Have you ever considered what it means to be human? What fundamentally separates you from every other form of life?
Is it even possible to arrive at an answer? We can certainly observe humanity. Anthropology and sociology endeavor to understand what people do. The field of psychology often attempts to understand why people do what they do. But the results of centuries of study are theoretical constructs that make sense in some situations, but not others.
No researcher has developed a definitive, objective understanding of what it is to be human that encapsulates all the data without exception.
Within the evolutionary framework there is no basis for concepts such as religion, morality, justice, altruism, and purpose. The closed system of naturalism cannot account for such immaterial experiences as anger or fear or love.
Worst of all, human dignity does not exist in such a worldview. Many people reject the evolutionary framework as incapable of explaining what everyone knows to be true about life, namely, that we don’t exist in a closed material world—there are many aspects of life that cannot be examined by empirical science.
This is where Christians have something to contribute to society. Christianity is not an invented religion confined by human observation. The Bible is God revealing to mankind knowledge and wisdom that could not be known any other way.
To the question of this article, the Bible provides a clear and exhaustive answer to what it means to be human. In short, to be human is to be made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). This means that God created us to reflect Him in moral, relational, and functional ways.
Morally, we are like God in that we have the capacity for love, kindness, justice, compassion, and so on. Relationally, we have the capacity to interact with others in familial and societal relationships, just as in the Trinity, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit live in perfect relational harmony.
Functionally we are made to rule over this creation, to use the intellect and abilities God gives us and the resources within creation to create, manage, and be productive.
Human dignity and worth is based solely on the fact that we are made in God’s image; so much so that the Bible describes an attack on a person as an attack on God (James 3:1-9). When preparing to propose to my wife, I learned about diamonds and what makes some more valuable than others. People are not like diamonds. Our value does not vary based on qualities we can identify. Our dignity is fixed, regardless of how well or poorly, how much or how little we reflect God in our character, relationships, and accomplishments.
If you want to consider what the Bible says about us as humans, you can start by looking up the following passages: Genesis 1-3 and Ephesians 2:1-10.
Gabriel Powell is an Associate Pastor at Hope Bible Church in Columbia, Maryland. He serves there as a biblical counselor, ministering to people seeking biblical answers to modern problems.