“Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness’...So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him.” (Ignatius, Revised Standard Version, Genesis., 1.26-27). The Bible, the inspired word of God, clearly states that God made man in His image. This is the truth that sets men above all other creatures on earth. It is the reason man can think, grow in wisdom, and eventually attain eternal life.

When it is said that man is made in the image and likeness of God, it is not the body to which the Scriptures refer. It is the soul that truly reflects God’s own likeness. God is a spirit without a body; something created in his image would necessarily be spiritual. Being made in God’s image means that man has an intellect and a will, and this gives man the ability to conform his will to God’s Will, which no other creature can do.

It is very important to understand how being made in God’s image applies to the dignity of human life. God is a personal being. A personal being can be defined as “an individual rational substance.” (Carroll, Following Christ in the World.) God is personal in that He is three divine, individual persons. Furthermore, He is the definition of rationality. He can see all and understand all. The substance in this case refers to something that exists in itself. Personhood is not a quality; it simply exists and distinguishes one being from another. Because Human beings are made in the image of God, they, too, are personal beings. In this way men differ from all other creatures. No other creatures on this earth possess reason or intellect.

As personal beings, humans are infinitely more important than any other creature on earth. God calls each human being into existence and, because of this, He knows and loves each of them individually, which makes every human of inestimable importance.

Therefore, no person has the right to take the life of another. Each human belongs to God in a very special way, and He alone, being the source of life, has the right to give or take life. The Catechism says, “Human life is sacred because from its beginning it involves the creative action and it remains forever in a special relationship with the Creator, who is its sole end. God alone is the Lord of life from its beginning until its end: no one can under any circumstance claim for himself the right directly to destroy an innocent human being.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church. 602)

There are many things that deprive man of the dignity of life, but perhaps the one of the worst is the crime of abortion. Abortion takes the life of another innocent human being even before they are born, yet, they have already been created. This is intrinsically wrong. At the moment of conception, the new human is given an immortal soul. This person, even when unborn, is infinitely precious to God and loved by Him. They share in His being by His own will. This unborn child is a perfect image of God and one of His most important creations. As this child has a personal soul and is made in God’s image, no one has the right to deprive this innocent of life. God made this being in an image of himself, keeps it in existence, and He alone has the right to determine when that human will die.

Respect for human dignity is very much rooted in the fact that man is made in God’s image. Without this truth, man’s life would not be sacred and man would be no different from the dumb, mortal animals. Since man is made in God’s image, every single individual human has intrinsic rights and has no right to kill another human.