Why do christians think Jesus was white?

Question

I thought he was born in the middle east.

Middle eastern men are not white.

It is very unlikely that Jesus was white. My question is not what colour is jesus. But why do western christians portray Jesus as white, where he would have actually been of middle eastern complexion.

Answer 1

Right from the very early days of Christian art, Jesus was portrayed as if from the same culture as the artist. For example, there are early pictures of him looking like a Roman (early church in Rome). There is also art in many other cultures - I've seen Jesus portrayed as an Indian, Chinese, African and many other ways. The problem is that as Christianity spread to through western Europe most of the art showed him as European.
then, when missionaries went to spread the gospel to other cultures they sometimes used images of Jesus showing him as the same as the local culture.
I quote from a book accompanying a set of images of Jesus by USPG - "later images largely produced by local Christians for their own use, depeict the process of inculturation. jesus is truly incarneated into that culture, as into every place at every time, and by doing so transforms it into something new and dynamic."

Christians don't think Jesus was white.

Answer 2

Because they could not in the early days, conceive of any one of eastern origin being of any import as the were slightly racist back then in their views. Sadly, in many places not much has changed.

Answer 3

Not wrong there.

Jesus would not have looked like a thin white man with a beard.

Nothing wrong with his words either.

Answer 4

I agree...Jesus would have had a olive or a brown complexion.