BEING

HUMAN
LESSON 6
WRONG
NOTIONS:
• Looking younger or
prettier
• Owning precious
belongings
• Hanging out with the
popular crowd
• Doing things “my
way”
WHAT DOES BEING HUMAN MEAN?
GENESIS 1:26-31
26 Then 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 birds of the air, and over the cattle,
and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that
creeps upon the earth.” 27 So God created man in his own
image, in the image of God he created him; male and female
he created them. 28 And God blessed them, and God said to
them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue
it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the
birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon
the earth.”
PSALM 8:5-10
5 what is man that you are mindful of him,
the son of man that you care for him?
6 You have made him a little less than the angels

and crowned him with glory and honor.

7 You have given him dominion over the works of your hands

and placed everything under his feet:

8 all sheep and oxen

as well as the beasts of the field,

9 the birds of the air, the fish of the sea,

and whatever swims in the paths of the sea.

10 O LORD, our Lord,

how glorious is your name in all the earth!

DIFFERENT KINDS
OF BEING
1. WE ARE HISTORICAL BEINGS

We are free historical beings in progress. Our

past experiences and choices gradually formed
the person we are now. In a similar way,
the decisions we make today shape and direct
the kind of person we would become.
 2. WE ARE EMBODIED SPIRITS

•Being embodied beings, we

experience the world
through our senses, we
feel pain and pleasure.
•Example: Needs vs Wants
•We say we are embodied spirits,
not persons with bodies and spirits.

•Christ’s grace within us enables us as

embodied spirits to love God and our
neighbor and follow His perfect example.
Of all God’s creatures,
only human persons
have the capacity to
ask.

3. WE ARE CONSCIOUS/
RATIONAL BEINGS
Having been created in God’s
image and likeness, we are
endowed with the capacity to
think (intellect) and the capacity
to choose (free will).
HUMAN ACTS VS ACTS-OF-HUMANS

Freely chosen acts are called human

acts while instinctive or involuntary
human processes are called acts-of-
humans, or acts that happen to
humans
4. WE ARE RELATIONAL BEINGS
We can only become our fullest selves through
our relationships.
A. Persons by others
- Because we were born in and raised by our families and
live with the influence of relatives, neighbors, and friends.

B. Person with others

- Because we become fully ourselves only in the company
of other people.

C. Person for others

- Because we become persons for others.
- “selflessness”
We have different physical
characteristics and varying
opinions, as well as diverse
beliefs, traits, and behavior.

5. WE ARE UNIQUE,
THOUGH FUNDAMENTALLY EQUAL