- Feb 5, 2002
- 182,411
- 66,010
- Country
- United States
- Gender
- Female
- Faith
- Catholic
- Marital Status
- Married
- Politics
- US-Others
In Late Antiquity, Jesus Christ was often portrayed as a Roman god, a philosopher, or an emperor. There was no hint of femininity allowed. Today's reflections on Jesus Christ depict him differently: "An image of Christ in 2025 will be much more feminine than the ancient images," says archaeologist Lara Mührenberg.
How important is the body of Jesus?
Lara Mührenberg*: First of all, it is important to note that Christ has a body in pictorial representations from Late Antiquity. He is depicted in human form. Furthermore, his body doesn't actually play a central role in the earliest depictions of Christ that we know of. It is actually only there to show us the essence of Christ. This is surprising at first, because in our culture we are accustomed to images of Christ that strongly emphasize his physicality, especially in images of the Passion, where the tortured body plays a central role.
What did the historical Jesus likely look like?
Mührenberg: We don't know. The New Testament texts don't tell us anything about it either. A memory of his visual appearance is not recorded anywhere.
How was Jesus portrayed in late antiquity?
Mührenberg: The earliest depictions that have survived date back to the 3rd century. It is very unlikely that the Christians or the artists who created these images could still rely on oral traditions after such a long time.
Continued below.
cathcon.blogspot.com
How important is the body of Jesus?
Lara Mührenberg*: First of all, it is important to note that Christ has a body in pictorial representations from Late Antiquity. He is depicted in human form. Furthermore, his body doesn't actually play a central role in the earliest depictions of Christ that we know of. It is actually only there to show us the essence of Christ. This is surprising at first, because in our culture we are accustomed to images of Christ that strongly emphasize his physicality, especially in images of the Passion, where the tortured body plays a central role.
What did the historical Jesus likely look like?
Mührenberg: We don't know. The New Testament texts don't tell us anything about it either. A memory of his visual appearance is not recorded anywhere.
How was Jesus portrayed in late antiquity?
Mührenberg: The earliest depictions that have survived date back to the 3rd century. It is very unlikely that the Christians or the artists who created these images could still rely on oral traditions after such a long time.
Continued below.
Modernist impulse to feminise Jesus
cathcon.blogspot.com
