Examine religious teachings about what what it means to be human?

Many people believe that a big part of what it means to be human is the fact that we are relational beings. The fact that humans can have relationships with God, a higher spiritual being and with one another is partly what makes us human.Christian beliefs claim that human beings are created in imago dei, created by God as recorded in Genesis 1:26.  As mentioned in the Nicene Creed God is part of the Holy Trinity where the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit are inter-relational. The fact that humans are in imago dei suggests that we are also created to be relational, similarly to God.The Nicene Creed could also suggests that in the same way that The Holy Trinity are all part of the same spiritual being and are fully inter relational suggests that humanity has to be inter relational and work together, this is shown by the continual of the inclusive pronoun 'We'. A key Christian belief, the golden rule (Mark 12:31) , that we should 'love thy neighbor as yourself 'reinforces the fact that we should be compassionate and emphatic towards one another. It also emphasizes the importance of loving oneself and 'thy neighbor' as it is showing compassion in the body that is in the imago dei which in turn shows your love for God.

The fact that humans were created by God is what some people argue as what it means to be human.  Through christian beliefs humans were created by God on the sixth day, at the climax of creation showing humans importance. In Genesis 2:7 God said 'Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground' and let them have dominion'. God created humankind in His image and gave humans the ability to have dominion over other creatures the He had created which shows the significance of humans. It also shows humans role of stewardship within the world in order to look after God's creation that reflects His omniscience and omnipresence. This is also mentioned in Psalm 139 which signifies the importance of God and humans' dependence of God and God's relationship between God and humanity. Psalm 139 also references Genesis 2 where it says that 'I was...intricately woven in the depths of the earth' also suggesting the importance of the earth reinforcing the idea of stewardship. Furthermore it also suggests how humans are 'intricately woven' and created with importance and with great detail to each and every one of humankind showing God's omniscience and omnibenevolence. It also suggests human's fragility that contrasts greatly with God's status and omnipotence.

Another defining characteristic of being human is the fact that humans are rational creatures. This means that the fact that we can think and reason is a unique characteristic that partly defines what it means to be human. St Augustine supports this idea of humans' ability to reason is what makes us human. However this potentially could be very controversial as it is a reductionist approach hence excluding people with mental illness, babies etc. who are not able to reason. However it could be suggested that the potential to reason is what defines humans. St Aquinas suggests that reason is partly a form of revelation which leads us to God. The fact that we have the ability to try and comprehend God and have faith in Him shows the existence of God and what makes us human. Furthermore our rationality allows humans to be compassionate ad have the ability to empathize. C.S.Lewis compares humanity to angels who are much holier and closer to God. However he expresses how humans have the ability to feel and experience as humans experience the world a posteriori. Furthermore humans are able to live with feelings and enjoy experiences although they know there's a time limit and can accept an inevitable death unlike angels. This reinforces the idea that humans are rational beings and because we can think of ideas such as God, and postulate death.