download - Sekolah Tinggi Theologia Aletheia Lawang

116
This perspective on the image of God departs from Roman
Catholic views. Catholicism has generally viewed the image of
God as matter of static natural capacity that is neither sufficient for
salvation, nor irreparably damaged or lost in the fall. Even before
the fall, grace had to be added to the image of God if man was ever
to become fully spiritual. Thus, in this view, what was lost in the
fall was not the image of God, but simply the spiritual grace of
salvation. This caused man to lose his equilibrium, which led him
to pursue his carnal appetites as opposed to God, yet the image of
God remained unblemished. Thus, in the Catholic view, grace was
a necessary condiment to the image of God and distinct from it in
man‘s pursuit of his spiritual telos. Before the fall, this was
possible without atonement, but after the fall the grace of salvation
required the sacraments of the Church to dispense forgiveness as
well as to restore the grace needed to pursue sanctification.
Accordingly, the rite of Baptism expiated original sin, confirmation
dispensed the Holy Spirit to guide man back towards spiritual
perfection, penance took care of any sins along the way, and
purgatory completed the process of sanctification/salvation. At
each stage of the process a dispensation of grace was required for
salvation, but this did not alter the image of God which remained
the baseline of human capability to know God.
Calvin rejected the idea that the image of God had been
preserved from the taint of man‘s fall. Grace was not a spiritual
condiment added to the image of God, but lay at its integral core.
Without God‘s active grace and continuous presence, humankind
as well as all of creation would wither and die. The honor and
nobility of humankind lay in their recognition, honor and adoration
of God. Only through man active embrace of God‘s word in trust
and obedience would allow for his person to reflect God‘s glory.
Such knowledge through the Word of God required the
communion of His Spirit with man. Without the Word of God,
man‘s knowledge of himself and of God could never be known.