Is Jesus' portrayal in churches racist?

Brightmoon said:

These were 1st century Jews who didn’t mix with Samaritans .

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But ethnically they were the same.

Swag365 said:

I think that is a pretty difficult argument to make in view of this:

There were 1 million Samaritans in biblical times,[77] but in recent times the numbers are smaller. There were 100 in 1786 and 141 in 1919,[1] then 150 in 1967.[77]​

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That makes no difference to my point. In fact, it just goes to show that they've maintained genetic purity.

Radagast said:

That makes no difference to my point.

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Yes it does. If you have 1 million people and only 100 survive, the fact that the 100 have X trait is no indication at all that the 1 million had X trait.

In fact, it just goes to show that they've maintained genetic purity.

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No, it does nothing to prove that the group living today has maintained "genetic purity" (a hopelessly vague term by the way). A genetic sequencing of some sort may prove that. I have not looked at the question from that aspect, but please feel free to do so.

Fullness of the Gentiles said:

Only racists will care about what color skin the face of Jesus is depicted with - people who are obsessed with race.

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The skin color of Jesus comes up because race and Christianity were used for centuries to oppress non-white people, thus the topic carries real weight for different communities as it demonstrates how religion can be twisted by racism. Many cultures depict religious figures in a way that reflects their society, but the spread of Christianity, especially to Africans and indigenous Americans was pushed through the lens of worshiping a white Jesus as "whiteness" was associated with purity. Thus current depictions of Jesus are influenced by that past so the question is not about obsession, but recognizing how racism has influenced our current society.

Radagast said:

But ethnically they were the same.

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Weren't the Samaritans made up largely of people resettled from other parts of the Assyrian empire?
2 Kings 17 tells where these people came from and how they learned to worship God in the Jewish way (among their other religions).

22 For the children of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they departed not from them;


23 Until the Lord removed Israel out of his sight, as he had said by all his servants the prophets. So was Israel carried away out of their own land to Assyria unto this day.


24 And the king of Assyria brought men from Babylon, and from Cuthah, and from Ava, and from Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel: and they possessed Samaria, and dwelt in the cities thereof.


25 And so it was at the beginning of their dwelling there, that they feared not the Lord: therefore the Lord sent lions among them, which slew some of them.


26 Wherefore they spake to the king of Assyria, saying, The nations which thou hast removed, and placed in the cities of Samaria, know not the manner of the God of the land: therefore he hath sent lions among them, and, behold, they slay them, because they know not the manner of the God of the land.


27 Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying, Carry thither one of the priests whom ye brought from thence; and let them go and dwell there, and let him teach them the manner of the God of the land.


28 Then one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and dwelt in Bethel, and taught them how they should fear the Lord.

Is this important? I imagine him as white. If some other races want to see him as their color, I'm good with that. Doesn't seem like it should matter.

SummerMadness said:

The skin color of Jesus comes up because race and Christianity were used for centuries to oppress non-white people, thus the topic carries real weight for different communities as it demonstrates how religion can be twisted by racism. Many cultures depict religious figures in a way that reflects their society, but the spread of Christianity, especially to Africans and indigenous Americans was pushed through the lens of worshiping a white Jesus as "whiteness" was associated with purity. Thus current depictions of Jesus are influenced by that past so the question is not about obsession, but recognizing how racism has influenced our current society.

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Christians were largely responsible for the abolition of slavery. A lot of history is manufactured in the imagination. You cannot say what you say because you were not there.
.. all this is only now brought up by people who have become more obsessed with race than at any point in history.

No one knows what Jesus looked like. Nor, are we to try to know.


That means no believer knows yet how we will look either!



For right now? If the Holy Spirit lives in a black man? Jesus is a black man. If the Holy Spirit lives in a Chinese man? Jesus is a Chinese man. But, if the Holy Spirit is living in a Jewish man? Jesus is also circumcised!


.............

None of this is about Jesus or what he looked like. It's all about race manipulation.

Another nice depiction.

Renata8 said:

He could have looked like just about any of us, because he was not genetically related to his parents.

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He's very much related to His mother. Mary wasn't an incubator, but truly conceived the Child which grew in her, this was by the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ is flesh of her flesh, and that makes Him flesh of our flesh, human like us in all ways except without sin.

-CryptoLutheran

GirdYourLoins said:

Go do a google search fro Jewish people and look at the images you can find. They are Caucasian.

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Jewish people come in all colors and shades.

Ashkenazi Jews are pretty white, because the Ashkenazim are those Jews of the Diaspora who lived in eastern and central Europe for hundreds of years. However the Sephardim of the Iberian peninsula and North Africa look like a Mediteranean people from Iberia and North Africa, Yemeni Jews and Mizrahim are Jews from the Middle East, and Beta Israel are the Jews from Ethiopia and they are, unsurprisingly, black.

Jewishness is not an indicator of skin pigment.

A picture of Yemeni Jews:


-CryptoLutheran

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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I think whoever put together that picture did not like Jesus. Why make him look like a darker skinned Fred Flintstone? The skin and hair color is about what I would expect and similar to most of the paintings I have seen by western artists depicting Jesus in the past but the bewildered, befuddled expression is not anything I would expect to see on Jesus face. I would expect the expression of a confident and knowledgeable person.

