Rev Dr Edmund Fong and Rev Dr Jeremy-Joe Tan attended the Theo Global Southeast Asia Conference 2025

Gloria enim Eei vivens homo.

Irenaeus wrote those words in the second century in his book, Against Heresies. It translates as “life in man is the glory of God” and underscores the significance of humanity within Scripture.

The study of this significance—or theological anthropology—is exactly why more than 20 theologians from the region gathered in Chiang Mai from 23–25 Jan 2025. The Theo Global Southeast Asia Conference 2025 was themed “The Crown of Creation: Humanity, the Image of God, and the Fall”.

Papers ranged from patristics studies, the Reformed tradition, the Old Testament, and contextual theology. Our own Rev Dr Edmund Fong share a paper too, titled “A Christological Reading of the Imago Dei”. He suggested that the image of God in humanity should properly be understood as the image of Christ. Or, as he put it, to be created imago Dei is to be created imago Christi.

This conference was organised by Theo Global. Its objective is as its name suggests: that theology can and should be done on a global level. A global Christian faith necessitates a global theology. Started by Michael Horton, Theo Global holds symposiums and conference around the world to engage theologians and Christian scholars on various topics and issues.

On a personal note, the conference was a great forum to learn from fellow Christian thinkers around the region. It was refreshing to plunge into the depths of theology again, and to connect with like-minded Christian faculty.