Imagine you are a Native American, 500 years ago, and Europeans have come to where you live, talking of a new god. They have a picture of him, with light skin, blond hair, and blue eyes. What might you think of this new god?
One response might be to assume the god of the conquerors to be superior and accept him. This might also mean believing that you are inferior, since you do not look like the new god, and your culture has been conquered. A stretch? Not so. Recently, while visiting a Hispanic church, the author was taken aback when the congregation began singing a chorus called, “The Blond man from Galilee saved me!”
Another response of the people was to envision Christ looking more like themselves.
The people of Maracaibo, Venezuela, Esquipulas, Guatemala, and Portobelo, Panama have all created dark-skinned images of Christ, with whom they could more readily identify.
News to you? Perhaps you can more readily identify the hymn “Some Children See Him” by Wihla Hutson and Alfred Burt. Often sung at Christmastime, it includes the phrases, “Some children see Him lily white...with tresses soft and fair/ Some children see Him bronzed and brown...with dark and heavy hair/ Some children see Him almond-eyed...with skin of yellow hue./Some children see Him dark as they...And, ah! they love Him so!” 1 The children in this song each imagine the baby Jesus looks like they do.
What is the difference between seeing God in our image and seeing ourselves as made in God’s image? If we see God in our image, we may be placing our human limitations on him, including our limitations of forgiveness, love, and understanding.
Genesis 1:26-27 says not that God is made in our image, but that we are made in the image of God: “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.’ So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”
What implications does seeing ourselves made in God’s image have? It means that we have some of the characteristics of God, although imperfect. These include knowledge, the ability to make decisions, creativity, a desire for design and order, the capacity to feel and love, and a desire to be in relationships with others, among other things.
What implications do these verses have for “diversity”? God created diverse peoples, both men and women, and people of different nations, ethnicities, and skin colors: ALL reflect God’s image.
Throughout history, people have repeatedly reduced other human beings to something less than a person made in God’s image. This can be seen in caste systems, categorizing by ethnicity, skin color or race, gender, wealth, and stereotyping. For example, when the Spaniards first arrived in the Americas, there was great debate over whether or not the Native Americans were human and had souls. Huge tomes were written and an extended court case ensued in the royal courts of Spain on this subject. Many Spanish conquistadors were eager to use the slave labor of the natives and treated them cruelly, whipping them, working them, not feeding them or allowing them rest, because they considered them animals. Many other Spaniards, including Catholic priests, were outraged at this treatment. They believed that the natives were indeed people, and that this encounter with a new culture was a divine opportunity to save their souls by preaching the gospel and baptizing them. The latter view finally won out in the courts, and the king of Spain issued a decree that protected the natives and required those using their labor to teach them about Christianity.
A similar debate happened in the US, when the Constitution was being written. It read, “Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned among the several states which may be included within this Union, according to their respective numbers, which shall be determined by adding the whole number of free persons, including those bound to service for a term of years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three-fifths of all other persons.” In effect, those “all other persons”2 were slaves, and for purposes of political representation and taxation, they were not whole human beings, just 3/5 of one.
In fact, voting laws around the world reflect people’s views of who is human. In some places, one must hold property to vote, be literate, or be male. Wealth, education, and gender have dictated the degree of one’s humanity and value.
James 2:1-4 forbids favoritism based on such externals: “My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't show favoritism. Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, ‘Here's a good seat for you,’ but say to the poor man, ‘You stand there’ or ‘Sit on the floor by my feet,’ have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?”
According to Bible scholars Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown, the word translated “meeting” in verse 2 was originally “synagogue,” for this was written when Jewish Christians were still going to the synagogue to meet for worship. “The people in the Jewish synagogue sat according to their rank, those of the same trade together. The introduction of this custom into Jewish Christian places of worship is here reprobated by James.”3 With whom would you be sitting in church, if we still followed this custom? In what ways does the church in the US discriminate during worship services? It is said that Sunday morning in the US is the most racially segregated time of the week. This segregation based on externals was not only prohibited by James, but colors our view of God’s image, reflected in all of humankind.
Thoughts to Ponder:
• What image comes to your mind when you try to picture God?
• How might looking at each person you come into contact with each day as “created in God’s image” change your interactions with her/him?
