--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Sin has not destroyed the creaturely…" description: "\"“Sin has not destroyed the creaturely relationship of man to his maker, who made him a cultural creature with the mandate to replenish and subdue the e..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97f/henry-r-van-til-2-40025_heaven-and-earth_sin-has-not-destroyed-the-creaturely-rel_2238350.jpg" --- # Sin has not destroyed the creaturely relationship of man… ![“Sin has not destroyed the creaturely relationship of man to his maker, who made him a cultural creature with the mandate to replenish and subdue the earth. Sin has not destroyed the cultural urge in man to rule, since man is an image-bearer of the Ruler of heaven and earth. Neither has sin…” quote by Henry R Van Til](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97f/henry-r-van-til-2-40025_heaven-and-earth_sin-has-not-destroyed-the-creaturely-rel_2238350.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97f/henry-r-van-til-2-40025_heaven-and-earth_sin-has-not-destroyed-the-creaturely-rel_2238350.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97f/henry-r-van-til-2-40025_heaven-and-earth_sin-has-not-destroyed-the-creaturely-rel_2238350.jpg) > ““Sin has not destroyed the creaturely relationship of man to his maker, who made him a cultural creature with the mandate to replenish and subdue the earth. Sin has not destroyed the cultural urge in man to rule, since man is an image-bearer of the Ruler of heaven and earth. Neither has sin destroyed the cosmos, which is man's workshop. Culture then, is a must for God's image bearers, but it will be either a demonstration of faith or apostasy, either a God-glorifying or a God-defying culture.”” [Henry R Van Til](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-r-van-til-2/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Sin does not erase humanity's divine purpose to cultivate and steward the earth; culture reflects either devotion to God or rebellion, making cultural choices a moral test. **In simple terms:** Sin doesn’t stop humanity’s duty to steward creation; culture shows faith or rebellion. Key Takeaway Choose cultural actions that honor divine purpose. Themes faith stewardship culture morality divine purpose Mood thoughtful determined Type theological philosophical When to use this quote - environmental stewardship - community building - religious education - policy making Key Concepts theology anthropology ethical responsibility Questions to Reflect On - How can individuals influence culture toward God‑glorifying values? - What responsibilities arise from being stewards of creation? A Different Perspective Cultural change is slow and faces resistance from entrenched interests. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Heaven and earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heaven-and-earth/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) ## Related quotes > [God had one son on earth without sin, but never one without suffering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/god-had-one-son-on-earth-without-sin-but-never-one-without-suffering/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [“The yogic culture is not god-oriented – and this is what makes it an invaluable contribution to a world ravaged by wildly conflicting definitions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadhguru/the-yogic-culture-is-not-god-oriented-and-this-is-what-makes-it-an/) [Sadhguru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadhguru/) > [In this culture, God is not the highest entity; mukti or liberation is the highest goal. We are willing to use God as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaggi-vasudev/in-this-culture-god-is-not-the-highest-entity-mukti-or-liberation-is/) [Jaggi Vasudev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaggi-vasudev/) > [“There is no exception to this rigorous law of retribution, and we take it as the will of Buddha to leave no action without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaiten-nukariya/there-is-no-exception-to-this-rigorous-law-of-retribution-and-we-take/) [Kaiten Nukariya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaiten-nukariya/) > [“But you are a great sinner, that's true," he added almost solemnly, and your worst sin is that you have destroyed and betrayed yourself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoevsky/but-you-are-a-great-sinner-that-s-true-he-added-almost-solemnly-and/) [Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoevsky/) > [“Your worst sin is that you have destroyed and betrayed yourself for nothing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoevsky/your-worst-sin-is-that-you-have-destroyed-and-betrayed-yourself-for/) [Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoevsky/) > [“Just as Prometheus delivered stolen fire to man, so Eve, and the serpent, delivered man into self-consciousness, setting him up, were it not for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neel-burton/just-as-prometheus-delivered-stolen-fire-to-man-so-eve-and-the/) [Neel Burton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neel-burton/) > [If we are indeed created in God's image, then we, too, must create and then we, too, must rest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-brown/if-we-are-indeed-created-in-god-s-image-then-we-too-must-create-and/) [Erica Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-brown/) > [“By salvation I mean not barely according to the vulgar notion deliverance from hell or going to heaven but a present deliverance from sin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wesley/by-salvation-i-mean-not-barely-according-to-the-vulgar-notion/) [John Wesley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wesley/) > [By equality, one once understood equality in the very same sense in which the Bible speaks of equality: that we are all equal, inasmuch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/by-equality-one-once-understood-equality-in-the-very-same-sense-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [“Here is a man who was resigned to his fate, who was walking to the scaffold and about to die like a coward, that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/here-is-a-man-who-was-resigned-to-his-fate-who-was-walking-to-the/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [ \[Christian rebellion\] arises from the doctrine of mankind made in the image of God, and therefore protests against all forms of dehumanization. It sets… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stott/christian-rebellion-arises-from-the-doctrine-of-mankind-made-in-the/) [John Stott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stott/) > [God's image…is found not best in individual humans, but in humans as they relate to each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-timothy-johnson/god-s-image-is-found-not-best-in-individual-humans-but-in-humans-as/) [Luke Timothy Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-timothy-johnson/) > [Human life is created in God's image, and that makes it sacred.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-s-smith/human-life-is-created-in-god-s-image-and-that-makes-it-sacred/) [Colin S. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-s-smith/) > [I don't want my kids growing up with the image of God that I had -- Plato's white grandfatherly god -- because that god…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-p-young/i-don-t-want-my-kids-growing-up-with-the-image-of-god-that-i-had/) [William P. