Theology Discussion Response

1) I witnessed total depravity recently on a trip to Dearborn, Michigan. With the highest population of Muslims in America, it was a very different culture than anything I was used to. During my time in the city we met many beautiful people and families who were thankful to be in America and away from the wars ravaging their home countries of Yemen, Syria, etc. While these people were grateful to be in America it was very clear that they were also broken. Some of this was due to missing their home countries, but it was also obvious that this went far deeper. These people are hurting and suffering because they are still dead in their sin. They refuse to believe in Jesus as the Son of God and because of this their spirits are afflicted with grief and sin.

Just as there is evidence of total depravity, there is also evidence of humans being created in the image of God. We understand this to be not so much that we are physically like God but instead our character traits are reminiscent of God. God loves us sacrificially and as such I have seen men and women this week give up their time, money, and resources to help others out of a sense of love for one another. I have also seen humans bear the image of God as they show compassion to one another, just as God is compassionate towards us. God has forgiven us our many and great sins against Him and likewise I have watched as people forgave one another for wrongs done.

2) Something that I believe we often forget is that all are made in the image of God. Not just those of us that claim Jesus as savior and king but all humans were made in God’s image. This means that all humans should be treated as precious as gold, just as we know God treats us in the exact same way. When debating, discussing, or simply thinking about the complexities of human rights we must keep this at the center of our processing. Because all humans are made in God’s image, all humans deserve respect and to be treated with dignity just as God has treated us. This means that we are all created in the same image and thus we should give to others the same respect that we would desire for ourselves.

Carson Bledsoe wrote:1) I witnessed total depravity recently on a trip to Dearborn, Michigan. With the highest population of Muslims in America, it was a very different culture than anything I was used to. During my time in the city we met many beautiful people and families who were thankful to be in America and away from the wars ravaging their home countries of Yemen, Syria, etc. While these people were grateful to be in America it was very clear that they were also broken. Some of this was due to missing their home countries, but it was also obvious that this went far deeper. These people are hurting and suffering because they are still dead in their sin. They refuse to believe in Jesus as the Son of God and because of this their spirits are afflicted with grief and sin.

Just as there is evidence of total depravity, there is also evidence of humans being created in the image of God. We understand this to be not so much that we are physically like God but instead our character traits are reminiscent of God. God loves us sacrificially and as such I have seen men and women this week give up their time, money, and resources to help others out of a sense of love for one another. I have also seen humans bear the image of God as they show compassion to one another, just as God is compassionate towards us. God has forgiven us our many and great sins against Him and likewise I have watched as people forgave one another for wrongs done.

2) Something that I believe we often forget is that all are made in the image of God. Not just those of us that claim Jesus as savior and king but all humans were made in God’s image. This means that all humans should be treated as precious as gold, just as we know God treats us in the exact same way. When debating, discussing, or simply thinking about the complexities of human rights we must keep this at the center of our processing. Because all humans are made in God’s image, all humans deserve respect and to be treated with dignity just as God has treated us. This means that we are all created in the same image and thus we should give to others the same respect that we would desire for ourselves.

I agree with you that we often forget that we are all made in the image of God. I think we know that we are but that is a difference with actually believing it. We should treat others the way Christ would treat them. God loves everyone equally. He doesn’t have favorites. Sadly not everyone are followers of Jesus yet which makes it harder to treat each other just like Jesus would which shouldn’t be more difficult, but there is a disagreement and we are living in a fallen world. If Christians would start treating each other just like Jesus would that would be amazing. We would be living a life that demands a gospel explanation.