Image of God
When I start researching a new topic, I usually check around, ask questions, and process it with the people around me. And now that I’m dealing with the fivefold faces of evil, I ask and I can almost see people’s eyes glaze over or close in quiet horror.
Recently, I asked a dear friend—someone I trust deeply, someone older and grounded with a solid theological and church background—whether she believes in demons. I half expected her to dismiss the whole idea. But instead, she told me a story.
She had hosted some guests, and after they left, she sensed that one of them had left behind a dark, oppressive presence in her home - a demon of some sort. She couldn’t seem to pray it away herself, so she called the elders of her church. They came, prayed over the house, anointed it with oil—and the oppression lifted. That worked.
Everyone has a different way of understanding evil, the devil, darkness, and supernatural forces.
If we look at the story of our origin, it’s right there—evil personified in the serpent. Eve gives him the time of day, listens to him. That was the first mistake. He slanders God, and she believes him.
If we examine that moment in Genesis—the original story—there’s God, the perfect Creator. And then there’s the serpent: another force. Not just a metaphor or a mistake, but a real opponent. A rival power. And throughout Scripture, this "other superpower" keeps showing up.
Why was the Serpent interested in Eve. It's because Eve, who was made in the image of God, had a supernatural connection to God. But she was human. We are human. Very, very human.
And yet, somehow, we like Eve feel that connection to the image of God in us. The Serpent appealed to this connection - and presented the temptation to be equal to God,
The Serpent said. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
She chose to believe the Serpent - an unrealistic, impossible choice.
The problem is that when we don’t actively choose God, by default we side with the one who is against Him. We fall under the rule of the evil one.
“I have lived all my life among shadows and broken images.”― C.S. Lewis
*****
Insider Report:
In this post I have explored evil as it appears in the story of origin, the Garden of Eden and have covered:
"Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere." -Albert Einstein. I equate imagination with our spirit -- the place I now want to explore.
After publishing my book Impossible Forgiveness, to the Power of Five, I explored and defined the fivefold structure that I am using now. It has ancient roots, tracing back to Hippocrates organization of life with his four humors to which I then added another "the collective" coming out of my own unique insights and processes. But the core is built on the timeless pattern of four used throughout - history: body, mind, heart, spirit, and now the added collective.
After defining the five, I began to see the number five everywhere. Everything – God, Jesus, Bible, Heaven found a home within the five dimensions. I began to call it The Holy Five.
Then during a conversation with my daughter, after publishing my book, I realized that I had never in the book analyzed evil to see how it would look under the paradigm of five.
Evil is absolutely fundamental to the root question that I was always up against: Why do bad things happen to the good people? Why is there suffering? Where does suffering come from? And if this suffering is so prevalent – how does the promise of a loving- all powerful God fit into it? To me – these weren’t just idle questions – I had to answer them honestly for myself….
So I was left with the question: What does evil look like when examined under the structure of the Fivefold Paradigm?
So, I began again—with this blog post.
“Refined and distinguished, the human soul is quite like what has often been said of the snowflake: Just as no two snowflakes are the same, no two life stories are the same; but just as all snowflakes are formed, all souls are formed in the image of God.” ― Criss Jami
Recently, I asked a dear friend—someone I trust deeply, someone older and grounded with a solid theological and church background—whether she believes in demons. I half expected her to dismiss the whole idea. But instead, she told me a story.
She had hosted some guests, and after they left, she sensed that one of them had left behind a dark, oppressive presence in her home - a demon of some sort. She couldn’t seem to pray it away herself, so she called the elders of her church. They came, prayed over the house, anointed it with oil—and the oppression lifted. That worked.
Everyone has a different way of understanding evil, the devil, darkness, and supernatural forces.
If we look at the story of our origin, it’s right there—evil personified in the serpent. Eve gives him the time of day, listens to him. That was the first mistake. He slanders God, and she believes him.
If we examine that moment in Genesis—the original story—there’s God, the perfect Creator. And then there’s the serpent: another force. Not just a metaphor or a mistake, but a real opponent. A rival power. And throughout Scripture, this "other superpower" keeps showing up.
Why was the Serpent interested in Eve. It's because Eve, who was made in the image of God, had a supernatural connection to God. But she was human. We are human. Very, very human.
And yet, somehow, we like Eve feel that connection to the image of God in us. The Serpent appealed to this connection - and presented the temptation to be equal to God,
The Serpent said. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
She chose to believe the Serpent - an unrealistic, impossible choice.
The problem is that when we don’t actively choose God, by default we side with the one who is against Him. We fall under the rule of the evil one.
“I have lived all my life among shadows and broken images.”― C.S. Lewis
*****
Insider Report:
In this post I have explored evil as it appears in the story of origin, the Garden of Eden and have covered:
- Body – where the evil fear is stored
- Mind – where evil lies are believed
- Heart – where evil conflict, competition and corruption were seeded into our most intimate relationships.
"Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere." -Albert Einstein. I equate imagination with our spirit -- the place I now want to explore.
After publishing my book Impossible Forgiveness, to the Power of Five, I explored and defined the fivefold structure that I am using now. It has ancient roots, tracing back to Hippocrates organization of life with his four humors to which I then added another "the collective" coming out of my own unique insights and processes. But the core is built on the timeless pattern of four used throughout - history: body, mind, heart, spirit, and now the added collective.
After defining the five, I began to see the number five everywhere. Everything – God, Jesus, Bible, Heaven found a home within the five dimensions. I began to call it The Holy Five.
Then during a conversation with my daughter, after publishing my book, I realized that I had never in the book analyzed evil to see how it would look under the paradigm of five.
Evil is absolutely fundamental to the root question that I was always up against: Why do bad things happen to the good people? Why is there suffering? Where does suffering come from? And if this suffering is so prevalent – how does the promise of a loving- all powerful God fit into it? To me – these weren’t just idle questions – I had to answer them honestly for myself….
So I was left with the question: What does evil look like when examined under the structure of the Fivefold Paradigm?
So, I began again—with this blog post.
“Refined and distinguished, the human soul is quite like what has often been said of the snowflake: Just as no two snowflakes are the same, no two life stories are the same; but just as all snowflakes are formed, all souls are formed in the image of God.” ― Criss Jami
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