Made in the Image of God

This is a basic orthodox belief or understanding of an element of Creation for Jews and Christians. But what does it mean? This is not overtly said in the first chapter of the book of Genesis in this first book of the Hebrew Torah or the Old Testament.

There are many clues - answers? - even in Genesis chapters 1 and 2 though. Look at what God is doing? (NOTE: Rather than the redundant - to some - continued use of 'God', I will use the traditional masculine designations too.) God is creating. This involves planning and ability. He is powerful; he has agency. He  can do this and does. He has a great deal of knowledge and intelligence to accomplish these things. Look at what he creates. There is vast diversity, from the heavenly bodies down to plant and animal life. There is profuse colour and sound. There is beauty. There is abundance. There is fruitfulness. Plants are commanded to bring forth seed and fruit, animals to reproduce. Finally, God looks at all he has done and calls it good.  He is happy and satisfied with his work, and he rests.

Since we are understood, said to have been made in the image of God, we should have all of these qualities within us. Of course, not on the same scale. We are creatures  brought into being by the Creator, not The Creator.

Thee has been a lot of discussion and debate over the millennia as to what this all means for us humans. However, it is the phrase following the title words that has caused much debate over the last three quarters of a century especially: "Male and female" he created them. 

It is generally agreed by the monotheistic religions that God is neither male nor female. We might say today that he has no gender and is asexual. This phrase "male and female" then, does not arrive from God's 'image.' This was something new God made.

Further on in Genesis, it becomes evident that God created male and female to form pairs to reproduce and populate the earth. God, we understand, also being the embodiment of love, seems so full of love and goodness, he can't contain it. He wants more people to know him and receive his love, unconditionally. Being made in the image of God, we thus are also capable of love and should be passing it on in the same way.

Coming back to the conversations swirling round the words sex and gender today, we could look at the words we have been considering. With reference to male and female being necessary for procreation, being sexual, as we understand it, is evident biologically, phenotypically or physically, internally and externally with respect to our bodies. We appear as male or female. 

Can we ask, do those words of necessity mean there is nothing else? Does that rule out that maybe God's penchant for diversity also leaves room for other forms of  maleness, of femaleness, of gender? 

We know the some humans are born with physical manifestations of both sexes, or only 'part' of such a sexual expression. Is this God's diversity at work? Humans only become aware of the non-physical aspects of being sexual, what it means or 'fells like'  as they grow older. Those who have studied this have postulated as to factors that could interfere with this development so some physically sexually males and females think differently about their identity, their gender. 

Thus, we have come to speak of homosexual, lesbian (L-female) and gay (G-male), as being attracted to the same sex. There are those who understand themselves to be of both genders, hence bisexual (B). Then there are the trans-sexuals (T), those who believe that their physical sex does not reflect their sense of who they are, their gender. Those born with manifestations both sexes as referred to above are called intersex (I). Also, some claim not to be certain of where they are on these binaries, the queer (I). In North America, with our awareness of the culture of our indigenous neighbours, we learn of their understanding of those who are two-spirited, having manifestations of both genders (2S). Finally, some have no awareness or feelings of either gender; they are asexual (A). Some believe we need to cove all the bases, as they say, and so add +. So, we have this acronym, LGBTQI2SA+. 

In closing this reflection, I only want to say two things. First, God loves us unconditionally. Thus, we, made in his image, ought to have the same love for everyone else. Second, we do understand though that we no longer fulfil God's expectations for us. Something happened as described in a story in Genesis chapter 3. Thus, God meets us where we are, some would say accepts us as we are, but also desires that we all renounce the failures we are, and come to him for salvation, reconciliation and restoration, renewal.  We all need recreation. God is waiting for us.

Montreal, Canada's Great City

The Early History

Ah, Montreal. What can I say? Canada’s greatest city? Certainly my favourite besides ones where I’ve lived (Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Richmond/Vancouver). And what a history! First known to the Europeans as Hochelaga, it was the longtime home of an Iroquois tribe. It was a 16th-century fortified St. Lawrence visited by French explorer Jacques Cartier on October 3, 1535. Cartier found over a thousand Indigenous people living in  some 50 large, bark-covered longhouses inside a triple tiered wooden palisade encirclement. By the time Samuel de Champlain, also from France, arrived in the area in 1603, the village had completely vanished. Theories as to what happened include conflict with Huron-Wendat, trade changes and disease, some suggest possibly from thee white men. Much of the history I know from memory from studying our Canadian history, however, some has also been sourced or verified from Google AI’s database.

