Imago Dei – Conference of the Association of Christian Teachers
Our very own Rev Dr Steve Younger, CVE Scotland Chaplaincy Project Leader, attended the Imago Dei ACT Conference in London in September 2025 and has kindly allowed his notes to be shared with us all.
On Saturday, 27th September, I attended the annual conference of the Association of Christian Teachers. This was held in Thames Christian School in Clapham, London. Attendees were a mixture of teachers, school governors, school chaplains and representatives of Christian groups who serve schools. The vast majority came from around England though there was also a contingent from Wales and a couple of us from Scotland. We heard from three speakers.
1 Mel Lacey – Growing Young Disciples
‘Imago Dei: Teaching Humans made in God’s Image’
In Education, in schools, we are bridging the gap between sacred and secular. When calling the register at the start of a school day we are brushing up against a great mystery: “God’s masterwork is the creation of human beings who bear the image of God.” (Jean Calvin). “Humans are finite beings who bear the image of an infinite God.” (Dutch theologian). Cp. “The idea of the finite bearing the infinite (finitum capax infinitum) flourished in the thought of Martin Luther as he saw Scripture presenting truth in paradox” (www.1517.org/articles/a-reformation-question-can-the-finite-bear-the-infinite accessed 03.10.2025). So before you teach a subject in class you are teaching a soul, an image bearer of the living God.
So what does it mean to be human? Students are struggling with identity, value, belonging, purpose. We have an opportunity and a responsibility to bring everyone we meet to their true worth in God. The doctrine of Imago Dei means that every child and colleague bears God’s image. We are relational, rational, moral and purposeful because we bear God’s image. We – every pupil and teacher – are worthy of reverence, responsibility and love.
Cp. Genesis 1:24-28 Every other part of creation was spoken into existence. But humans are made by God’s hands as God’s image bearers. It is a functional image rather than a literal, physical image. Every child we teach bears the image of their Creator. They have innate dignity then as God’s image-bearers regardless of how they behave. They are also, as image-bearers, wired for relationship. Like the Trinity we are wired for relationship and every life has a profound purpose and meaning. You are not just teaching subjects in a classroom, you are forming image-bearers of the living God, awakening a God-given capacity to learn.
Sin, the Fall, has not erased God’s image – but it has distorted it. Every aspect has been distorted: heart, mind, relationships, desires. So, their hearts are now bent away from God. Students are fallen image-bearers but the Imago Dei is still there, even if seen in a cracked and distorted reflection. They are capable of remarkable beauty yet bent towards brokenness and violence. There is the hope of restoration in Christ. The Imago Dei can be redeemed though it is a slow process, unfinished and ongoing in all of us. Common grace works in our students and in all of us to create goodness that meets the Fall’s brokenness with hope. Forgiveness does not cancel the consequences of sins but how you see the children in your classes determines how you treat them, and how you treat them shapes how they will feel about themselves. Can you see in them the Imago Dei?
If they are image-bearers then they are capable of rationality, moral responsibility. The Fall has distorted the Imago Dei and suppressed their autonomy. Academic brilliance can exist alongside spiritual blindness because of this fallenness. Hearts meant to worship God instead become Idol factories; minds can be sharp but the morality dull. But because of the Imago Dei we are all still recipients of common grace – unmerited favour from God. We are still flawed but God often restrains how bad things could get. Unexpected kindnesses can come from even the hardest of students. We must look for and encourage the good gifts from God in the broken students who do not even know or acknowledge His presence. When the Image feels hidden we must remember the challenging reality that formation and re-formation can take decades. In the classroom we can plant seeds which we may never see harvested.
