Traditional view of the nature of humanity

What is it that makes us human beings?
What actions are appropriate for humans?

A creature

The traditional western worldview, which was shaped by the Christian Bible, was that humans are creatures – in other words, they were intentionally created by another.

Created by God

According to Genesis 1:26-29 God created human beings

in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them. TNIV

Whilst this account stresses the equality of each gender, Genesis 2:4-25 goes on to describe how God first creates man from the dust and breathes life into him. He then places the man in the Garden of Eden (see Big ideas: Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve, ‘Second Adam’). In order to provide companionship for the man, animals and birds are then created and named by the man. Finally, God creates woman as a partner for the man. As a result of disobedience against God, woman is made subject to the man (Genesis 3:16) and a sense of authority and power within human relationships is introduced.

An ordered created world

The chain of being

By the 16th century (when Shakespeare was writing), the universe was seen as a hierarchy, with God, the Creator, at the top. Everyone and everything else, having been made by God, was a ‘creature’ of God:

Next to God in the order of creation were the angelic spirits: there were thought to be nine orders, or ranks: Seraphs, Cherubs, Thrones, Principalities, Virtues, Powers, Dominions, Archangels, Angels.
Below these spirits were human beings, who were thought to be unique in having both a body, like animals, but also a spirit (or soul).
Below mankind came animals, having body but no soul; then plants; then stones.

In traditional Elizabethan imagery, humans were each seen as a miniature world (microcosm) which corresponded to the wider cosmos (macrocosm).

Spiritual soul and physical body

In medieval and early modern times, writers often described the body as a container for the soul, seeing the body as made of earth and the soul as a spirit trapped within it. This idea was partly derived from the Greek philosopher Plato, but also reflected the words of Genesis (see above).

Mortal and eternal

Death

Human life is mortal, that is, it inevitably ends with physical death. In Act II sc ii Hamlet describes a human as a ‘quintessence of dust’, recalling the words from the service for the Burial of the Dead in the Book of Common Prayer:

‘earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust’.

The eternal soul

Christians believe that all human beings have a soul which is immortal and reflects something of being made in God's image. Despite the relative brevity of human life, according to Christian belief the soul actually only wants to spend a short time in the world: it would far sooner be back in heaven. This was because humans were made in the image of God and welcomed the chance to be reunited with him.
(For more information see Big ideas: Death and resurrection.)

Humankind in the image of God

What does it mean for humans to reflect the nature of God?

The grace of ordinary life

A person reflects the Creator when they fulfil the potential they were created with
There is grace in humbly serving others
Humans were created to work using their abilities. A society that allows unemployment is a society that denies the image of God in people.

Human creativity

Some people think that human intelligence, for example as evidenced through language and through creative abilities, indicates something of humanity’s divinely-given qualities. The Bible however, draws a clear distinction between God, the creator, and everything else in the universe – creation. The fact that humans are creative is simply a reflection of the image of God in human beings. Even the brightest human mind is limited by the search for a logical answer to what is beyond human comprehension.

Reason versus passion

Reason informs the soul of man, reflects the nature of God (though in earlier centuries it was not believed that God had need of discursive thought, as he is all knowing anyway) and makes humans higher than animals:

Because people have a soul, they can aspire to reach beyond their body and mortality
If they debase their soul, and lose their reason — especially through drunkenness or by giving way to extreme passion — then they are no better than animals.

Conscience and choice – free will

Much literature reflects that, like their maker, humans can make moral choices based on an understanding of right and wrong. From the Early Church onwards, the image of God was associated with freedom - Christians believe that God is free and that humanity participates in this. People are neither automatons nor simply driven by unconquerable instincts, but have free will.

Innocence and sin

The Genesis account

According to Genesis (the first book of the Bible), when God created humans he placed them in the Garden of Eden, sometimes known as ‘Paradise’. In this garden was the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. The first two humans, Adam and Eve, were told by God that they could eat anything in the garden except the fruit of this tree.

Eve, the first woman, was tempted by a serpent (traditionally held to be the devil in the shape of a snake) who spoke to her, telling her that if they ate the fruit she and Adam would ‘be as gods, knowing good and evil’ (Genesis 3:5). This was a lie, but the serpent induced Eve to eat. She and Adam were then for the first time aware of shame, and instead of being innocently naked they tried to make themselves clothes out of fig leaves.

All tainted

Once Eve had eaten the fruit, she offered some to Adam and he also ate some, disobeying God’s command not to. Before this they had both been innocent. Now they had committed sin — an offence against the laws of God.

As this is the first sin in the Bible, it is also known as ‘original sin’
Since all human beings are, according to Genesis, descended from Adam and Eve, all humans share this ‘original sin’.

The descent from original innocence to sin, because of the actions of Adam and Eve, is also called ‘The Fall of humankind’ or simply ‘The Fall’.