The French established a foothold in Canada here and it became the base for further exploration of the continent, particularly to further the fur trade. Because they allied with the resident Huron, there were skirmishes with their longtime foes, the Mohawk. This animosity was heightened when the Mohawk became allies of the British who were arriving in New England. 

The longtime wars between France and England in Europe led to war on this side of the ocean too and in 1763, the Treat of Paris gave the British control of what is now Canada after their 1759 defeat under General Wolfe of the French under Montcalm at Quebec City. Some decades later a new conflict developed between the British-based Hudson Bay Company of 1670, given royal charter over the northwest interior of the continent and - by now made up of Scots and French - the Montreal based traders known as the Nor’westers. The lasted until the HBC came out on top in 1821.  

Modern History

What is now the province of Quebec became Lower Canada in 1821, versus Ontario as Upper Canada, referring to the direction of river flow, Quebec being downstream from Ontario. The Catholic French Canadians, still very much under the control of the Church, constituted some 75% of the half-million population versus a growing number of Scots, Irish and British. Montreal now became a trading seaport and industrial, financial centre. The completion of the St. Lawrence Seaway in 1959, a joint project with the US, facilitated the former. McGill University, established by royal charter in 1821 with the promotion of an 1813 bequest of Nor-wester James McGill, was becoming an internationally recognized educational facility. 

Montreal really became the subject of international attention with the 1967 World’s Fair, followed in short order by Expo 76, by which time the city had already fielded a major league baseball team (1969), the Expos, who disappeared from the scene in 2004. It had long had a champion calibre hockey team, the Canadiens, known affectionately as the Habs from the French word for the early inhabitants or settlers of Quebec. The Montreal Alouettes, Alouettes being French for ‘lark’, a high flying, soaring and tenacious songbird, subject of a popular French Canadian folksong, had also appeared as a Canadian Football League team. The real source of the name though was the 425th Squadron, the Royal Canadian Air Force's first all-French-Canadian unit from World War II, which used the lark as its symbol of courage and high-altitude strength. 

However, French Canadian nationalism was rearing its head and the effect of that and referendums, plus the criminal activities of the Front de Liberation de Quebec on the issue of separation from Canada and governments favouring that, really led to an outflow of capital and business with Toronto’s taking first place in Canada. 

When it comes to the arts though, Montreal still shines. Quebec artists and film makers thrive here when they maybe little known beyond the province. However, it also has its world-class icons such as Oscar Peterson in jazz, Mordecai Richler in film and literature and Leonard Cohen, the gentleman pop icon of song and poetry.

Although Montreal may have lost some ground as mentioned above, it still retains top billing for culture and history. I asked our son why he chooses to live in Montreal and his quick answer was “the environment.” He was referring to what some promote as Montreal’s European-ness. For some this means things like Old Montreal with its historic buildings but it really points to the culture, already alluded to above, but also its  vibrant neighbourhoods with their local shopping, restaurant, cafe and bar scene. 

When God Speaks

When God Speaks

Many people who believe in God believe they have never heard God speak. That might be true. It might also be that they did not recognize  it when God spoke. 

There is one time in my life when I am sure the voice I heard was clearly that of God. I was working at a job for the summer between second and third year of Bible College in a factory that made items out of wood. A coworker, and I were putting wooden mattress frames through a nailing machine when he got a sliver. I helped him get it out and at that point, I heard a voice say something to the effect of, "You did this. You can do more if you go into medicine."

That was really out of the blue for me. I had never considered medicine as a career. There were one or two adults in my life who recognized some intelligence and had suggested that, but I had never followed up on it. It turned out to be somewhat of a struggle to get into medical school, but I finally did. Similarly, when I was growing older, and considering when I should retire from a career as a physician, I was looking for some indication as to when I should do so. At some level, I thought that if God had called me into this, God should let me know when I could leave it.

In discussing my thoughts on this with a wise pastor Uncle, he made the point that it may not have been the career that God had directed me towards. It may have been a larger pattern of God testing my willingness to obey.

This brings me to another situation in the midst of my career. My wife and I were considering a move from one province to another for what most would consider good reasons. I had gone so far as to arrange five interviews in that regard. When I had completed those, it was still not clear to my wife and myself, which one of the possibilities should be pursued. I sometimes believe that a model followed at times in the Bible, namely, drawing lots, can be a good way to go. We did that and got one answer. The answer we got was not what we expected, not that there was anything negative about it. We had prayed and we did so again and drew lots a second time. Same answer. We believed God had provided the answer, though not in as a direct manner is in my previous example, and 20 years later, we have no reason to think otherwise.