Man as the Highest Level of Creation.
In the order of the universe there are various stages which
lead to perfection and man stands at the highest level. Man was created in a
different way than the lower world. This is expressed in the Bible, which
clearly reveals the "dogma of truth" about the Word, the "assistant" in
creation. Man was made in the image of God. He is immortal and is made for
spiritual life. In the words of Basil, man is the only form of earthly life
which was created by God. In creating man God "put in him some of His own grace,
so that man can recognize what is similar to him by its similarity." Man is made
up of a physical body and a soul which is sheltered within it. By its nature the
body is unstable and is in constant transformation. It is "ceaselessly flowing
and dispersing itself."
The world was put together and therefore will come to an end.
It is the dwelling place of mortal things. Since they participate in the
essential nature of this totality, men repeatedly die, even before death
separates their souls from their bodies. A man is a soul. According to Basil man
is "intellect united with flesh which has been adapted to him and is suitable
for him." The body as a "proper abode for the soul" has been designed by God
with great wisdom. "We are soul and intellect, since we are created in the image
of the Creator. What is ours alone is the body and the sensations we experience
through it." The body is often a prison for the soul. "As we strive for heavenly
life our corporeal existence is harder than any punishment or dungeon."
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