Made in the Image of God – The Same, Yet Different
Previous Knowledge
Race is a topic that I am passionate about, but the reality is that race along with ethnicity are terms that I do not like. Today most people understand that race is a concept developed to differentiate people based on skin color and other physical features. For years due to concepts such as ethnocentrism societies developed biases regarding these differences. Many of these biases were negative, seeing some different people groups as less human than others. However, as believers in God I believe that all of mankind was made in the image and likeness of our triune God. However, we know that differences in people occurred.
- When our reproductive cells split forming egg and sperm the DNA splits is not the same leading to diversity even among siblings.
- In Genesis 10 the people started spreading out across the earth, with the assumption that this was caused by God as described in the story of the Tower of Babel found in Genesis 11.
- If (some people consider the story of the tower of Babel to be fiction) languages were confused, we can assume that those who spoke the same language migrated together forming different tribes.
- Each tribe developed their own culture based on their values, beliefs, customs, and norms differentiating themselves from surrounding tribes. Within each culture there are variations forming subcultures that can be as small as an individual family. Here I suggest that it takes at least two people to develop a culture.
- Whether you believe in evolution or not, science seems to clearly demonstrate that adaptations to the human body have occurred over time, many of these adaptations were a result of where people lived, for example, the darkness or lightness of skin depending on a people group’s proximity to the equator.
The difference between humans is really a difference between cultures not what the body looks like. Of course, how we look, where we live, where we worship, etc. all impacts who we are. Because we as humans naturally do not like differences, those in the majority have emphasized the differences that exist in the minority cultures living among us. Many times, using it to the majority’s benefit and the minority’s detriment. I could write other convictions, beliefs, and understandings but now it is time to pick up and do an inspectional reading of Coleman Hughes’ The End of Race Politics.[1]
Something that confirms what you already believed/knew
Doing an inspectional reading of Hughes book confirmed many of my beliefs. One belief is that we are all made in the image and likeness of God and differences are really about culture and not skin color. Coleman writes
“A close cousin of colorblindness is the idea of common humanity: that there is only one race that realty matters, the human race. What it takes for us to flourish has nothing essential to do with our skin color or ancestry or any other traits that people have used throughout history to divide themselves into racial groups. When we look at all the different ethnicities, races and cultures of the world, we see that fundamentally people are more similar to one another than they are different—especially when it comes to the basic principles of human flourishing.”[2]
Coleman also affirms my belief that we are tribal and that we naturally focus on differences between tribes or cultures. Coleman writes “Humans have an inbuilt tribal instinct—a tendency to identify strongly with a group, to aim empathy inwards towards its members and suspicion and hatred outward. That tendency appears to be baked into each of us at a biological level.[3] This is reinforced with his reference to a recent survey. “A recent survey found that only 30 percent of ‘Asian Americans’ thought of themselves as ‘Asian.’ Most thought of themselves as belonging to a specific ethnic group, such as ‘Korean’ or ‘Pakistani.’”[4] It seems that the majority of Asian Americans wanted to see themselves identified based on a specific geographical background, closer to their actual tribe, than a much broader one.
Something that runs counter to what you thought you already knew.
One thing that Coleman discussed that ran counter to something I recently began to consider was found in his list of falsehoods found within neoracist theology, the Myth of Inherited Trauma[5]. Brett Fuller in Dreaming in Black and White brings up the idea of inherited trauma.[6] After discussing a research study from 2013 that suggested the presence of inherited trauma on mice, Fuller writes
“The Black man’s four hundred year experience in America has been painful. Successive generations of trauma have conditioned us to be aware of the potential danger; indeed the smell of it. That said, I am not to blame all my present day dysfunction on my ancestor’s trauma. Still, I do not think it is a stretch to conclude that generations of inhumane treatment endured by my forefathers might well have a negative genetic cascading effect on me.”[7]
Fuller, having cited a scientific research article appears to make a fair generalization giving the ethics involved in repeating such an experiment in humans. After reading Fuller, I found the entire research study online and have been processing it, keeping it in the back of my mind. Coleman on the other hand presents two reasons why inherited trauma is a myth, epigenetics and that we should see this in all of humanity.
Coleman’s writing gave me a different perspective than what I had previously considered, however, overall, I found that we probably see eye to eye on more of his ideas than not. I end with this thought. Reading books that challenge ideas that we often hear in mainstream media today such as Coleman, Frank Furedi and Yascha Mounk, I find myself being challenged to figure out what is fact, fiction, or a result of different lived experiences.[8] What do I throw away or keep and what criteria am I using to make that determination?
[1] Coleman Hughes, The End of Race Politics: Argument for a Colorblind America, (New York, NY:Thesis, 2024).
[2] Coleman, 61.
[3] Coleman, 25.
[4] Coleman, 7.
[5] Coleman, 107.
