INTRODUCTION
- Positively, if we reflect God (part a), then human dignity is grounded in God's goodness and love;
- Negatively, if God reflects us (part b), then God becomes little more than a mirror of human instability: fickled, wrathful, unreliable,and changeable. God is too much like us at our lowest (or, perhaps worst) than God's Self.
Too Often We Make God Into Our Image
Such concerns are not unique to Christianity. In Greek mythology, these observations always seems to be asked of the gods. The gods often appear less transcendent and more human - embodying passions, rivalries, and inconsistencies rather than divine perfection. One could say they reflected the very flaws of the people who worshiped them.
Similarly, in the Semitic pantheon which shaped the Hebrew imagination, deities were often depicted in human terms as well. The biblical narrative shows this evolution: from many gods (polytheism) to one God (monotheism); from a covenantal God of faithfulness and blessing (Abrahamic covenant), to a God of wrath and judgment (Mosaic/Sinaitic covenant), to a God dwelling among his people through kingly and priestly structures (Davidic covenant), culminating in the promised New Covenant in Christ and his church.
Across the centuries of church history, this tension has endured. Theologies of God’s apparent changeability - sometimes merciful, sometimes wrathful; sometimes loving, sometimes punishing - have shaped Christian belief, worship, and behavior. Too often, God has been portrayed as a binary being governed by emotions rather than as a purposeful, consistent presence moving history toward its intended goal (teleology and eschatology).
It is precisely here that process theology, grounded in process philosophy, offers a vital corrective. By re-envisioning God not as variable in character but as relationally constant in love, persuasion, and creative aim, process thought keeps Christian faith “close to the knitting” - centering God’s nature in steadfast goodness while also affirming God’s dynamic involvement in the unfolding of history.
I. THE HUMAN NATURE
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Rationality and creativity (our capacity for reason, imagination, and design)
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Relationality and empathy (our need for community, love, and meaning)
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Moral ambiguity (our ability to choose good, but also to inflict harm)
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Finitude and variability (our mortality, limitations, and shifting desires)
It is this mixture - noble aspiration and flawed imperfection - that frames the reflection between God and man. It is also why the human nature may be seen as morally ambiguous.
Calling the human nature morally ambiguous captures the tension:
We are capable of remarkable acts of love, generosity, and creativity, yet are just as capable of cruelty, indifference, and destruction.
That ambiguity is precisely what makes the question “Who reflects whom?” so provocative:
Does the divine explain our nobility, or does our brokenness distort the image we project onto God?
The Christian Assertion
Within much of Christian tradition, human nature is described as fallen. Rooted in the Genesis story of Adam and Eve. The doctrine of the Fall asserts that humanity has turned away from God, resulting in a distortion of our will, desires, and actions. Rather than simply being morally mixed, this view emphasizes a corruption of the good creation, whereby sin infiltrates every aspect of human life.
Hence, the problem is not ambiguity but an inherited brokenness: our nature is bent away from God’s goodness, needing redemption.
A Cultural/Societal Redress to Christian Assertion
From another perspective, the human nature may be seen not so much as fallen but as morally ambiguous - a tension produced by the interplay of biology, culture, and circumstance. Societies shape moral codes, and cultures reinforce behaviors that can incline individuals toward compassion or cruelty, generosity or selfishness. What Christianity calls “fallen” could also be interpreted as the result of systemic forces, inherited traditions, and social conditioning that magnify our weaknesses as much as nurture our strengths.
In this sense, the human condition is less an ontological fall from perfection and more an ongoing struggle within a dynamic moral landscape.
So, we could frame it like this:
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Christian assertion: Human beings are fallen, fundamentally needing grace and redemption.
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Redressed view: Human beings are morally ambiguous, their nobility and depravity emerging within cultural, historical, and societal variables rather than from a primordial rupture alone.
Definition of “Lack” in the Philosophical / Psychoanalytic Tradition
“Lack” is a concept that appears especially in psychoanalysis, i) notably in Jacques Lacan, but also in ii) existential philosophy. Some key features:
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Lacan’s Lack (manque): The idea that human desire is structured around something missing, some gap - not just an absence of a particular object, but a lack as such, often lack of being. There are different kinds of lack in Lacanian theory: e.g. lack of being (a fundamental existential gap), lack of having, etc. Desire arises because of lack: if we had full satisfaction, we’d have no reason to desire. Wikipedia
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Existentialist notions similarly speak of alienation, finitude, or nothingness: humans are aware of limits (death, meaninglessness, contingency), and this awareness carries a sense of absence or insufficiency or incompletion.
So “lack” is more than simply “we want something” — it’s a structural absence, something that cannot be fully filled, that shapes human subjectivity, striving, longing.
- Not a deficiency, but a condition - Manque is not a simple lack of a thing or object; rather, it is a structuring absence that makes us who we are (our identity is our lack or absence which would fulfill us; as human, we can never feel complete or fulfilled).
- The desire of the Other - Our desires originate from the Other, and we seek to answer what the Other desires, creating a space of lack and desire within ourselves.
- Desire is a surplus - Desire is not the desire for a specific object but the surplus created when need is transformed into demand by the Other.
- Lack of Being (Manque-à-être) - This is the fundamental lack of a complete, self-present self. We are "wanting-to-be" because we never fully "are".
- The objet petit a - While not a thing, this is the elusive object-cause of desire that represents the ultimate, unfillable void, forever promising but never delivering satisfaction.
- Metonymy - Desire is caught in metonymy, constantly moving from one signifier to another in an endless pursuit of something that can never be fully grasped or found.
- Unending Quest - Because desire is the difference between what we demand and what we truly need, it can never be fully satisfied.