More on the Fall: Writers have sometimes depicted it as a physical fall down through the air, like the classical story of Icarus falling after trying to fly too high. It is referred to in this way, for example in Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus and in James Joyce’s A Portrait of the Artist As A Young Man.

For further information see Big ideas: Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve, ‘Second Adam’.

Hope for humankind

Christians believe that Jesus Christ ‘turned around’ the effects of original sin and so it can be washed away by baptism into faith in Christ, and forgiven by the grace of God. (See Themes and significant ideas: Grace, Mercy and forgiveness.)

Free will

There is a huge debate as to how far individuals should be held accountable for their actions:

Natural and unnatural behaviour

Hamlet feels (Act I sc iv) that some people are born with defective characters:

‘So oft it chances in particular men,
That, for some vicious mole of nature in them,
As, in their birth – wherein they are not guilty,
Since nature cannot choose his origin — ….
Carrying, I say, the stamp of one defect, being nature’s livery ...
Shall in the general censure take corruption
From that particular fault.’

i.e. it is in their ‘nature’ to behave in such a way.

At the same time, behaving unnaturally, in a way that is below the level that should be appropriate for the nature of humans (see The Chain of being) makes people like animals: ‘A beast, no more.’ (Hamlet Act IV sc iv)

Getting the balance right

In Measure for Measure, Shakespeare shows also us that it is possible to go to the other extreme. Those who forget that they are not angels, but instead have human weaknesses, are just as unaware of their own humanity as those who behave like animals.

Sexuality and procreation

Creation and new life

Part of human nature is sexual activity:

Is sex merely sensual, involving no commitment?
Should humans echo the behaviour of other creatures, which procreate purely by instinct?

Is it an act which reflects the self-giving love of God and echoes his creativity?

Attitudes to sexual activity

In the western Christian worldview, sexuality was only to be expressed within marriage, where vows were made in the presence of God
Although there was inevitably sexual activity outside marriage, it was very much frowned upon, and the woman would usually be considered disgraced
But in much literature, the arrival of a child is also described in terms which suggest it is a right and natural part of the creative process.

Judgement

Because the soul is believed by Christians to be eternal, and humans are accountable for the actions they have chosen during their lifetime on the basis of free will, there is a focus in the western tradition on the fate of humans after physical death.

The Last Judgement

Many writers and artists have concentrated on depicting the Last Judgement. This is the biblical idea that, at the end of the world, all peoples will be judged before God. The Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 25:31-34) records Christ describing how,

‘when the comes in his … all the nations will be gathered before him and he will separate the people one from another as a separates the from the . He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left’.

(See also Big ideas: Sheep, shepherd, lamb; Goats.)

Those on the right represent people who are faithful to God. They will be blessed and called into the eternal kingdom of God. Those on the left, who have rejected - or rebelled against - God, will be sent into the fires of hell. This vision was the subject of many medieval church paintings.

Today's New International Version: ²⁶Then God said, 'Let us make human beings in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.' ²⁷So God created human beings in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. ²⁸God blessed them and said to them, 'Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.' ²⁹Then God said, 'I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.
King James Version: ²⁶And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. ²⁷So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. ²⁸And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. ²⁹And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.

Today's New International Version: ⁴This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, when the LORD God made the earth and the heavens. ⁵Now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth and no plant had yet sprung up, for the LORD God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no-one to work the ground, ⁶but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground. ⁷Then the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. ⁸Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. ⁹The LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground - trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. ¹⁰A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters. ¹¹The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. ¹²(The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin and onyx are also there.) ¹³The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush. ¹⁴The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Ashur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates. ¹⁵The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. ¹⁶And the LORD God commanded the man, 'You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; ¹⁷but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will certainly die.' ¹⁸The LORD God said, 'It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.' ¹⁹Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. ²⁰So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals. But for Adam no suitable helper was found. ²¹So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. ²²Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. ²³The man said, 'This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called 'woman', for she was taken out of man.' ²⁴For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh. ²⁵The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.
King James Version: ⁴These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens, ⁵And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground. ⁶But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground. ⁷And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. ⁸And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. ⁹And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. ¹⁰And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads. ¹¹The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; ¹²And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone. ¹³And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia. ¹⁴And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates. ¹⁵And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. ¹⁶And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: ¹⁷But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. ¹⁸And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. ¹⁹And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. ²⁰And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him. ²¹And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; ²²And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. ²³And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. ²⁴Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. ²⁵And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

Today's New International Version: ¹⁶To the woman he said, 'I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.'
King James Version: ¹⁶Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.

Today's New International Version: ⁵'For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.'
King James Version: ⁵For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

Today's New International Version: ³¹'When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. ³²All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. ³⁴'Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.
King James Version: ³¹When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: ³²And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: ³³And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. ³⁴Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

Name originally given to disciples of Jesus by outsiders and gradually adopted by the Early Church.

The Christian Bible consists of the Old Testament scriptures inherited from Judaism, together with the New Testament, drawn from writings produced from c.40-125CE, which describe the life of Jesus and the establishment of the Christian church.

