Is the image of God in persons with disabilities? Are able-bodied people more reflective of the image of God than disabled people? These are questions that are being asked in the disabled community and within theological circles as well. Charles Feinberg (1972) says that, "The image of God constitutes all that differentiates man from the lower creation. It does not refer to corporeality or immortality. It has in mind the will, freedom of choice, self-consciousness, self-transcendence, self-determination, rationality, morality, and spirituality of man. The ability to know and love God must stand forth prominently in any attempt to ascertain precisely what the image of God is." This seems to be a very good summary of what the Imago Dei is all about.
Most scholars agree that the image of God in humans cannot be their mortal body because it would mean that God has a body. This flies in the face of Jesus' statement that "God is spirit" (John 4:24). However, if our bodies do not reflect the image of God, what do they reflect? In the context in which it is found, one can conclude that it is related to the dominion that humans were expected to have over the other creatures. This might be true. However, it seems our physicality has nothing to do with the Imago Dei. It means, therefore, that many persons who are physically disabled or impaired are persons with the image of God despite their impairment. Even persons with mental or learning disabilities possess the image of God despite their intellectual or mental problems and struggles.
What role does a human being's body play, if any, in any discussion or theology of the image of God in man? Do our bodies 'image' God? To what extent can we claim that the image of God rests in persons with disabilities or impairments?
Most scholars agree that the image of God in humans cannot be their mortal body because it would mean that God has a body. This flies in the face of Jesus' statement that "God is spirit" (John 4:24). However, if our bodies do not reflect the image of God, what do they reflect? In the context in which it is found, one can conclude that it is related to the dominion that humans were expected to have over the other creatures. This might be true. However, it seems our physicality has nothing to do with the Imago Dei. It means, therefore, that many persons who are physically disabled or impaired are persons with the image of God despite their impairment. Even persons with mental or learning disabilities possess the image of God despite their intellectual or mental problems and struggles.
What role does a human being's body play, if any, in any discussion or theology of the image of God in man? Do our bodies 'image' God? To what extent can we claim that the image of God rests in persons with disabilities or impairments?
