First off, what we think is academic, because we aren’t believers of the Jesus narrative.
But, be that as it may, the argument of Jesus and color continues at a feverish pitch with those who do believe the story.
There are those who think the European Christ statues should come down because he is too light skinned.
As far as we know, there isn’t a description of Jesus that can be found from a time before about the second century.
As you can see in the above photo, ancient graffiti isn’t any help either.
The text reads: “Alexamenos worshiping God.”
Then here we have this image, possibly the oldest surviving attempt to represent him, Jesus is clearly being depicted as a Roman of Italian or Greek extraction.
But how did they decide on this image?
Remember that Jesus had previously been depicted as an abstract symbol or arcane combination of letters.
Many churches and cultures do portray Jesus as a brown or black man.
Orthodox Christians usually have a different version to that of European art.
A church in Africa, you’ll probably see African Jesus displayed.
But in most, if not all Christian churches Jesus is a white guy.
If people are made in Gods image and if God is always default white, it’s rather difficult to unravel who’s who.
Maybe Jesus was Asian...some people think so.
Then below we have, it’s either the Asian Moses or Asian Jesus/Moses receiving tablets of some kind.
Not sure about who’s doing what here.
So what was Jesus suppose to look like?
The Bible offers few clues as to his physical appearance, but we are told he was a Jew living in Judea during the first century. (he also lived in Japan, but that’s another post)
Jewish studies professor Deborah Forger thinks that he most likely had olive skin, brown hair and brown eyes.
Then there’s the discussion that Jesus could have been black.
But when white Christians hear this they often say, "He may not have been white, but he definitely wasn't black!"
We are told the Bible says that black people lived among the Israelite population, so why not?
As people are looking for Jesus, his color, his ethnicity, his true identity, isn’t it odd that the most well known individual to ever walk the earth, isn’t well known at all.
Author David Fitzgerald writes:
“The further we go back in Christian history, the more diverse it appears, and the less likely it began with a single founder. Instead there are abundant indications that its origins are tied to the pagan mystery faiths.”
Fitzgerald points out that Philo of Alexandria (c.20 BCE - c. 50) A writer, political commentator and well known Jewish statesman, perhaps the greatest Jewish philosopher of the Greco- Roman world knew nothing of Jesus.
Philo was one of the best known writers in the ancient world, with commentaries on politics and current events.
He had great interest in religion and he wrote about it.
But he says absolutely nothing about Jesus, or about Christianity.
Philo would have been there at the time and place of Jesus.
He lived before, during and after the time of Christ, and he knew all about Jerusalem.
So when Jesus starts teaching and has his procession into the Holy City, driving the moneychangers from the temple, the big trial and crucifixion, resurrection and ascension into heaven, the two big earthquakes, the darkness, and all those dead coming out of their graves on their way to Jerusalem – Philo would have seen all of that, he was there.
But apparently Philo wasn’t impressed with any of the Jesus events.
He never mentions any of these exciting things.
And as David Fitzgerald points out, “this absence is particularly strange considering what a huge influence Philo had on Christian theology. The early Christians were Philo’s biggest fans.”
Our point is this, people can argue all day long what color their deity is, but wouldn’t it be wonderful if believers just had more tolerance for differing beliefs?
Additionally, wouldn’t it be even more important to know if their deity actually exists?