The Bible describes God as the unique supreme being, creator and ruler of the universe.

Symbolic in the Bible of human mortality, echoed in the Anglican funeral service ('ashes to ashes, dust to dust').

The place described in the Book of Genesis in the Old Testament, in which God placed his first human creatures, Adam and Eve.

A body of persons or things ranked in grades, orders, or classes. Used specifically of the 'Nine orders of angels'.

The animate beings ' angels, humans, animals ' made by God.

Supernatural beings closely linked with the work of God; his messengers, traditionally portrayed as having a winged human form.

A non-physical being, or the non-physical but vital and intelligent part of a being, not limited by physical constraints.

Chief angel. In Christian tradition Michael, Gabriel and Raphael are considered to be archangels.

The spirit which gives life to a human being; the part which lives on after death; a person's inner being (personality, intellect, emotions and will) which distinguishes them from animals.

The little world, human beings and their inner world, often seen as paralleling the macrocosm.

The bigger world or cosmos. Anything from a planet to the whole universe.

The book of prayers and church services first put together by Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury in the time of King Edward VI (1547-53) for common (ie. general) use in English churches.

Name originally given to disciples of Jesus by outsiders and gradually adopted by the Early Church.

Term used to describe the first centuries of the growth of the Christian church, initially in Jerusalem and then across the Roman Empire.

According to the Book of Genesis, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil grew in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve were forbidden to eat its fruit by God. When they disobeyed, they lost their innocence and close relationship with God.

The opposite of goodness; thoughts and actions which are in opposition to God's will and result in wrongdoing and harm. That which opposes God.

According to Genesis (the first book of the Old Testament), Adam is the first human being, made in the image / likeness of God, placed in the Garden of Eden and given dominion over the earth.

According to the book of Genesis in the Bible the first woman, said to have been created by God out of Adam's rib, to be his companion.

A snake. In some religions and mythologies seen as the embodiment of deceit, cunning and evil, and associated with Satan.

Also known as Satan or Lucifer, the Bible depicts him as the chief of the fallen angels and demons, the arch enemy of God who mounts a significant, but ultimately futile, challenge to God's authority.

Literally, not 'nocent' or harmful. The term which is usually used nowadays to mean 'not guilty' of a crime, is often used in the Bible and literature to mean 'pure', 'free from sin'.

Disobedience to the known will of God. According to Christian theology human beings have displayed a pre-disposition to sin since the Fall of Humankind.

State of disobedience to - and alienation from - God believed to have characterised human beings since the Fall of Adam and Eve.

The disobedience of Adam and Eve in the Bible is known as the Fall of Humankind. Christians believe that humans from then on have had a a predispostion to disobey God.

(c. 4 BCE- c. 30 CE). The founder of Christianity, whose life and teaching are described and interpreted in the New Testament. Jesus is the Greek form of the Hebrew 'Joshua'. He was also given the title 'Christ', meaning 'anointed one' or 'Messiah'.

The immersion in or pouring over of water, in the name of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, to signify the washing away of away of sin. Baptism in Christian churches marks the acceptance of the baptised child or adult into the church.

Undeserved favour. The Bible uses this term to describe God's gifts to human beings.

The final judgement on humankind when all will have to give account of their lives to Christ as Judge.

Gospel - Literally 'good news' - used of the message preached by Jesus recorded in the New Testament. 1. The central message of the Christian faith 2. Title given to the four New Testament books which describe the life of Jesus Christ

A phrase from the Book of Daniel which describes 'one like a son of man' coming on the clouds of heaven and being given dominion over all peoples and nations. Jesus is shown using this phrase of himself in the Gospels.

1. Radiant beauty or splendour 2. Praise and honour given to God.

Sheep were a key part of the the economy in biblical times and the familiar figure of the shepherd occurs frequently in the Bible to signify leadership, and care. Jesus described himself as the Good Shepherd.

The Bible is full of images of sheep and shepherds, which have permeated Western literary traditions and culture.

In the Bible goats are often associated with sin and the need for forgiveness.

The receiving of divine favour by God (Genesis 1:22) which can be in material or spiritual terms.

Lasting forever, throughout all ages.

Kingdom of God (also called the Kingdom of Heaven). The central theme in the teaching of Jesus. Refers to God's rule and power at work among people who accept his authority in their lives. The New Testament teaches that God's kingdom is already in ex

1.Used in the Bible as a symbol of the presence of God. 2. Also associated with judgement and punishment. 3. Associated with purification

Jesus describes hell as the place where Satan and his demons reside and the realm where unrepentant souls will go after the Last Judgement.

1. Term for a worshipping community of Christians. 2. The building in which Christians traditionally meet for worship. 3. The worldwide community of Christian believers.

The Creation; Fall of humankind and universal or original sin; Noah and the Flood; the call of Abraham (start of salvation history), followed by the stories of the other patriarchs, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph.

Icarus - the son of Daedalus who died in the first flying accident.