Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned and fallen short of the image of God.”

“Intuition” is the ability to understand something without the need for conscious reasoning. As the saying goes, “When you see a turtle on a fence post, you know it didn’t get there by itself.” Intuition is also a powerful human faculty to understanding the gospel. Case in point: former comedian Norm McDonald.

Norm was a huge fan favorite. But listening to Norm talk about God’s existence, mankind’s sinfulness, and the role of Jesus Christ in solving mankind’s sinfulness powerfully demonstrates how his intuition, followed by reasoning through his intuitions, led him to narrow down life’s meaning to the Christian Gospel.

“I have always had an intuition there is a God, an actual Person. But, of all the religions, I like Judaism and Christianity.” Norm liked Judaism and Christianity because they fit his intuition on human nature, which he saw as above animals while at the same time horrible and depraved: “There are some people who believe that man is divine – that we are all beautiful creatures. I cannot believe that because I know my own heart.”

Norm did see human nature above animals: “Others like cynics and atheists believe we are totally wretched and simply beasts, in a world of nothingness. I cannot believe that – it does not make any sense.”

Philosopher David Wood agrees: “Even when using abilities that set us apart from animals (like morals and reasoning), we use these abilities to satisfy the same drives in animals. For example, we use our capacity for innovation to create the internet. Then we use the internet to watch porn. But it gets much worse.”

Norm then explains what sets Christianity apart for him: “Christianity has this compromise, where we are both divine and wretched. Thinking we are divine and connected with nature seems like nonsense to me. The other, that we are simply beasts of the field, also seems like nonsense. So, I like that Christian idea.”

David Wood sums up Norm’s intuition on humanity: “While man seems divine when we compare him to the rest of the natural world, man also seems demonic. So, man is not one or the other. He is both at the same time. The correct doctrine of man needs to account for both of these truths. Norm is pointing to the biblical doctrine that human beings, though created in God’s image, have been corrupted by sin.

Genesis 1:26-28, 5:1-2, 9:6, and James 3:9 say we were created in God’s image. We as human beings are special in how we “image” God. Our most important function on Earth is to make the invisible God visible.

We can make God visible – ‘image Him’ – by our stewardship over the Earth (since God has authority over the universe and gave us authority over the Earth), by our loving relationships (since God is a loving, social Being), and most importantly, by our love for Him as our Creator (since He loves us).

When we are correctly oriented towards our Creator (functioning properly), only then can others see God’s “image” in each of us. That is how God intended for us to function.

Why then are we also so wretched? When we sin, we take those amazing abilities God gave us and use them to degrade His image in us. This is what makes us so incredibly horrible. We take what was given to us for supreme good and we use it for evil. This is how we are simultaneously divine and wretched.”

Are we doomed to stay this way? Can we be restored to God’s image bearer? Here’s Norm McDonald’s take: “In Christianity, there is this middleman who is the Savior. Through Him, we can become divine even though we are born wretched. It is a very fascinating idea. I kinda like that one because it makes sense.”

David Wood agrees: “There it is – the gospel according to Norm McDonald. God gives us amazing abilities so we can image Him on Earth, but we use them to keep Him invisible. Jesus Christ, who made God visible on Earth, restores our relationship with God. By looking to Christ, we can grow in our ability to image God.

God gave comedians like Norm McDonald their functional abilities of wit, intellect, and artistry, so they are imaging Him as they perform. But they are free to use those abilities to glorify or blaspheme Him on stage.

All of us are designed this way. Whether we glorify or insult God, we are all still imaging Him since we all can only do what we do because He gave us that function. To watch Norm McDonald fumble his way towards the Almighty because of the intuitive inclination God gave him… makes us think that Norm was imaging God in a better sense than most of us.” Will you look to Christ to be an “Imager” of God?
“The Evidence of Faith’s Substance” _ Article #568