Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” (Genesis 1:26-28)
This isn’t the beginning of community. The Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit, and all the angels were a community before Adam was created. It is, however,
the beginning of human community, and it consisted of God and two humans: one
male, one female. Both the male and the female human were created in the image
of God, which gives each the ability to relate to God and to contribute something unique to the community. They were each meant to
complement each other in some way(s). Together, they were supposed to fill,
subdue, and rule over the earth and all that is in it.
Within the community as God established it, they had everything
they needed to accomplish the community's purposes and nothing they
didn’t need. They could fill the earth, effectively maintaining and spreading the community, and because of their differences, they could rule over the creatures and subdue the earth in a balanced manner. At least, that was the goal. Of course, things
got complicated when Adam and Eve sinned. But the principle stands. One of the
purposes of a community is its propagation and protection. The
other is to make the world a good or better place. And one of the things the
world seems intent to do is to make the world a “better place” by destroying
the community and replacing it with a bit of AI. This is why we need our communities to be face-to-face and person-to-person, and always include God.
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