their children?

Display the letter extract and ask students to identify how this letter makes them feel, then discuss their opinion of the extract, and what it says about their view of human life. (Image of God Slides)

Students fill in a table to compare and contrast the Egyptian view with the Jewish concept of the “image of God”. (Image of God Slides)

Watch the documentary excerpt ‘The Image of God: An illustration’. (1:56)

Discuss how the analogy of George Washington’s house help shed light on what it means to be made in the image of God, before students write a description of the concept of the “image of God” as it is expressed in the Bible, explaining how it’s connected to the idea of human worth and dignity?

Watch ‘The Image of God: The impact’ (4:29) clip, and discuss the way in which the concept of the “image of God” shape the actions of Christians with regards to the practice of exposure, and the practice of slavery.

Display the Nick Spencer quote and discuss what he might mean. (Image of God Slides)

Students read Genesis 1.24-31 and answer the following questions.

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?

Display the John Dickson quote, then discuss how an atheist might respond. (Image of God Slides)

Use the following discussion questions to reflect on the content of the lesson.

1. 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.
2. 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?

Students imagine a dystopian future where the following groups of people are no longer valued: children, the elderly, the sick, and migrants and refugees. They then write a plot outline and first paragraph of their dystopian novel.

• Article: Why we need the Christmas story (7 min)

Students read the CPX Christmas article and answer 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?