Imago They
One of my core theological groundings is stated in the Latin phrase, imago Dei. Based on Genesis 1:27, the statement that all people are created in the image of God has powerful implications in how we see and treat one other. An ethic of imago Dei means that every person we see reflects the image of God, the person like me and the person completely different from me.
But what is the image of God who every person is created from? Most traditional Christian images of God are of an older, bearded, white man. The image of God in Michelangelo’s “Creation of Adam.”
If we back up one verse to Genesis 1:26, in the first Biblical occurrence of God speaking about themselves, God says “let us make humankind in our image.”
Who is this “us” and “our”?
Some Bible scholars have argued that the plural speaks of angels and heavenly beings. Others believe it speaks of the trinity.
But what if God's image is not limited to a specific gender binary, but encompasses all gender expressions? God, not as man or woman, but as “us” and “our.” God who is all genders—cis, trans, non-binary, genderqueer.
The imago They (God of all genders) creates in imago Dei (all genders reflected in the image of God).
God not only creates gender diversity, God is gender diversity.