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-p-young/) ## More by Henry R Van Til > [“Rome changed the New Testament catholicity (which purifies and sanctifies as it's proper domain the whole of life) and has substituted in its place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-r-van-til-2/rome-changed-the-new-testament-catholicity-which-purifies-and/) [Henry R Van Til](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-r-van-til-2/) > [“The expectation of future glory and the joy of future redemption has its counterpart here and now in the implications for the present life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-r-van-til-2/the-expectation-of-future-glory-and-the-joy-of-future-redemption-has/) [Henry R Van Til](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-r-van-til-2/) > [“Although the realization of values in a culture may seem on the surface to be concerned merely with the temporal and material, this is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-r-van-til-2/although-the-realization-of-values-in-a-culture-may-seem-on-the/) [Henry R Van Til](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-r-van-til-2/) > [“Christians are called unto holiness and are to be engaged actively in self-purification. They are to walk in good works which have been prepared…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-r-van-til-2/christians-are-called-unto-holiness-and-are-to-be-engaged-actively-in/) [Henry R Van Til](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-r-van-til-2/) > [“Since man is a moral being, his culture cannot be a-moral. Because man is a religious being, his culture, too, must be religiously oriented.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-r-van-til-2/since-man-is-a-moral-being-his-culture-cannot-be-a-moral-because-man/) [Henry R Van Til](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-r-van-til-2/) > [“Culture is any and all human effort and labor expended upon the cosmos, to unearth its treasures and its riches and bring them into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-r-van-til-2/culture-is-any-and-all-human-effort-and-labor-expended-upon-the/) [Henry R Van Til](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-r-van-til-2/) > [“The Protestant Reformation did not merely seek to cleanse the church and deliver it from doctrinal errors, but it also sought the restoration of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-r-van-til-2/the-protestant-reformation-did-not-merely-seek-to-cleanse-the-church/) [Henry R Van Til](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-r-van-til-2/) > [“Through the Reformation, the mechanical relation of nature and grace was superceded by an ethical one, so that the restoration of the law of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-r-van-til-2/through-the-reformation-the-mechanical-relation-of-nature-and-grace/) [Henry R Van Til](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-r-van-til-2/) > [“Christ has redeemed the cultural agents, thus transforming culture also.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-r-van-til-2/christ-has-redeemed-the-cultural-agents-thus-transforming-culture-also/) [Henry R Van Til](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-r-van-til-2/) > [“Does the twentieth-century disciple have a right to discard the cultural mandate, twice given to the human race by Jehovah himself? Are we justified…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-r-van-til-2/does-the-twentieth-century-disciple-have-a-right-to-discard-the/) [Henry R Van Til](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-r-van-til-2/) [Explore all 11 Henry R Van Til quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-r-van-til-2/) ## More God image quotes > [I don't want my kids growing up with the image of God that I had -- Plato's white grandfatherly god -- because that god…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-p-young/i-don-t-want-my-kids-growing-up-with-the-image-of-god-that-i-had/) [William P. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-p-young/) > [Human life is created in God's image, and that makes it sacred.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-s-smith/human-life-is-created-in-god-s-image-and-that-makes-it-sacred/) [Colin S. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-s-smith/) > [God's image…is found not best in individual humans, but in humans as they relate to each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-timothy-johnson/god-s-image-is-found-not-best-in-individual-humans-but-in-humans-as/) [Luke Timothy Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-timothy-johnson/) > [ \[Christian rebellion\] arises from the doctrine of mankind made in the image of God, and therefore protests against all forms of dehumanization. It sets… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stott/christian-rebellion-arises-from-the-doctrine-of-mankind-made-in-the/) [John Stott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stott/) > [“Here is a man who was resigned to his fate, who was walking to the scaffold and about to die like a coward, that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/here-is-a-man-who-was-resigned-to-his-fate-who-was-walking-to-the/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [By equality, one once understood equality in the very same sense in which the Bible speaks of equality: that we are all equal, inasmuch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/by-equality-one-once-understood-equality-in-the-very-same-sense-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [“By salvation I mean not barely according to the vulgar notion deliverance from hell or going to heaven but a present deliverance from sin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wesley/by-salvation-i-mean-not-barely-according-to-the-vulgar-notion/) [John Wesley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wesley/) > [If we are indeed created in God's image, then we, too, must create and then we, too, must rest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-brown/if-we-are-indeed-created-in-god-s-image-then-we-too-must-create-and/) [Erica Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-brown/) > [I can never know beforehand how God’s image should appear in others. That image always manifests a completely new and unique form that comes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/i-can-never-know-beforehand-how-god-s-image-should-appear-in-others/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [The world is a living image of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommaso-campanella/the-world-is-a-living-image-of-god/) Tommaso Campanella > [But we had with us, to keep and to care for, more than five hundred bruised bodies of men- men made in the image…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-we-had-with-us-to-keep-and-to-care-for-more-than-five-hundred/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We tend by a secret law of the soul to move towards our mental image of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/we-tend-by-a-secret-law-of-the-soul-to-move-towards-our-mental-image/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [You can safely assume you've created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/you-can-safely-assume-you-ve-created-god-in-your-own-image-when-it/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [The image of God always abides in the soul, whether this image be obsolete and clouded over as to amount to almost nothing; or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-aquinas/the-image-of-god-always-abides-in-the-soul-whether-this-image-be/) [Thomas Aquinas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-aquinas/) > [“Were we not all created in God's image, and though we are all fallen from our original state, does not a spark of divine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-markos/were-we-not-all-created-in-god-s-image-and-though-we-are-all-fallen/) [Louis Markos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-markos/) Browse all 322 God image quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Sin has not destroyed the creaturely relationship of man to his maker, who made him a cultural creature with the mandate to replenish and subdue the earth. 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