White Jesus?

Question

Pah!

Why do you Christians depict Jesus as a white man with straight hair?
He was from Nazareth. Go there and find a native white man.
It also says in your silly little handbook called the bible, that he had hair like sheeps wool.

Am I going to get some stick for this or what?

*Holds tight*

HELLO!
Look in any church ok?
Jesus, on a cross, white... straight hair!
I don't make this up as i go along you know!

Answer 1

A few years ago there was a sitcom on British TV called "Curry and Chips" I don't think it would be classed as politically correct these days. In one episode, the main character ( who was supposed to be half Indian half Irish , hence the title ) asked one of his white workmates, (who in the series was a racist bigot ) "Well how do you know Jesus was really white?" The guy replies "I tell yer why I know he was white, coz I ave seen a picture of 'im in the bible, yer know what pal? ......the camera don't lie!"
I think the writer of the series was having a sly dig at religious hypocrisy , don't you?

Answer 2

The answer is that it doesn't say in the bible that jesus looked anything like he is depicted by most artists (white, long straight hair, maybe a little bit weak looking)? He was middle eastern, so that would give an idea of what his skin and hair would be like, also he was a carpenter and in those days that would have been very hard work, including felling and transporting trees, so he would have been physically fit too!
As for hair like sheeps wool - that's Re 1:14 isn't it? - that was describing Jesus, not when he was alive on earth, but when he was in heaven, his hair being described in this manner may indicate that it had become white in the way of righteousness.—Pr 16:31

So really a lot of people have got it wrong haven't they?

Answer 3

Your right, white people have continally depicted Jesus as a white , blue eyed man. This is wrong. A middle eastern look with an olive complexion(no long hair)would be more accurate. The false depiction needs to stop, but it wont. Im Christian and caucasion but understand why some people are fed up with modern (and not so modern) handlings of this religion. I guess religion is the key word.

Answer 4

he is depicted just like whatever model any artist found at the time. For example, Italians used Italian models, hence in Italian art he looks Italian. It is also something a little more than this. Should an artist wish to be true to history, they could have found a darker model, however, In a period when the average christian was illiterate and recieved all information about religion from stories read to them in church or the visuals provided therein. If the visuals were of people who looked like them, they would be much more apt to connect more deeply with the stories. Therefor Jesus is white in many images of him throughout western art history. Clothing in these images is also often misleading. Sometimes you will find stories from the bible with people clothed in renaissance and medieval garb. Another example of using images that the people of the time can relate to most.

Answer 5

because that's the way he was portrayed back in the day by the artists of the Renaissance........... and people the popes hired to paint
we know this now but who wants to change an image that's been around for years? but Jesus is also depicted in other races but i guess you have yet to come across those depictions
and I'm not really christian I'm not anything
but don't call the bible a silly little handbook..... and only half of the bible the new testament is used alone by Christianity....... we share the old testament with Judaism.......

Answer 6

It is a little known fact that Jesus was black. In the Song of Solomon he is depicted as black, but a mistranslation says "bushy locks black as a raven", it is kind of embarrising to translate it linguistically but it is speaking of his rear end, one word translates and end and the other root as extremity but in the plural case extremities, the word translated as end is in the collective case (as in English -hood, contrast 'neighbors' 'neighborhood', contrast 'parkings' and 'parkinglot' (-lot in this case). In Ecclesiastese the suffix -ut for the collective case is used for 'choir' mistakenly translated "woman singers".

Also in Jeremiah 5:15 it says "...I am black..." though the context permits wide interpretation so that in and of it self provides no proof.

Also Israel came from Egypt; but establishing the ethnicity of the Ancient Egyptians is a whole other debate for which space and time does not permit. Israel became white mixing with European peoples.

Also Moses when he left Egypt was recognized immediately as Egyptian.

Also Joseph probably became dark when his brothers did not recognize him (see Genesis, last several chapters). Joseph had an Egyptian wife and Benjamin most probably had an Egyptian wife, so those two tribes were more likely darker, and Jesus was of one of those tribes.

In the main scholars will not loose their ignorance of this issue, too bad.

Answer 7

It relies upon, 80's black jesus, is not any journey for ninety's black jesus. The 80's black Jesus vs the 50's white Jesus ought to lose. notwithstanding, the ninety's black Jesus will beat fantastically a lot any jesus except perchance the ninety's mexican jesus.

Answer 8

Totally agree with you 100%

Answer 9

♥ms-mayhem♥,
I really don't understand why people care so much about this one point. It's so trivial. I'm pretty sure that Jesus looked like the average Jewish dude in those times. This is so silly and trivial.
Tsk, tsk.

Answer 10

There really isnt a lot of Christians who believe Jesus was actually white. We know what middle easterners look like.