The Image Of God

Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ Θεός· Ποιήσωμεν ἀνθρωπον κατ' εἰκόνα ἡμετέραν καὶ καθ' ὁμοίωσιν.  Προδιαληπτεον πρότερον, ποῦ συνίσταται τὸ κατ' εἰκόνα, ἐν σώματι ἢ ἐν ψυχῇ. Ἴδωμεν δὲ πρότερον οἴς χρῶνται οἱ το πρῶτον λέγοντες· ὦν ἐστι καὶ Μελίτων συγγράμματα καταλελοιπὼς περὶ τοῦ ἐνσώματον εἶναι τὸν Θεόν. Μέλη γὰρ Θεοῦ ὀνομαζόμενα εὐρίσκοντες ὀφθαλμοὺς Θεοῦ ἐπιβλέποντας τὴν οἰκουμένην, καὶ ὦτα αὐτοῦ εἶναι εἰς δέησιν δικαίων ἐπινευκότα, καὶ, ' Ὠσφράνθη Κύριος ὀσμὴν εὐωδίας· καὶ, ' Τὸ στόμα Κυρίου ἐλάλησε ταῦτα, καὶ βραχίονα Θεοῠ, καὶ χεῖρας, καὶ πόδας, καὶ δακτύλους, ἀντικρυς φάσκουσι ταῦτα οὐχ ἕτερόν τι διδάσκειν ἢ τὴν μορφὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ. Πῶς δὲ, φασὶ, καὶ ὤφθη ὁ Θεὸς τῷ Ἀβραὰμ, καὶ Μωσῇ, καὶ τοῖς ἁγίοις, μὴ μεμορφωμένος; μεμορφωμένος δὲ, κατὰ ποῖον χαρακτῆμνα ἢ τὸν ἀνθρώπινον; καὶ συνάγουσι μυρία ῥητὰ μέλη ὀνομάζοντα Θεοῦ. Πρὸς οὔς ἀγωνιστέον πρῶτον ἀπὸ τῆς λέξως· ἀντιπαραβαλοῦμεν δὲ ῥντὰ τοῖς πλέον τοῦ γράμματος μηδὲν ἐπισταμένοις, ἐναντιούμενα αὐτῶν τῇ ὑπολήψει· ἐκ μὲν τοῦ Ζαχαρίου, ὅτι ' Ἑπτα ὀφθαλμοὶ Κυρίου οἱ επιβλέποντες ἐπὶ πᾶσαv τὴν γῆν.' Εἰ δὲ ἑπτὰ ἔχει ὀφθαλμοὺς ὁ Θεὸς, ἡμεῖς δὲ δύο, οὐ κατ' εἰκόνα αὐτοῦ γεγόναμεν. Ἀλλὰ καὶ ἡμεῖς μὲν οὐκ ἐπτερυγώμεθα, περὶ δὲ Θεοῦ λέγει ἐν ἐννενηκοστῷ ψαλμῷ, ὅτι ' ὑπὸ τὰς πτέρυγας αὐτοῦ ἐλπιεῖς. Εἰ δὲ ἐκεῖνος μὲν πτέρυγας ἔχει, ἡμεῖς δέ ἐσμεν ζῶον ἄπτερον, οὐ κατ' εἰκόνα Θεοῦ γέγονεν ὁ ἀνθρωπος. Πῶς δὲ ὁ σφαιροειδὴς οὐρανὸς καὶ ἀεὶ κινούμενος θρόνος εἰναι δύναται, ὡς ὑπολαμβάνουσι, τοῦ Θεοῦ; Ἀλλὰ καὶ ἡ γῆ πῶς ὑποπόδιον τῶν ποδῶν αὐτοῦ; Ἀπαγγελλέτωσαν ἡμῖν. Ἆρα γὰρ τὸ ἀπὸ γονάτων μέχρι τῶν βάσεων σῶμα τοῦ μεταξὺ οὐρανοῦ καὶ γῆς περιέχοντος, ἐν μέσῳ δὲ οὔσης τῆς γῆς τοῦ παντὸς κόσμου, καὶ περιεχομένης ὑπ' αὐτοῦ, ὡς γραμμικαῖς ἀποδείξεσι παρίσταται, παρ' ἡμῖν εἰσιν αἱ βάσεις τοῦ Θεοῦ ἢ παρὰ τοῖς ἀντίχθοσι; Καὶ ὅλην τὴν οἰκουμένην ἡμῶν πεπληρώκασιν, ἢ καὶ πλέον τι ἐπιλαμβάνουσιν, ἢ ἔλαττόν τι; Διεστήκασιν οἱ πόδες αὐτοῦ διὰ τὰς θαλάσσας καὶ τοὺς ποταμοὺς, ἢ καὶ τοῖς ὕδασιν ἐπιβαίνουσι; Πῶς δὲ οὐ ὁ τηλικοῦτος οὐρανὸς θρόνος, καὶ ἡ γῆ ὑπο πόδιον τῶν ποδῶν, ἐν μόνῳ τῷ παραδείσῳ εὑρίσκεται περιπατῶν, ἢ ἐν τῇ κορυφῇ τοῦ Σινᾶ φαίνεται τῷ Μωσῇ; Καὶ πῶς ταῦτα τις περὶ Θεοῦ δοξάζων οὐ μωρὸς λεχθήσεται; Ὠριγένης, Εἰς Την Γενεσιν, Ἐκλογή

And God said ' Let us make man according to our own image and likeness.'1 First it must be asked when it says 'according to our image' whether this pertains to the body or the soul. And first let us take note that some have asserted that it is the former, from which number is Melito, 2 whose writings are extant, in which he asserts that God is corporeal. He recounts that the members of God are named, the eyes of God looking upon the earth 3 and his ears hearkening to the prayers of the righteous 4 and that 'The Lord smelt a sweet odour' 5 and that 'The mouth of the Lord said these things' 6 and so we have the arm of God and the hand, and the feet and the fingers, and they infer from these things that nothing else is meant than the form of God. How, they say, was God seen by Abraham and Moses and other holy people, if He had no form? And if He had a form what form would He have, if not human? And so they search through numerous passages where God is said to have members. Against this it must be countered first from the words of Scripture. And against them we place this, who know nothing beyond the letter, that the words of Scripture are contrary to their opinion, for in Zachariah it is said, 'Seven eyes of the Lord look upon the whole earth.' 7 Now if God has seven eyes and we only have two, so we are not made in his image. And neither are we endowed with wings, yet it says in the ninetieth Psalm 'Beneath His wings you will hope' 8 If God has wings and we are animals lacking wings, so we are not made in the image of God. And how is heaven, which is a sphere and revolving, able to be the throne of God? And how is the earth to be his footstool? Let them answer that. For if there is a body extending from the knees to the soles of the feet that fills the space between heaven and earth, with the earth in the middle of the whole and contained by it, as is demonstrated by geometrical proofs, are the soles of God present to us, or are they on the other side of the earth? And is it that the whole of our earth that is filled, or is less or more occupied? And are His feet further down when they are in seas and rivers, or do they stand upon the waters? And how is it, His throne being heaven and the earth the footstool of His feet, that He is found walking alone in paradise, or appearing to Moses on the summit of Mount Sinai? And how will it be that he who asserts such things about God will not sound like a fool? Origen, On Genesis, Fragment 1 Gen 1.26 2 Melito of Sardis 3 Ps 100. 6 4 Ps 33.16  5 Gen 8.21 6 Is 1.20 7 Zach 4.10 8 Ps 90.4