In what sense is man still in the image and likeness of God after the fall?
A viewer asks to what extent and in what sense man, after the fall, remains in the image and likeness of God, noting the Fathers refer to the physical while Aquinas seems not to, and how this relates to 'infinite dignity.'
Answer
Scripture uses two words, image and likeness, to reinforce that of all creatures man is closest to God. Thomas and Augustine distinguished image from likeness, but whether there really is a distinction is debatable; Scripture itself does not make it. What man has that the rest of creation does not is intellect, will and emotion in the most superlative degree; animals have these only to a small degree. The context of Genesis 1:26-28 shows it too: man is given rule over creation, to subdue and protect it, because God is a creator and wants man to be a creator like him. As for "infinite dignity," liberals go too far; we do have dignity, but it is not infinite. Only God is infinite.