RMPS - Int2/Higher - World Religions - Judaism - Education Scotland

THE HUMAN CONDITION
He had already created in the preceding five days. If so, the bringing of
these forces and creatures together into the creation of man, makes
man’s creation unique. An alternative interpretation is that ‘Us’ and
‘Our’ represent the royal plural ‘we’, as God is the Sovereign of the
Universe; Man is only created in God’s image so he is referred to in the
singular.
Judaism stresses the far-reaching importance of man precisely because
he is made in the image of God. This indicates that humans in some way
reflect part of God’s nature. The sense in which man (mankind) is made
in God’s ‘image’ and ‘likeness’ does not refer to man’s physical
characteristics but to other attributes. These include man’s moral
judgement, the ability to reason, and free will. This means that we are
created with the capacity to change ourselves from selfish to unselfish,
from being interested more in ‘taking’ to being interested more in
‘giving’. This would make us a blessing to those we come into contact
with in our everyday activities. Man has the ability to guide his or her
actions according to reasoning. Man is also capable of loving God and of
having a spiritual bond with Him.
References
Carmell, Aryeh. (1991) Masterplan – Judaism: its program, meanings,
goals. Pub. Jerusalem Academy Publications
Activity 3
Discuss with a partner how believing in one God can affect the way a
person lives.
RMPS: WORLD RELIGIONS – JUDAISM (INT 2, H) 11
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