Note: this is Part II of a series exploring the implications of Christian stewardship relating to vaccinations. In this section, I discuss what the Bible teaches about the human body and the unique attribute that humans possess by being made in the image of God. This is an edited passage from my original request to be excused from my employer’s mandatory vaccination policy. Click here to go to beginning of the series.
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The central problem that the Coronavirus vaccine mandate presents is its conflict with long-existing Christian beliefs surrounding the human body. To explain clearly, it will be helpful, I think, to share a background into what Christians believe about the body. The Bible teaches that humans were created with both a spiritual and physical component about them. Christians believe that God created this unique dual nature. We can see this hinted at in the last part of Genesis 2:7 where the Bible records for us the creation of man at the beginning of the world:
“And 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.” – Gen. 2:7
Christians believe that humans are living souls – that is, spirit beings with a physical body. The body is a wonderful gift from God. It allows a spiritual being to inhabit a physical realm. Other verses in the Bible that also illustrate this understanding of body and soul distinctness include:
“Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.” – Ecc. 12:7
“And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Benoni; but his father called him Benjamin.” – Gen. 35:18
“Beloved, I wish above all things that you may prosper and be in health [physical], even as your soul prospers [spiritual].” – 3rd John 1:2
Thus, we believe that an individual possesses both a distinctly spiritual and a physical component. It is a curious fact that this distinctness is also hinted in the English word: human being – human referring to the physical body component and being relating to the spirit component.
Fundamental to Christian beliefs about the body is that God created man in his image, that is, in his likeness. Elsewhere we are told that God is a spirit, so it follows that this likeness is not a physical one.
“And 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 creeps upon the earth.’ So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.” – Gen. 1:26-27
“God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” – Jn. 4:24
To be made in the likeness of God is not to be like God in physical appearance (God doesn’t have a body apart from the manifestation of Jesus Christ) but it is to be similar to God in certain spiritual qualities. We can list a few here: the capability to love, or hate or experience joy apart from physical emotions, contain aesthetic sensibilities, comprehend intellectual discussion and abstract rational thought, the ability to form friendships and interact in a non-physical manner with others (such as when two friends take seats on a porch for a decently long chat). Christians believe that these sorts of abilities are all manifestations of the “likeness” of our Creator.
While made in the image of God has more to do with the spiritual nature of people, it has a multitude of implications for how we are to treat our bodies as well as other people’s bodies. That is, it lends a moral dimension to the body in everything bodily related, whether it is getting up in the morning or the food you eat, the sleep you get, sexual relations, how you treat other people’s bodies, or even what you think about (since when you think you are essentially “wiring” your brain by plasticizing specific synapses and neurons).
For sake of brevity, I will only touch on one implication here to illustrate this intrinsic moral aspect of the body: murder. The Bible records that God, not man, established government. God cites his reason for establishing government as the purveyor of justice because man possesses the “image” of God. This fact requires moral respect for one’s body by others:
“Whoso sheds man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.” – Gen 9:6
Thus, I can only conclude that human life has intrinsic moral value at all stages from conception to natural death. It must not be merely taken on pretext without just cause. It applies in all cases. This is why Christians believe that abortion – the intentional killing of biological human life at its earliest stages – is morally wrong. This is also why Christians believe that euthanasia – the intentional killing of biological human life generally at its late stage – is morally wrong.
The Bible tells us that the body is an exquisite creation, originally created by God in absolute perfection:
“And God looked upon everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.” – Gen. 1:31
Humankind and God have a different understanding of the word “good”. Suffice to say that to be good in the estimation of God requires absolute perfection. This perfection was the original and intended state of humankind after creation. Sadly, it was not to be for long. Christians believe that man chose to play the traitor to God, his benefactor. The Bible tells us that when man rebelled against God – his Creator, Provider, and Friend – that, much as his soul lost perfection by hating God, so the body lost its perfection and changed. The bodily processes that we all now know as aging began to take effect:
“The soul that sins, it shall die [it will become separated from its body].” – Ezk. 18:20
“In the sweat of thy face shall you eat bread, till you return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.” – Gen. 3:19
Even in its degraded state today, human body continues to defy even our highest expectations. Not only are the proportions of the body perfectly set (according to the golden mean) for both beauty and utility but it is a marvel of engineering and design. Everywhere in the body complex organic chemical reactions must work together with near flawless accuracy to ensure that the body works properly. Hormone balances must be accurately regulated to provide vital bodily functions. In mitosis, DNA must be copied with unfathomable accuracy billions of times for the human race to be able to propagate for even a few generations. In the brain, billions-upon-billions of neurons fire daily to control physical movement and create the vocal patterns in the larynx. Neurons and synapses “plasticize” and store memories, enabling people to type words on a keyboard or play the piano with relative ease. By any accounting, the human body is an extraordinarily fine-tuned machine given to us by our Creator God.
As a Christian, I believe the only appropriate response to this vast exquisiteness of the human body is to extol God and honor him for bestowing on us such a gift:
“I will praise you; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are your works.” – Psa. 139:14
Even if this understanding of the body that we have discussed was the limit of human experience, it would be sufficient reason for us to be very careful with the health decisions that involve such a gift – a gift which was given by God, not to the state, but to the individual. But Christians believe that this is not the limit of human experience – in fact, it’s only part of the story. Although we could stop here, for a Christian the issue is deeper on another level. We believe that not only did God create us in his likeness and thus has a claim to us, but also because of the Work of Jesus Christ for us, we – both body and soul – are rightful property of God in several senses which I will cover in the next part.
*Image by Unknown. Released under CC Licence.
