Is Jesus' portrayal in churches racist?

This is exactly how I imagine Christ:

I kind of lean towards the Shroud of Turin as what He looked like.

No. Christian Iconography doesn't need to be censored and it doesn't need to cater to the whims of racial activists.

Michael Hawk said:

Hi all,

With recent events focusing on fighting racism, do you think we should talk about how Jesus is portrayed in western churches? Fair and white, yet we know for a fact he was dark brown from the middle east.

I've been reading this article of what Jesus mostly likely looked like, based on the appearance of Isreali people at that time period.

CNN.com - From science and computers, a new face of Jesus - Dec. 26, 2002

Thoughts?

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We have no idea what Jesus actually looked like as a man.

Just because a person is white does that automatically make them raciest? No

Because most portrayals of Jesus is that of a light skinned person does that make the church and/or Jesus raciest. No .... does that mean that some will make that a racial issue? In today's world .... likely.

How about a curly white-haired snow-white skinned albino so He looked like a lamb?

After all, Jesus is called the Lamb of God.

In any case, what He looked like . . . to our Father . . . is "gentle and lowly in heart" > Matthew 11:28-30. And this is how we need to look, in the sight of God.

I can see how, no matter what He looked like, ones who related with Him very quickly discovered that they were not noticing only what He looked like.

Michael Hawk said:

Hi all,

With recent events focusing on fighting racism, do you think we should talk about how Jesus is portrayed in western churches? Fair and white, yet we know for a fact he was dark brown from the middle east.

I've been reading this article of what Jesus mostly likely looked like, based on the appearance of Isreali people at that time period.

CNN.com - From science and computers, a new face of Jesus - Dec. 26, 2002

Thoughts?

Click to expand...

Jesus was likely darker than some artists portrayed him in paintings with Northern European racial characteristics. Since many Jews immigrated to Europe there are Jews that are light skinned Jews through intermarriage, adaptation to less solar radiation and conversion. There are also darker skinned Jews in Israel and even darker skinned Ethiopian Jews in Israel. If you. look at a photo of Benjamin Netanyahu, you might see the appearance of a popular Jewish man in Israel. The Semitic people usually had larger noses. Jesus, the disciples and Paul’s early coworkers were all Jewish. Jesus talked about his desire for the temple in Jerusalem to be a place of prayer for all nations (Mark 11:17). Jesus also asked for the Gospel to be preached to all nations, not only those of specific racial characteristics.

Phil W said:

Where are all the blonde Arabs today?

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Today is 2,000 years after Jesus. Even Greeks were blond in those times and today are dark because they mixed with Turks later.

People and nations changed a lot in 2,000 years after wars and mass migrations. The near east has been under islamic rule for a very long time, todays people there are not photos of people in the time of Jesus.

What you say is true, and then we have people who sincerely believe that the Bible itself suggests that Mary, and therefore Jesus, was of a different race from what was most common in that part of the world at that time.

So are they not to be permitted to represent their religious convictions, whether accurate or not, in art?

Handmaid for Jesus said:

Wow! That is not how scripture describes Him.But I understand where you are coming from.You don't equate esthetic with dark skin do you?
Isa.53:2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.

So Jesus, the son of man, was not handsome. David was described as ruddy, not white. Red heads appear in all ethnic groups.
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Isa 53 is about Christ on the cross, beaten. Its hardly an evidence that Jesus, the son of God, perfectly healthy etc. was not physically attractive as such.

Michael Hawk said:

Hi all,

With recent events focusing on fighting racism, do you think we should talk about how Jesus is portrayed in western churches? Fair and white, yet we know for a fact he was dark brown from the middle east.

I've been reading this article of what Jesus mostly likely looked like, based on the appearance of Isreali people at that time period.

CNN.com - From science and computers, a new face of Jesus - Dec. 26, 2002

Thoughts?

Click to expand...

Undoubtedly Jesus is portrayed badly by the west. I'm not convinced we should have any image of Jesus in the church - the cross should be enough and any image including the one you show is mere speculation and would cloud everyone's judgement.

I grew up thinking Jesus looked like Robert Powell because Jesus of Nazareth was the depiction I saw as a youngster. Powell decided that Jesus, when he spoke wouldn't blink. That was his way of implying that Jesus was God.

