Doctrinal Matters: Difficult Passages Was the "Image of God"
Destroyed by Sin? Many theologians through the years have
claimed that the “image of God” spoken of in Genesis 1:26-27
refers to a spiritual perfection that was lost in the Fall.
Thus, they have concluded that modern man no longer bears the
image of God. Reformer Martin Luther believed that the “image of
God” was an original righteousness that was lost completely. He
thus proclaimed: “I am afraid that since the loss of this image
through sin we cannot understand it to any extent.” Oftentimes
John Calvin spoke of the image of God as having been destroyed
by sin, obliterated by the Fall, and utterly defaced by
unrighteousness. More recently, religionist/anthropologist
Arthur Custance, in his 1975 book, Man in Adam and in Christ,
observed: “Genesis tells us that man was created in a special
way, bearing the stamp of God upon him which the animals did not
bear. Genesis also tells us that he lost it” (p. 103). Does the
language of Genesis 1:26-27 refer o