“IMAGO DEI” AND THE SANCTITY OF HUMAN LIFE IN THE CONTEXT OF GENESIS 9:1-6.
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Date
2014-07
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Nigerian Association for the Study of Religions
Abstract
The biblical concept of the image of God remains an enigmatic theme in Old Testament Theology. Lack of consensus by biblical and theological experts on the interpretation of the concept makes the discourse a recurring exercise. The link between this theme and the dignity of man with respect to the criminal vice of murder demands attention, especially in the context of Nigeria as a densely religious nation. Therefore, this work argues against the violation of human life via religious violence in Nigerian. The concept of image of God and the various interpretations advanced by different Old Testament scholars and Theologians over the centuries is critically assessed, before running some exegetical comments on the reference text, Genesis 9:1-6 with specific emphasis on grammatical and lexical analysis. A brief reference is made to religious violence from the 1980 Maitasine riot up to the current Boko Haram insurgence and culminates in condemning killings citing that both Christianity and Islam emphasize the sanctity of human life. Calls are made to adherents of various religions to find a meeting point of all humans in the common creator of all and therefore respect the sanctity of humanity.
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Fawenu, Bamidele Olusegun. “Imago Dei and the Sanctity of Human Life in the Context of Genesis 9:1-6,” Religions: A Journal of the Nigerian Association for the Study of Religions 24, no. 2(2014): 146-166.