Divine Nature

First Paper: The relationship between nature and the divine

We are told that Man, was created in God’s image: "So God created man in His image; in the image of God He created him: male and female He created them" (Gen 1:27). Even though God is an invisible Holy Spirit, he can be seen through His creation. “Ever since the creation of the world his invisible nature, namely, his eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.” -Rom. 1:20 For Instance, take a work of art; it displays the invisible nature of its maker in a physical form. Everything in the created universe is a manifestation of the quality of the Gods invisible divine nature. As we can sense an artist's character through his works, so we can perceive God's nature through His creation.
The divine nature is both internal and external to man. A person's internal divinity gives ones value. It doesn’t matter how pretty someone is to the eye, poor qualities such as dishonesty or selfishness will severely compromise one’s stature in the eyes of God and his fellow man. On the other hand, even though a person's body may be crippled, noble internal qualities will gain him the admiration and love of all. External divinity can be seen through a work of art as I mentioned before, this allows us to see God’s divinity through a product of his creation.
In the Essay on Man, Pope develops a theme throughout his essay that man is part of a larger picture, a part of nature. Man depends on nature for his very substance, but he treats nature poorly. In nature we find life in a complete variety, as Pope puts it a “vast chain of being”. Throughout the Essay, Pope emphasizes how nature “all good and wise…and what it gives, and what denies” has perfected not only itself but all creation. Man is nature’s most fascinating offspring. Man is the creature of multiple paradoxes.   Pope makes this fear that we dare not destroy one aspect of nature for fear of...