With hindsight it makes Jesus look more aloof than Godlike. Bruce Marchiano (who at least does have a Jewish nose) on the other hand realised that there was no way he could portray God in human form for Matthew (Visual Bible) and so he opted to make him more human... and in doing so I think manages a far better portrayal of Jesus, God incarnate.

All pale in comparison to the real thing, however (who still looks like Robert Powell )

Michael Hawk said:

I mean he did take a human form. If he was white, im pretty sure he wouldn't have been able to "slip" through the crowds Luke 4:30.

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Jesus managed to evade confrontations that were willed by satan for two very important reasons:
1. He was "working" on God's timeline, which means it wasn't time for him to be arrested yet. so of course he slipped through the crowds.
2. When it was time for Him to be arrested, He was easily found, and He went willingly.

Albion said:

Since no one knows for certain what he looked like, different artists portray him in different ways. All of their creations would be candidates for destruction if the PC crowd had its way, and so would almost every other work of art produced by Western Civilization.

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I find it interesting that there are no physical descriptions of anyone in the Bible , whether of Jesus, or the disciples or anyone else. Jesus is not described at all! As he is the Savior for all. In the Old Testament there are a VERY few, such as King Saul being a head and shoulders above anyone else, The Old Testament Joseph being described as handsome of form and face, and the above mentioned Esau and David. (Esau is hairy, Jacob is smooth skinned, David is ruddy) To me, the lack of physical descriptions at all prove that the Bible is a supernaturally inspired book meant for all people for all time. (Revelation 7:9-17)

Michael Hawk said:

Hi all,

With recent events focusing on fighting racism, do you think we should talk about how Jesus is portrayed in western churches? Fair and white, yet we know for a fact he was dark brown from the middle east.

I've been reading this article of what Jesus mostly likely looked like, based on the appearance of Isreali people at that time period.

CNN.com - From science and computers, a new face of Jesus - Dec. 26, 2002

Thoughts?

Click to expand...

Neither CNN nor I have any idea what Jesus looked like. That detail isn't the focus of any of the gospel writers, who wrote their accounts to benefit Christians of their time. Of course, besides being fully God, he was fully human as a middle-Eastern Jewish person of his time.

Michie said:

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Which church is that? Awesome iconostasis...

It is a depiction of Jesus at the Byzantine-era Monastery of Agios Nikolaos of Metsovo, Greece, August 2018. Beautiful isn’t it?

Michie said:

Are you willing to think that about every culture that depicts Jesus as one of their own? The fact is He is one of our own. Every ethnicity and culture. To lower this to racism is really reaching.

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If there was a Semitic or black or oriental man depicted on the cross, would you still feel the same way? In Western art Jesus is depicted most often as an emaciated European, with no basis in fact.

pescador said:

If there was a Semitic or black or oriental man depicted on the cross, would you still feel the same way? In Western art Jesus is depicted most often as an emaciated European, with no basis in fact.

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I mean, have you read the thread??? Lol

IF your focus on Jesus is skin tone.....

You miss the point.

Do I personally believe in the typical image that is portrayed as Jesus? No.

Does it upset me? No

I also dont believe in most "Christians" theological view of who Jesus is either.

I believe that when Jesus walked this Earth it is far more likely that He was of a darker tone than I am.... but if I find out He was far darker or far lighter skinned than I am.... it doesn't change one bit of His ability to be my savior.

It is not His skin color that decided the value of His blood and the price that was paid by that blood.

If Jesus is the same "color" as me... ok.... if not... ok....

I am the skin color He made me. IF we match or not is of zero consequencene, I am to be made in His image, not He in mine.

I could not possibly care less what skin tone the Lord has. IMO to put so much value on His proper "color" is to worship a man made image of Him, not He Himself.... making the image an idol, even if it is of Jesus.

pdudgeon said:

Jesus managed to evade confrontations that were willed by satan for two very important reasons:
1. He was "working" on God's timeline, which means it wasn't time for him to be arrested yet. so of course he slipped through the crowds.
2. When it was time for Him to be arrested, He was easily found, and He went willingly.

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While interesting, that has nothing to do with the subject being discussed.

Another one.