Why does most art portray Jesus as white/Caucasian? He was born in the Middle East and I'm pretty sure he looked like everyone else. I just got this email advertising this "Portrait of Jesus" and I'm pretty sure I don't want it hanging in my house or church. In college I once visited an inner city church that was predominantly black, and up front they had this large painting (I think it was a painting) of Jesus...and He was black. I had never really considered it before, but that started me thinking about the race we portray Jesus in.
And in addition to the whole "what color was Jesus and why do we portray him in our own skin color," I have issues with art depicting Jesus anyway. I don't want to have a physical picture of Jesus in my mind when I think about Jesus, at least not a physical picture that is based solely on how an artist chooses to paint Him. Don't get me wrong, I think some religious art can help you have a better understanding of Jesus or reflect on a way someone else sees Jesus in his or her own life, but I'd be fine doing away with religious art that means nothing and has no purpose.
April 10, 2008, 11:21AM
Well I think you have a point about his race . As far as I can tell Jesus was a Hebrew .Which doesn't bother me one way or the other . However I think Jesus has the ability to be all things to all people . I think that whatever someone chooses to think as far as what color he is is alright as long as they don't make a bigoted issue of it , or in other words make it a point to stand on as to why white is better than black and so forth.
clearspoken's Blog 