2 Jeremy Peckham – Government Scientist and author of ‘Masters or Slaves? The Future of AI’
‘AI in Education’
What’s the problem with AI in Education? The basic problem comes from the fact that, despite their title, AI chatbots are mimicry, not ‘intelligence’. AI is not intelligence but mimicry of human behaviours and are essentially mass statistics programmes. AI is not thinking, reasoning or understanding but sorting data according to prompts given. The problem is that many humans perceive AI chatbot behaviour as ‘Human’. Our only parameter for understanding AI behaviour is our own human-to-human conversation. AI is actually an artefact and advanced data sorter, yet we think of it in anthropomorphic terms. AI can simulate autonomy but not achieve it. The design of chatbots is also intentionally addictive: they are designed to by sycophantic in order to engage you. Their simulation of empathy is very attractive to users. An OFCOM 2023 survey on the use of open AI found that at that point 40% of 7-12 year-olds and 79% of 13-17 year-olds frequently use AI systems. 74% of girls engage with Snapchat, unaware that it is AI generated. A recent report found that, “More than half of American adults (61%) have used AI in the past six months, and nearly one in five rely on it every day. Scaled globally, that translates to 1.7–1.8 billion people who have used AI tools, with 500–600 million engaging daily. This is no longer experimentation: this is habit formation on an unprecedented scale.” (menlovc.com/perspective/2025-the-state-of-consumer-ai/ 26th June, 2025 ‘The State of Consumer AI’ accessed 03.10.2025)
AI is touted as personalised tutoring and as an aid to teachers. AI “could give every child a world-class personal tutor” and cut teacher workload (2023 Rishi Sunak). But what is AI nudging us towards? On a scale of Vice to Virtue which way does it nudge?
“Even if some individuals may benefit from AI interactions, for example where the AI functions as a benign and predictable conversational anchor, there is a growing concern that these agents may also reinforce epistemic instability, blur reality boundaries and disrupt self-regulation.” (Hamilton Morrin et al, ‘Delusions by Design? How AIs might be fuelling Psychosis’ 2025)
“You and I are living through this once in human history transition where humans go from being the smartest thing on planet earth to not the smartest thing on planet earth.” (Sam Altman, CEO ‘Open AI’, TedTalks Jan. 2025)
“Why should I be bothered to read something that you couldn’t be bothered to write?” (Teacher comment on marking work generated by AI)
3 Professor John Lennox
‘Made to Think’
John Lennox used a very engaging anecdotal approach, telling stories in response to questions.
He was brought up in Northern Ireland and his father had a business, during the Troubles, which employed people from both Catholic and Protestant communities. As a result, his business was bombed several times. John asked his father why he still took the risk of employing workers from both sides and his father answered, “Because both are made in the image of God.”
John also referred to the Genesis accounts of human creation, pointing out that we are made of the dust of the earth. We (humans) are made from chemicals common to every other part of creation, but we are uniquely also made living with the very breath of God. We are also made as intellectual and moral beings: horizontally towards one another and vertically to the Lord in obedience to His laws and His words.
John spoke of Genesis 2-4 describing what it is to be human and to be made in God’s image. This includes a commitment to truth. He commented that, “We are the first generation to face the potential elimination of truth.” A part of that elimination of truth is to challenge the faith story that we are created by God in His image. He referred to a time when the BBC had approached him for comment on a story in which he was being asked about his view on faith schools. He told the reporter, “All schools are ‘faith schools’. The majority teach a faith of pluralism and secularism.” The reporter had never thought of it that way.
Some ‘quotable quotes’:
“I am not serving God to get salvation. I’m serving Him because I’ve got salvation. It’s a gift from Him.”
“We are not just to be helpful, we are to be truthful, because Jesus is Truth.”
John’s final story (summarised):
“When I was 19, I attended a dinner with a Nobel Prize-winning scientist. In the Q&A afterwards I asked, ‘Do you think the ere is a mind, a Creator, behind all things?’ The emphatic answer was ‘No’ and I was ignored for the rest of the evening. But at the end of the meeting I was summoned to a private meeting with this scientist. I was surprised. I found myself in his office with 2 or 3 other senior staff. They sat me down in a chair and stood around me. The scientist asked, “Do you want a career in science?” I answered, “Yes, Sir, I do.” “Then,” he said, “in front of these witnesses here and now you must renounce this ridiculous belief in a Creator.” I thought for a moment and then asked him, “Sir, what can you offer me that’s better than my faith? I think I will take the risk of sticking with Jesus Christ” and got up and walked out. I am happy to say that I have had a long career in science far beyond the level I ever thought I would reach.”
[All blogs on our website are the personal view of the writer and do not necessarily represent a position taken by CVE Scotland]
