Imago Dei in Thailand, Phitsanulok
- Feb 24
- 6 min read
Updated: Mar 7
Remember that?
It was the year of 2020, the moment when the Black Lives Matter Movement erupted in America over the murder of George Floyd. It spread all over social media like a wildfire.
I was not a believing Christian at that point of time, yet I knew in my heart and in my conscience that what had happened to George Floyd was tragic.
But if someone were to ask me in that moment.
"Why was the murder of George Floyd an injustice?"
"Because it just is!" I may have spluttered back indignantly.
Yet, I would have no logical answer to that question that wasn't based on emotion or feeling.
Fast Forward
5 years later, I am now in Thailand on a Christian mission trip.
I partnered with a few fellow evangelists, and we travelled in vans around the country to various villages to share about the Good News of Jesus Christ.
As I write this on my hotel bed,
I think the main message that I want to express in this blog is the real reason why ethnic discrimination angers us - the truth of why it pricks our hearts and conscience.
Here is the reason:
The reality of the Imago Dei gives all human beings inherent value that surpasses ethnic differences.
The Imago Dei is a Latin term meaning "Image of God" and is derived from Bible passages like Genesis 1:27. The passage explains that when God created the earth, universe and everything in it, this was how He created mankind:
So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
Whether we realize it or not, most of western society and human rights ideologies start from the above foundation. That humans are inherently valuable because we were created in the Image of God (and this only makes sense because God is infinitely valuable).
To quote popular historian Tom Holland, the author of "The Air We Breathe":
"Moderns may yawn at the idea, but ancients would choke on it. Male and female equality in God's image? Equal reigning over God's world? Unheard of!"
Most importantly, the Bible consistently teaches that God does not show favouritism regardless of people's ethnic background or culture.
Scriptures such as Revelation 7:9 paint a picture of people from every tribe and nation in heaven:
After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.
God's character is revealed as One without partiality or favouritism (Acts 10:34):
Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right.
The Beauty of Imago Dei
The whole trip from start to end was a really beautiful experience. Having the privilege to take photos of the local people and scenery reminded me of how precious God's creation is.
I also like practicing to respect the Imago Dei by asking the locals if they consent to having their photo taken. This helped them to feel safe and they were happy to oblige.
But what about...?
Let's address the elephant in the room. One of the common critiques about Christianity is that it has a history of unjust colonialism. Where the Europeans supposedly brought Christianity to the rest of the world, they also brought diseases, slavery and other human rights violations and atrocities. And no doubt, in some cases, that may be undeniably true.
How are we to reconcile these two truths together? How can the Church have the foundational truth to explaining human rights, yet have a record of human rights violations in its history?
My answers to that question may not be 100% satisfying to those who feel wounded by what the church has done poorly in the past.
But if it is any consolation, what I do know is that things have changed since then. And I was privileged to experience that firsthand.
During our mission trip, we worked with the local Thai churches to share the Christian message with the villagers. All of the affairs were conducted in a culturally respectful and peaceful way.
We prayed for the sick, gave resources to the people (such as bags of rice) and we preached Jesus Christ with local Christian Thai translators. It was Thai Christian Pastors, working with Singaporean Missionaries, to bring the Good News of Jesus to the Thai people.
Christianity is no longer just a western religion... nor was it ever truly.
The fact is, Christianity is an ancient faith, birthed in the Middle East, that spread to the West, and is now spreading all throughout Asia without violence or coercion.
I did say that I did not have a satisfactory answer to the criticism, but I'll give it my best shot anyway.
In my defence of Christian history, I'll start off with this premise: human rights violations are not unique to the Church. Why is this fact important to note?
This is important to note, because long before colonialism ever landed on the shores of the ancient empires - slavery, political murders, harsh labour and tortures were commonplace.
For example, in ancient China, systems of forced labor and harsh punishments under the Qin dynasty were well documented.
In some parts of Africa, forms of slavery predated European arrival; historians such as Paul E. Lovejoy in Transformations in Slavery document internal and regional slave systems in Ancient African states like the Mali Empire and the Kingdom of Dahomey.
In conclusion, as the Bible correctly points out, the root issue is not colonialism, nor is it Christianity - the problem is the inherent wickedness of humankind that has been present since we were removed from a relationship with God because of our rebellion towards Him (John 3:19):
And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.
To further build upon this arguement, Jesus and His disciples predicted that the Christian church would be under attack by spiritually dark forces:
And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
And, as noted by the earliest disciples of Jesus, one of the attacks of the spiritually dark forces would be to tempt the church to do evil (James 1:13-17):
Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.
This would make sense why Church history is so messy, with both good and bad coming out of it.
Balancing Christianity and Culture
The Gospel in it's purest form never affected the non-Western cultural identity.
A very special memory that brought tears to my eyes as a Singaporean Chinese Christian, was seeing all of my country men wear the red traditional clothing, worshipping our God together on Chinese New Year at Church.
During this traditional season as well, we do the Yusheng with Bible passages, and write Bible verses on the back of our Ang Pao's as we give each other financial blessings.
In conclusion...
I hope this blog explained the value of the Imago Dei and cleared up some huge misconceptions when it comes to the relationship between the Gospel, ethnicity, culture and equality of human rights.
And this is consistent to what the early Church believed in the Book of Acts and the Pauline letters:
Galatians 3:28
There is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male and female; since you are all one in Christ Jesus.
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