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A Philosophical Look At The Egocentric Interpretation Of Self-transcendence In Man In The Light Of Nietzsche
CHAPTER ONE -- [Total Page(s) 7]
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1.2.3 MAN AND THE CREATION OF THE UNIVERSE
The
creation account shows that human beings are creatures of God, made in
his image and likeness (Gen 1:27) and as such “they are the words of
visible creation under Godâ€11. The scripture made us understand that no
other thing was created in the image and likeness of God except man.
Hence, the only animal that resembles God is man. This resemblance is
seen in our soul. This therefore bears an eloquent testimony of the
superiority and importance of man over all the created things. Besides,
an image is a copy of something else, resembling it in some specific
way.
“Men and women are important images of God, who infinitely
transcends them, because they have a specific likeness to God in virtue
of their spiritual operations of understanding and willingâ€12. The
transcendence of man over the world is also felt in the immortality of
man’s soul as against other creatures of God. Whereas other things will
one day perish and go out of existence, the human soul does not perish.
Besides all these, man is the only animal given the power to walk
upright (Homo erectus). He is the only animal that is endowed and gifted
with the faculty of reasoning. (homo sapiens) and many other factors
that make man unique among the creatures of God. Other creatures like
plants and other lower animals cannot boast of these things. Considering
the above enumerated talents and gifts to man, we see that he is really
a unique being. This uniqueness therefore distinguishes him from all
other creatures. For instance, man can engage himself in the production
of many things in the field of science and technology. Thanks to his
intellect and rationality. Besides, man is a creature that thinks and
deliberates over an action before executing it and he is quite conscious
of himself. That is why he can be held responsible for his daily
actions. These things cannot be found among the lower animals. For
instance, one cannot hold a goat responsible for eaten up ones yam in
ones farm or barn because a goat does not posses the above outstanding
qualities which man possesses. It is not in the nature of a goat to
possess these things. On the other hand, man possesses all these
qualities and this makes man a unique animal or being. It is because of
these facts and many other ones that we say that man transcend his
environment and the creatures in it.
1.2.4 GOD AND THE UNIVERSE
To
talk about the transcendence of God over the universe is already a
clear fact to the human knowledge. Our emergence into this world and the
entire universe itself is the handwork of God. This is because created
things cannot be greater than its creator and as a matter of fact should
remain under its direction and sustainance.
In short there is
nothing which is not subject to the government of God, for it is God who
maintains all creatures in existence and moves all things including
subordinate causes, in accordance with his will
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