Christians,an interesting question for you. Can you answer please?

Question

Why do people think Jesus is some white dude with blue eyes?
It's pretty absurd. Jesus wasn't a white dude, nor was he a Black dude, as they like to depict him in Black churches. He was a Jew from the Middle East -- that means he was semetic-looking! He probably had the skin tone of a modern-day Arab. Does that notion bother a certain kind of Nascar Christian?
Oh, and since we're on the subject: why is he now depicted as being totally cut, and having 6 pack-abs? Every time I see a statue of Christ on the cross, he's got the sort of body of someone who spends 30 hours a week working out, and who eats Atkins!

Answer 1

First of all, Jesus wasn't a "dude". Secondly, who cares what he looked like, what matters is who he was.

Answer 2

I actually think Jesus was that 'semitic looking' Jew, although I wouldn't go so far as to say 'like a modern-day Arab' because people who were born 'way back when' were shorter, and lighter in weight, and didn't have as many 'vitamins' available to them. MOST 'Christians' see Jesus as the medieval artists 'portrayed him' ... which was a person with brown hair and light brown eyes, or darkish blonde hair with blue eyes ... which is the 'standard look' of most of the people in Europe. I also think that the crucifixes I see show Jesus's 'body' more realistically than most ... he's EXTRMELY THIN with ribs you can 'count' from a distance, and his muscles look so 'buff' because 'crucifixion' (hanging from a cross while attached by nails or ropes) would 'make his musculature stand out more' especially if he was 'thin to underweight' to begin with. And it really DOESN'T MATTER what people 'think' Jesus 'looked like' since JESUS was a REAL MAN AND THE SON OF GOD, and can 'never be' judged by the 'way he looks' ... so it's 'quite okay' if the PICTURES we see of him fit 'someone else's modern view' of how he looked ... I worship only the TRUE CHRIST, and not the 'pictures' or 'sculptures' ... and when I take that 'bread and wine' at church, I know that is not the 'real Christ' I'm eating, but that it is 'transformed miraculously inside me into Christ' and I 'show that' by HOW I ACT.

Answer 3

I don't believe he was white with blue eyes. He was middle-eastern, with darker skin, hair and more then likely, brown eyes. It doesn't bother me to think of him that way, that's where he was born, raised and died. Of course he was going to look like everyone else there. That just makes sense. As far as pictures and statues of him looking like he works out all the time, we don't have statues in our church. We don't believe in worshiping the cross, or a statue. That isn't Christ, it's a likeness of him. All of our pictures of him, except the one where he was on the cross, he is very covered. Although, he walked everywhere he went, and was always on the move, so he had to be in shape. And as far as him looking like he did Atkins, have you researched what they ate back then?? They were a lot healthier then we are. He probably was in good physical condition, and had a good diet, consisting of mostly fish, grain, and sometimes other meat. He went by Jewish law, so his food was probably pretty restricted. The fat intake was very low, and the carbs pretty high to sustain his amount of activity. He did exercise more then 30 hours a week, when you count how far he walked each day. It wasn't easy back in those days, and not very clean either. Just think about that when you ask questions that you haven't researched.

Answer 4

Honestly i totally agree with you about the 6pack abs thing! Well mostly the whole depicting him as a white guy in a white church and black in a black church is like when we picture Santa Claus at Christmas time...some think he is white some think hes black. But you're right he was from the middle eastern countries so he was looked at like a modern day arab probably.

Answer 5

I'm one of Jehovah's Witnesses. The Bible doesn't really tell us what Christ looked like. And as some have brought out, it shouldn't really matter. It's the PERSON we're respecting. (We don't worship him, so I can't say worship.) But our literature depicts him as a good-looking, strong man. He has a black beard & I think greenish eyes. But we don't at all say that that is definitly how he looked. The Bible does say that Jesus "continued to grow strong, both physically & spiritually..." This is a good question to bring up for those who use idols in worship. We don't know what he looked like so we don't have pictures, idols, etc. Personally, I agree w/ you. He was probably a darker-skinned, but not black, Jew. (I wouldn't call him a "dude" though :)

Answer 6

Black churches do not depict Jesus as a Black man, however at times we do refer to the description of Jesus given to us in the book of Revelation Chapter 2 when the Son of God is desribed as having "feet of brass", brass representing the skin tone of Black men. We do however acknowledge that Jesus was born into a Jewish lifestyle and his physical appearance was probably the same as other Jews. We don't get hung up on His physical appearance, skin tone or anything else. We like to focus on His deity, His life, His resurrection and His saving grace amongst other things.

Answer 7

Man's depiction of Jesus is usually far from the truth.

He would have had the skin tone of a Middle Eastern person, and, since during his time, long hair on a man was a sin, he would have had short hair and probably no beard.

There was a special on TV not long ago that "reconstructed" what he would have looked like based on the times and it wasn't even close to most artists depictions.

Answer 8

You are right. Jesus was a Jewish boy who was raised in the home of a carpenter and was himself a carpenter. He probably had brown or dark brown hair, an either brown eyes or maybe hazel eyes. He was average height and weight. However it is possible that he did have some muscle as he was a carpenter. Carpenters did at that time did gather the wood themselves from the forests and cut it. They did do a lot of weight lifting with the wood. It is most likely he built and framed houses, made doors and door frames and furniture also.

Answer 9

You are so right when it comes to the way people think of Jesus. I never really thought about it but I guess when you see many crosses with a guy that has a 6-pack they are probably thinking that since he was suffering, therefore, he is skinny as can be. I personally believe that he is just like us... does it really matter what he looked like? My truest friends are the ones that don't care what we look like. They only care about what we look like inside. Jesus was an average looking person that cared for everyone... weither they are sick or healthy, have sinned or clame they haven't sin. God love the sinner just doesn't like the sin.

I hope some of this has helped. God Bless!

Answer 10

Christianity started in the Roman Empire. Romans sculpted and painted realistically (meaning proportional) but also idealistically (everything was PERFECT), because nobody wants a fat Jesus. Also, Jesus' face was modeled after Alexander the Great. Jesus is white because modern-day painters and artists want the general public to connect with him, and feel that although he has amazing powers, he is also human. Being the same color as the people helps them relate to Jesus and picture him in their minds as whoever the want him to be.

It sometimes bothers me that we give him a false face, but he was just here to remind us of God, and to put us on the right track. So to me, it really doesn't matter what he looks like, as long as we know what he was trying to say.

Answer 11

I have never thought of Jesus as a caucasian with blue eyes. To me, those depictions were absurd.

As to the scenes where Jesus is "totally cut," I would have to say that is closer to the truth than the blue eyed, wavy haired caucasian Jesus. Why do I say that? Jesus was a carpenter. His tools would have been crude, and would have required a lot of strength to operate on a continual basis. He likely was very fit.