Cain, Abel, and Imago Dei
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
Man is a fascinating creature; he's the only animal in God's Kingdom that has the potential to comprehend who he is in reference to creation, and more than that, he is the only creature that bears the condition of responsibility. Responsibility for his actions—responsibility for his life. Roger Scruton's On Human Nature illuminates this quite well, stating, “We hold each other accountable for what we do, and as a result, we understand the world in ways that have no parallel in the lives of different species...our world contains rights, deserts, and duties” (p. 25).
And in our world of rights, deserts, and duties, we wrestle with our condition. We wrestle with coexisting with others—with having a responsibility to others and to ourselves. In an environment made up of “self-conscious subjects,” we have the capacity to unleash a degree of emotion well beyond that of any other creature (p.25). Like a brush to a canvas, emotions such as envy, anger, and jealousy can often color the human experience in a totalizing manner. The story of Cain and Abel elucidates this reality of the human condition.
Cain had a responsibility to his brother Abel before he murdered him out of envy for being in God's favor. In Scripture, we see the Lord recognizing Cain's resentment for his younger brother and addressing it directly: “Why are you angry? Why are you dejected? If you act rightly, you will be accepted; but if not, sin lies in wait at the door: its urge is for you, yet you can rule over it.” We see here that God is appealing to Cain’s condition—imago dei.
Imago Dei, the Christian theological doctrine that humans are created in the image of God, is principally a relational concept between the created and the Creator. Man represents God. And so, when the tiller Cain slayed his shepherd brother, he not only killed kin, but he also destroyed an image of God–of the Creator, in the process.
When the Lord said to Cain: “What have you done?” It marks a pivotal moment in human history—the first murder. It is not only the taking of a life but the destruction of an image of God. In killing Abel, Cain extinguished both the physical form and the spiritual reflection of the divine, leaving behind the haunting legacy of sin and the fractured nature of man attempting to grapple with it. God responds by banning Cain from tilling the ground, commanding him to become “a constant wanderer on the Earth.” And so, Cain is punished to wander the earth for the rest of his days, all while bearing a mark indicating that he is protected by God.
The mark of Cain is a fitting description of the guilt that we can carry for disobeying God’s law–especially in regard to His creation. As rational creatures, as the only animal in God’s Kingdom to comprehend who he is in reference to creation, man often has a difficult time seeing the divine in his neighbor. Instead of pridefully relying upon our own rational faculties that the Lord gifted us with to condemn our fellow man, let us instead submit ourselves to His will and recognize that we are not superior or lesser than one another–in the eyes of the Lord, we are all created.