[6] Brett Fuller. Dreaming in Black and White. (United States: Brett E. Fuller. 2021), 128-129.
[7] Fuller, 129.
[8] Furedi, The War Against the Past: Why the West Must Fight for Its History (Cambridge, UK: Polity Press, 2024); Mounk, The Identity Trap: A Story of Ideas and Power in Our Time, (New York, Penguin, 2023).
About the Author
Jeff Styer
Jeff Styer lives in Northeast Ohio's Amish Country. He has degrees in Social Work and Psychology and currently works as a professor of social work at Mount Vernon Nazarene University. Jeff is married to his wife, Veronica, 25+ years. Together they have 4 beautiful children (to be honest, Jeff has 4 kids, Veronica says she is raising 5). Jeff loves the outdoors, including biking, hiking, camping, birding, and recently picked up disc golf.10 responses to “Made in the Image of God – The Same, Yet Different”
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Inherited trauma is an interesting phenomenon. Years ago I spent some time in Cambodia doing short-term missions with an anti Human Trafficking agency. The founder who spent years working there noted that the generations after the war still exhibited the symptoms of trauma from the war.
Based on your closing comments, what of Hughes are you keeping? What are you discarding? Why?
Graham,
Based on your comment as well as Adam’s comment to Glyn I am inclined to discard his comments about the Myth of Trauma. However, looking over his other myths and rationale for why they are myths, I agree with much of what he says. Some of the things I am discarding are more about some of the other ideologies that are finding their way into the mainstream that Hughes and some of our other authors have argued against. CRT is one, since I have to teach it in my social work courses, I am trying to figure out how much or how to teach it.
Jeff,
I agree it has been really good to read Hughes, Furedi and Mounk. They bring up excellent points, especially on the strong push towards identity politics. I suggest that you head over to Glyn’s blog to key in on the question that I asked of him. But I will ask another, what is one thing that you think you have discarded after the last year and a half of readings?
Adam,
Thanks, I read your comments to Glyn, thank you as I had only found the article Fuller referenced. Great to know there is other material on the subject. I have been challenged how I frame history, the good and the ugly after reading Furedi. I have discarded some of my judgments. Reading Mounk and now Hughes, I find myself needing to re-evaluate my perspectives on CRT. I have to present it in my social work courses, but I need to determine if there are different ways to present the concepts that allow students to see it from different angles. I will probably pick up the book again this summer that was written by one of the founding authors of CRT and re-evaluate it through my new lens.
Hi Jeff, thanks for your post. You mention your views based on your belief that humans are made in the image of God. If you were looking at this through a non-Christian perspective, do you think you would land more closely to Hughes?
Christy,
Yes, I probably would, as a non-believer Hughes does see everyone as a human, possibly with a common ancestry. There is a video I show in my human diversity class that is not from a Christian perspective but discusses the common ancestry of all males (traced through the Y Chromosome) and of all females (traced through the mitochondria). So even though science isn’t claiming an Adam and Eve research is showing the relatedness of all people. Even with this science though it is unfortunate that there are people who still believe a difference between the races.
Christy,
Sorry, I thought I replied to you last night using my phone but it does not look like it posted.
Yes, I believe that looking at this through a non-Christian perspective I would align with Hughes. Hughes talks about a common ancestry of humans. I my Human Diversity class I show the students a video that using science discusses how all males share a common ancestry traced through the Chromosome and all females share a common ancestry traced through their mitochondria. The producers make it clear they are not talking about Adam and Eve. So even science believes we share a common ancestry and adaptations to various physical features occurred based on where people migrated to or from. Just like my social work code of ethics that mandate we treat everyone with dignity and respect, believing in a common ancestry regardless of whether it was evolution or God should cause us to see everyone as equally human.
Hi Jeff,
Do you think the tendency for individuals to identify more strongly with specific ethnic groups rather than broader racial categories could be a pathway toward reducing tribalism, or does it risk reinforcing divisions on a smaller scale?
Shela,
It is interesting to me that when my kids are filling out the FAFSA form for college, it now asks them about their cultural background, so if you are White, they want to now if your Irish, Scottish or German. I’m not sure why they are tracking that. As partisan/tribal our country is becoming, I could see this idea of identifying with your specific group possibly creating more division. Though we share a common ancestry as humans, there are a lot of people that are trying to find the devil in anyone who isn’t like them.
Hi Jeff, I appreciated your mention of Hughes’ ideas on inherited trauma—I’ve also questioned his perspective. In contrast, Gabor Maté, in “The Myth of Normalcy,” presents a completely opposing view, much like Fuller. However, clinging to the idea of inherited trauma can easily keep us in a state of victimhood, reinforcing ideologies like neo-racism. It’s certainly a nuanced and complex topic. You pose a great question at the end of your post. At this point, what criteria guide your decision to ‘toss’ or keep?