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Why is Jesus Always White?

wolfgirl

Graduate Poster
wolfgirl
Joined
Apr 24, 2002
Messages
1,375
Mel Gibson's movie has gotten so much press as being sooooo realistic. But there is one point that really bothers me. Jesus (if he existed at all) wouldn't have looked like that guy. He would have looked much more like the guys from the middle East look now. Rather than being the nice boy next door who just needs a haircut, he would've been the guy you don't want on the same plane as you.

The week that the Passion movie came out, there was a documentary on either A&E or The History Channel that is the only time I've seen Jesus portrayed as he would have been. The guy they had portraying Jesus was a middle-Eastern man.

I think that if people saw this more realistic view, they might have very different opinions on a lot of things. Is it just that most xians are too uncomfortable seeing that type of Jesus rather than the blond, blue-eyed Jesus we were all taught to believe in? I thought xians were all concerned with "The Truth." Our views and opinions are shaped by so many things that it seems necessary to provide a real view of this guy instead of our idealized Western view.

Has anyone seen any other more realistic portrayals of Jesus and how do you feel about this type of historic revisionism?
 
Look fermila?

_1243954_jesus300.jpg


The bbc has an article on this here

These days I can find you pictures of Jesus with any colour of skin you like.
 
Why are there so many at all? Doesn't the bible say in many places that it's wrong to make graven images?
 
Denise said:
Why are there so many at all? Doesn't the bible say in many places that it's wrong to make graven images?
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Now that's a good question.

As for Jesus being portrayed as black, one need look no further than Madonna's "Like a Prayer" music video where she caught a lot of flack for portrying JEsus as a person of color.
 
Wolfgirl, Gibson went to great lengths to forestall the very criticism you're making. His Jesus is wearing a complex makeup/prosthetic job. I haven't seen the movie, but from the publicity stills and clips, I came to the exact opposite conclusion from you regarding the realism of Jesus' "look" in the film. I think it's outstanding, by Hollywood standards (though that's not enough to make me see the film).

For an earlier discussion of this same subject, which includes a bit of image analysis and comparison, click here.
 
ceo_esq said:
Wolfgirl, Gibson went to great lengths to forestall the very criticism you're making. His Jesus is wearing a complex makeup/prosthetic job. I haven't seen the movie, but from the publicity stills and clips, I came to the exact opposite conclusion from you regarding the realism of Jesus' "look" in the film. I think it's outstanding, by Hollywood standards (though that's not enough to make me see the film).

For an earlier discussion of this same subject, which includes a bit of image analysis and comparison, click here.
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Yeah, I figured this had probably been discussed before but I couldn't find it. Sorry for the rehash.

I read that thread just now and I still don't think he looks at all middle-Eastern. He just looks like a white boy who just got back from the tanning salon. His features are very Western, make-up and prosthetics or not. Have you ever seen a white person made up to look like a black person? It just doesn't really work. The features are too different. If Gibson really wanted to be authentic, he would've cast a true middle-Eastern actor to play the part. But I'll bet you anything it would've been less popular. And I'll bet you anything he knew that.

And as for someone's post on that thread that all of the other Jesuses in Hollywood movies looking like that, too, that just furthers my point that we don't seem to be able to handle the idea of a non-white Jesus. (For the record, I don't think there's any reason to believe he was black. He was from the middle East rather than deep Africa; he would probably be brown.) Besides, one of my points was that this movie was supposed to be ultra-realistic. In my opinion, they failed in that area.
 
One of the black ladies at my job has a picture of black jesus with dreadlocks on her desk.

I remember on the TV sitcom starring Nell Carter (I forget the name), the white kids she was the maid for (or nanny can't remember) went with her to a black church. They asked why Jesus was black. She said that everyone makes Jesus look like them, so Kermit the frog probably worshis s a green Jesus.

Sounds like a good avatar, a green kermit the frog jesus.
 
Having seen pictures of Jim Caviezel as Jesus from the passion, I have to admit, I just thought he looked like a white guy who went to a tanning salon.
 
I always liked the whiteboy/hippie look of Jesus. Kinda like a 70s Ted Nugent.
 
You know I always wondering why Jebuses best friends all had white names like Paul and John and crap. Maybe a little creative writing involved? Perhaps Jebuses original name was Tyron and he was from the mean streats of constantinople. With his primary attraction being the fact that he always "Keeps it real". It would explain why his followers had crook names likening them to bandits.
 
scribble said:

Now that's a good question.

As for Jesus being portrayed as black, one need look no further than Madonna's "Like a Prayer" music video where she caught a lot of flack for portrying JEsus as a person of color.
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Honest to gosh true story: About 5 years ago in St. Louis, a guy was scheduled to lecture at a local high school and his topic had something to do with the historical jesus character. Anyhow, some folks raised issues regarding the whole church/state issue (since it was a public high school - Lindburg for those from there), and the religious right loonies were, of course, all for it. The end result was that he did end up speaking.

One "problem" with his speech - he was making a case that jesus was a black man. Well, the religious loonies went nuts!! (yes, the same people who were all for him speaking in the first place). "You can't say that!!!", they wailed!!!

One of the local TV stations interviewed the head loony to get his side of the story. It went like this:

Reporter: So what is it that your group objects to?
Loonie: We don't think he should be telling people that jesus was black.
Reporter: Why not?
Loonie: Well, it will confuse the students. And besides, no one knows what color jesus was
Reporter: Well, if no one knows what color he was, then he could have been black.
Loonie: (blank stare for about 5 seconds)
Reporter: Is that correct?
Loonie: Well, he wasn't black

LOL! I almost fell out of my chair!!!
 
I dunno, I grew up in a house with a painting of a Korean Mary and Korean baby Jesus. Haven't you people ever been inside a black church before? Am I the only one who has seen a crucifix with a black Jesus on it?

-Elliot
 
The Central Scrutinizer said:


Honest to gosh true story: About 5 years ago in St. Louis, a guy was scheduled to lecture at a local high school and his topic had something to do with the historical jesus character. Anyhow, some folks raised issues regarding the whole church/state issue (since it was a public high school - Lindburg for those from there), and the religious right loonies were, of course, all for it. The end result was that he did end up speaking.

One "problem" with his speech - he was making a case that jesus was a black man. Well, the religious loonies went nuts!! (yes, the same people who were all for him speaking in the first place). "You can't say that!!!", they wailed!!!

One of the local TV stations interviewed the head loony to get his side of the story. It went like this:

Reporter: So what is it that your group objects to?
Loonie: We don't think he should be telling people that jesus was black.
Reporter: Why not?
Loonie: Well, it will confuse the students. And besides, no one knows what color jesus was
Reporter: Well, if no one knows what color he was, then he could have been black.
Loonie: (blank stare for about 5 seconds)
Reporter: Is that correct?
Loonie: Well, he wasn't black

LOL! I almost fell out of my chair!!!
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That's a great story.
 
I think you're all reading too much modern racial attitude into this.

Historically, our Christianity came mostly by way of Europe.

The renaissance painters always painted from living models. All those Virgin Marys, Jesuses, and so forth, are portraits of real people who sat for the paintings.
 
Re: Re: Why is Jesus Always White?

elliotfc said:
I dunno, I grew up in a house with a painting of a Korean Mary and Korean baby Jesus. Haven't you people ever been inside a black church before? Am I the only one who has seen a crucifix with a black Jesus on it?

-Elliot
Click to expand...

All around the world, historically, Jesus is portrayed as a local.

Because, you know, he's one of us.

I love the idea of a Kermit Jesus. Let's lobby for a Muppet Passion!
 
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