Michael Hawk said:

Exactly, we should determine what Jesus looked like as a middle eastern Jew that lived 2000 years ago and leave it at that. In 2020 we should respect the race and appearance of the people at that time, instead of "White-washing" Jesus to fit a western image.

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If I want to white-wash Jesus to fit my image of him, who are you to tell me otherwise? If you want a black Jesus, have at it.

SummerMadness said:

The skin color of Jesus comes up because race and Christianity were used for centuries to oppress non-white people, thus the topic carries real weight for different communities as it demonstrates how religion can be twisted by racism. Many cultures depict religious figures in a way that reflects their society, but the spread of Christianity, especially to Africans and indigenous Americans was pushed through the lens of worshiping a white Jesus as "whiteness" was associated with purity. Thus current depictions of Jesus are influenced by that past so the question is not about obsession, but recognizing how racism has influenced our current society.

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I am deeply concerned that you put Christianity as a tool been used to oppress non-white people.

Where did you get that idea from?
You do know that:
1. When Christianity was first formed the people are most likely none white (as the white part of Europe are all Pagan and are killing missionaries, with the Pagan Romans.
2. Many important figures of early church are from Africa.
3. After Christianity was formed, a lot of times it is under attack from Muslim countries, in fact that is part of the reason why most of north Africa and Turkey are all Muslim today
4. Even in recent years, (the 1900s etc), Christian missionary are been killed in China, South America for doing their mission (yes some of their contemporaries who ditched Christianity for money did loot money, but are they really Christians?)

Why you put Christianity as a tool that "used for centuries to oppress non-white people"? Christianity is a religion, has no racial component in it, God is the one who chooses and picks, and God created one man Adam, his skin color is so insignificant that God didn't even mention it.

It is not worth your salvation over some skin color.

Edit: changed typo to South America

Brightmoon said:

. That depiction of Jesus wasn’t from CNN . It was from National Geographic who actually did a DNA tests of people who would have been living in the area around the year 1 . That’s how they came up with that portrait. The population had darker skin, hair ,and eyes and the approximate facial features shown . I thought it was interesting as I’d always thought it odd that a middle eastern Jew would be blond and blue eyed

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My Jewish father had blue eyes.... and blond hair. He was one of the founders of a local synagogue where I lived. Who knows? My Jewish sister also has blond. And, me? Blond hair green eyes. My Jewish mom had green eyes and dark hair... None of us were dark skinned.

When I was in Israel I met this gorgeous blond haired Jewish girl who was a citizen.
So, who knows?

Fullness of the Gentiles said:

Christians were largely responsible for the abolition of slavery. A lot of history is manufactured in the imagination. You cannot say what you say because you were not there.
.. all this is only now brought up by people who have become more obsessed with race than at any point in history.

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dcalling said:

I am deeply concerned that you put Christianity as a tool been used to oppress non-white people.

Where did you get that idea from?
You do know that:
1. When Christianity was first formed the people are most likely none white (as the white part of Europe are all Pagan and are killing missionaries, with the Pagan Romans.
2. Many important figures of early church are from Africa.
3. After Christianity was formed, a lot of times it is under attack from Muslim countries, in fact that is part of the reason why most of north Africa and Turkey are all Muslim today
4. Even in recent years, (the 1900s etc), Christian missionary are been killed in China, South Africa for doing their mission (yes some of their contemporaries who ditched Christianity for money did loot money, but are they really Christians?)

Why you put Christianity as a tool that "used for centuries to oppress non-white people"? Christianity is a religion, has no racial component in it, God is the one who chooses and picks, and God created one man Adam, his skin color is so insignificant that God didn't even mention it.

It is not worth your salvation over some skin color.

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The Bible was often used to justify slavery and racism in the United States, for example. Are you not aware of that history? I think you can research it fairly easily if you are interested.

We see instances in the Bible where Satan himself quotes Scripture for an evil purpose. Should it come as a surprise that the same has been done for slavery or racism?

dcalling said:

I am deeply concerned that you put Christianity as a tool been used to oppress non-white people.

Where did you get that idea from?
You do know that:
1. When Christianity was first formed the people are most likely none white (as the white part of Europe are all Pagan and are killing missionaries, with the Pagan Romans.
2. Many important figures of early church are from Africa.
3. After Christianity was formed, a lot of times it is under attack from Muslim countries, in fact that is part of the reason why most of north Africa and Turkey are all Muslim today
4. Even in recent years, (the 1900s etc), Christian missionary are been killed in China, South Africa for doing their mission (yes some of their contemporaries who ditched Christianity for money did loot money, but are they really Christians?)

Why you put Christianity as a tool that "used for centuries to oppress non-white people"? Christianity is a religion, has no racial component in it, God is the one who chooses and picks, and God created one man Adam, his skin color is so insignificant that God didn't even mention it.

It is not worth your salvation over some skin color.

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If it were not for a black man who carried Jesus Cross his last steps we all might not have had our sins paid for.

Some people act like Jesus was not filled with God's love when He created the black man. Created with a big smile on his face. Bigots miss a lot in life.