- Subjectivity - The awareness and expression of this lack are crucial for a subject to truly articulate their history and achieve a form of self-knowledge.
- Psychoanalytic Practice - Understanding manque is central to psychoanalysis, which involves helping subjects confront the irreconcilable nature of their desire and lack, rather than seeking to eliminate it.
Bringing “Lack” into Human Nature: Christian and Cultural Perspectives
Christian View (with Lack)
In Christian theology, you might see this “lack” as tied to the Fall:
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Recognition/Confession - Because of sin, human nature becomes aware of something missing: communion with God, moral righteousness, fullness of joy, etc. We experience spiritual emptiness, guilt, alienation.
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Redemption/Act - In Christ's atonement is presented the way to address that lack: the promise of restoration, of being filled (with grace, the Holy Spirit), and ultimately, reconnection not only with self but with God.
In Christian terms, the lack is not only descriptive (what we are missing) but normative and teleological (there can be fulfillment, and Christ's salvation provides it).
Cultural / Societal Lens on Lack
From the cultural or societal angle, “lack” might also be shaped by:
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Social structures: Inequality, injustice, poverty can produce lack (lack of resources, lack of opportunity) that becomes internalized as part of persons’ sense of identity.
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Cultural expectations / alienation: Sometimes what is “lacking” is recognition, meaning, belonging, purpose. Modern societies often produce disconnection or fragmentation, making people aware of missing connections or missing meaningful narratives.
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Consumer culture: Persistent advertising and social media can amplify sense of lack: “If only I had X, then I would be fulfilled,” but in fact every acquisition proves partial and temporary.
So then, culturally, “lack” may refer less to a metaphysical condition of sin, more to structural or existential deficits embedded in living.
Comparison: "Christian Fallen Nature + Lack" vs. "Morally Ambiguous View + Lack"
Putting these together gives us sharper contrasts:
| Aspect | Christian Fallen + Lack | Morally Ambiguous + Lack (Cultural View) |
|---|---|---|
| Nature of Lack | Rooted in sin and separation from God; spiritual emptiness; moral brokenness; lack that needs divine remedy. | Rooted in social, psychological, existential dynamics; lack of community, of dignity, of meaning. |
| Scope | Universal (all human nature is affected by Fall). | Varies by cultural, social, historical context; some people less affected, others more. |
| Possibility of Fulfillment | Through grace, redemption, spiritual transformation; ultimate fulfillment in Christian hope. | Through societal reform, psychological healing, cultural renewal, meaning-making; but may never be fully resolved. |
| Moral Implications | Responsibility, repentance, moral striving, dependence on God. | Responsibility too (structures, empathy, institutions), but more emphasis on systemic change and relationality. |
A More Complete Statement of Human Nature Including “Lack”
Here’s how we might incorporate lack into a revised definition:
Human nature comprises a human being created for relationship, moral goodness, and meaning - but is also a condition fundamentally marked by lack of wholeness, incompleteness, or felt lack of identity: it is not only a spiritual, existential, or moral gap or condition but also structurally concrete in its signifying felt-identifiers and self-expressions.
In Christian theology - this lack arises from the Fall and results in alienation, sin, and separation from God;
In cultural and societal terms - this lack often takes shape as unmet needs (of recognition, justice, belonging), structural injustice, and inner yearning.
Therefore, the human condition is not simply ambiguous or fallen, but always in search - seeking fulfillment of something beyond what is immediately given.
Let's again provide a descriptive statement of the human nature as we did at the outset. That the human nature can be understood as the composite of qualities that characterize humanity:
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Rationality and creativity (our capacity for reason, imagination, and design)
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Relationality and empathy (our need for community, love, and meaning)
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Moral ambiguity (our ability to choose good, but also to inflict harm)
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Finitude and variability (our mortality, limitations, and shifting desires)
It is this mixture - noble aspiration and flawed imperfection - that frames the reflection between God and man.
Four Statements (2+2)
(a) Man reflects God
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Positive: If we reflect God, then our best qualities - creativity, compassion, and love - are expressions of divine goodness shining through us. Human dignity and worth are grounded in God’s own being.
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Negative: If we reflect God, then why are we also violent, selfish, and destructive? Either God bears responsibility for our flaws, or our reflection is cracked and distorted.
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Positive: If God reflects us, then divine imagery becomes accessible - we see God in human struggle, yearning, and history. God becomes relatable, sharing in our joys and sorrows.
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Negative: If God reflects us, then why isn’t God as fickle, contradictory, and inconsistent as we are? A God who merely mirrors humanity risks shrinking into a projection of our shifting moods and biases.
- If we reflect God, our highest virtues testify to divine goodness, though our vices raise troubling questions.
- If God reflects us, divine imagery becomes accessible and human, though it risks collapsing into mere projection.
- If the image of God presented is sometimes shaped by human projection, then interpretation must distinguish between the voice of divine love and the echoes of human distortion.
- To confess that we are made in God’s image is to affirm our dignity and capacity for goodness; to recognize that we remake God in our image is to remain vigilant against turning our fears, hatreds, or ambitions into idols clothed in divine language.
III. A PROCESS THEOLOGY MINDSET
- Cosmic grounding and divine experience - God and humanity reflect one another in an ongoing dialogue of becoming. God’s eternal love grounds the world, while God’s relational nature means the world genuinely shapes God through the lived experience of creation’s dynamic life.
- Divine/Human nature and Reciprocity - Similarly, humanity reflects God’s creative image, even as God reflects humanity’s struggles, joys, and longings by taking them into the divine life.
CONCLUSION
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