In the Bible's account of creation we, for the first time, hear about "the image of God", since here God says: "Let us make a human being in our image after our likeness". This image should therefore be the final state regarding God's creation of the human being. It can therefore be of great importance to study this image more closely. Will there then be any possibility of becoming clear about what is really meant by "the image of God", or what lies behind this expression? Yes, there is a very great possibility of this, since it is the presence of this image in the animal that transforms the animal into a human being. The difference that there is between an animal and a human being is therefore the image of God. Wherever the image of God is not present in the human being, it is an animal. The being that constitutes the terrestrial, unfinished human being has a certain area in its consciousness that is no different than the animal's consciousness. In this area it thinks, acts or manifests in precisely the same way as the animal. It is this animal aspect in the human being that is the cause of all suffering, distress and worry, all depression and suicide. It is this animal aspect that gives rise to the mass murder that we call war, with its ensuing sufferings, destruction of life and property, destitution, hunger and misery. It was the animal aspect in the human being that made it into "Cain" or a murderer.

It is this state of consciousness that is the predominant one in the jungle and is promoted exclusively by power or the right of the strongest. According to whether one is here superior to other animals, either in strength or cunning, one takes control of the situation. Here one knows nothing about what is known as justice. And here life is forced to form itself in this way, since it is a condition of life that one has to kill in order to live. To a large extent, one lives off other beings' organisms, other beings' flesh and blood. As these organisms are the living beings' instruments without which they cannot experience life, without these they cannot perceive, without these they cannot see, hear, feel or sense, without these they cannot experience life on the material plane, here the beings live in an existence where the experience of life can exist only thanks to power or great bodily superiority over other animals. That which is primary in the animal's appearance is therefore the acquisition of this superiority. Without this, it is unable to protect itself against other animals, and without this it is unable to acquire food for itself, which is in a large area exclusively the flesh and blood of other animals. If it cannot acquire for itself this food, it will die of hunger. In order to live, the animal has to kill other animals, if it does not, it means dying of hunger itself. But as the animal cannot experience life, or be able to live without killing other animals, it is absolutely compelled to kill the other animals. But as a result, the state in which every being thinks only of itself is an absolutely vital necessity. It is the highest morality on which life in the animal kingdom or the jungle depends. The animal lives in danger of its life, wherever it is and goes. That it more and more builds itself up or trains in being able to preserve its life in such a sphere or zone is the only way to life. Here power and selfishness are the highest virtues. Here the fifth commandment does not exist. To obey this commandment by not killing would mean suicide because here one cannot live other than by having other animal's organisms as food. Here neighbourly love or unselfishness would similarly mean suicide, since one would not be able to have the heart to defend oneself and would inevitably perish, through the other beings' coveting of one's organism or instrument for experiencing life. Here there is therefore no image of God in the mentality of these animals.

And still, there is implanted in these beings an automatic function that finds expression in the animal's cry of distress or cry of anguish, when it comes into imminent danger of its life. It is an instinctive function that, as we have said, automatically finds vent, without the animal being entirely conscious of it. It is this function that in the human being has become prayer to God. But the animal has no concept of a kind of God or a kind of Providence, but as it nevertheless cries out when it is in distress, thus revealing the principle of prayer, we can see here that prayer is not something invented by human beings. It is therefore an inborn, living organic function.

So what is human tendency? Human tendency is the beginnings of "Christ consciousness". Since the perfect Christ consciousness is one with the father, this consciousness is the same as the "image of God". It was this very image that was the goal in the creation of the human being. The terrestrial human being is therefore different from the animal in that it represents two images, namely, the "image of the animal", which it still more or less has in its consciousness, and the "image of God", which is the beginnings of the human being. In the human being's mentality there are therefore two worlds: the world of the animal and the world of God. The terrestrial human being is therefore different from the animal in that it has gained access to the world of God, even though it still finds itself in the world of the animal. To the degree that the being finds itself in the world of God it appears as the image of God, just as to the degree that it appears in the world of the animal it finds itself in the image of the animal. The terrestrial human being can therefore appear in the image of God and it can appear in the image of the animal.

Since it has therefore now grown up to the stage where it has a privilege that the animal does not have, namely that it can take part in deciding whether it will appear in the image of the animal, and thereby in the world of the animal, or it will appear in the image of God, and thereby in God's world, the big question for the terrestrial human being is precisely this: What is the image of the animal, and what is the image of God? As the image of the animal is the one that is prevalent everywhere and in almost all terrestrial human traditions, it is not difficult to see this. On the other hand, it is more difficult to see the image of God. It still does not occur in particularly over-sized phenomena or in a dominant capacity. As the human being, in contrast to the animal, thus has an initial ability to be able to reveal itself in the image of God, it is not flattering to the human being when it reveals itself in the image of the animal. The image of the animal consists of all the manifestations in which the human being releases anger, hatred and bitterness. Whether it is so-called holy wrath and righteous indignation or it is so-called righteousness, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, is quite immaterial. They are and can be only the image of the animal, and will, to the one who is cosmically conscious, the one who has become a Christ, helplessly reveal the human being as an animal being. The whole great world situation of today is itself simply an over-sized manifestation of the image of the animal. What is the creation of the ingenious weapons of murder, military machines and atom bombs other than a race to be the strongest power on the physical plane? Is not this display of energy a way of multiplying the infringement of the fifth commandment: Thou shalt not kill? Is not this entire excess of unhappy fates, disability, death from starvation, destitution, affliction and misery in the world a perfect manifestation of the principle of the jungle? Is it not the result of the right of the strongest? Are not all national borders, all the different nations' current political attitudes governed by the principle of the right of the strongest? Are not the business world's tendencies to monopolise, all attempts to oust each other out, the right of the strongest, the power principle? The image of the animal is to be found everywhere.

But the image of the animal is not peace and security. For this reason all human beings are crying out for peace. When the image of God becomes just as visible everywhere, then there will be peace and security. And it is only in peace and security that true life can be experienced. To acquire the ability to appear in God's image is thus in reality the absolute one and only thing that is needed in today's world for the terrestrial human being. There is absolutely no other way. Neither wealth, fame, honour nor position can afford any security at all, and therefore any lasting peace either. Yes, not even in marriage can human beings, who to an extremely high degree appear in the image of the animal, gain any security. Here there are also sorrows and sufferings in over-sized phenomena. The image of God is all manifestations that have as their aim the understanding that one has not come to the world in order to be served, but in order to serve.