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That was exactly the what the article pointed out. Westerners love the white man image of jesus whereas the actual image is likely to be quite different. Maybe, it is an easier sell (marketing-wise) to the flock.
Ok, I know you don't want anything negative and I'm fine with that but I have to ask you a question. A person living two thousand years ago in the part of the world where Jesus is said to have lived would most likely resemble the people who live there today in terms of physical characteristics. People in the Middle East don't tend to have blue eyes and are generally somewhat dark skinned because they are adapted to a warm climate. Blue eyes are more characteristic of people living in northern Europe in places like Sweden, Germany or Great Britain. It would appear to me that a great many individuals who are Christians have an idealized image in their mind of what Jesus might have looked like and for the most part they tend to imagine that he would have looked alot like they do. We see this in thousands of paintings from Europe over many centuries but it certainly isn't a realistic representation of how Jesus would have really looked. And again, I don't mean this in a negative way, I'm just trying to point out something about human nature.
You know, with all the images that have shown up over the years, I thought this jesus would like like the one in the cheese sandwich, or the potato chip. Maybe even the one imagined to be on a certain shroud.
Truth of the matter is, if such a person ever existed, no one knows what he looked like.
He is of a commanding figure, as you say on earth. His features are regular, and his eyes are of a deep blue, almost a purple blue, with such depths of love in them that under its influence you almost forget to note the color of his eyes.
The hair is a beautiful brown, worn long and parted in the middle so that it falls over his shoulders. His nose is straight and somewhat long, with nostrils very refined and showing the artistic elements in his nature. His other features are in keeping with those I have described.
He wears a beard quite long and very silky and brown like his hair. His manner is grace itself and modesty personified, and yet in him is the intensity of feeling which can show itself in just indignation when the occasion requires. And, yet, with all the great beauty of his person and the greater love of his soul showing itself, he is very humble - more so than any spirit I have seen.
I have given you a bare outline of his appearance, and you will never fully realize in your mind's eye, just what his appearance is, and only when you come over and meet him, will you fully understand the appearance of the most wonderful and beautiful and loving spirit in all God's universe.
* * *
To the non-believers, please do not post anything negative on this thread. This is for informational purposes only. Many thanks.
Isaiah 53:2
He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
Back in "Insidious Indoctrination 001", better known as Sunday School in the United Church of Canada, we were given comic books every Sunday morning that clearly showed Jesus as a a real handsome, pleasant-looking blonde-haired, blue-eyed Aryan guy. Always looking slighty skywards.
Jesus Christ on Flickr - Photo Sharing! (http://www.flickr.com/photos/40726390@N00/2354572330/ - broken link)
(note the conspicuous absence of any blood here)
Quite simply, this is NOT what you'd find in the Middle Eastern desert countries, of course, unless God was playfully toying with his only son's genotype, a bit of evolutionary tinkering. But perhaps the missing 30 (or whatever) years of Jesus' life history was taken up when he travelled up to the Scandinavian countries to get out of the sun.
This one's far more likely, if he even existed at all...
I don't know if you are aware of the mobility of spirits. Did you know that they move from place to place by merely thinking of where they wish to go and then they are there.
Isn't that the coolest thing? It's what we'll get to do when we're over there.
Peace.
Awwww; isn't that such a special and cute little fantasy.... Keep holding on to it real tight, your eyes all squinched up and all.....
(Meanwhile, the real world is hurtling you, more and more with every passing second...)
Back in "Insidious Indoctrination 001", better known as Sunday School in the United Church of Canada, we were given comic books every Sunday morning that clearly showed Jesus as a a real handsome, pleasant-looking blonde-haired, blue-eyed Aryan guy. Always looking slighty skywards.
Jesus Christ on Flickr - Photo Sharing! (http://www.flickr.com/photos/40726390@N00/2354572330/ - broken link)
(note the conspicuous absence of any blood here)
Quite simply, this is NOT what you'd find in the Middle Eastern desert countries, of course, unless God was playfully toying with his only son's genotype, a bit of evolutionary tinkering. But perhaps the missing 30 (or whatever) years of Jesus' life history was taken up when he travelled up to the Scandinavian countries to get out of the sun.
This one's far more likely, if he even existed at all...
Yup. It is about marketing. I bet if he were born in China and christianity needed to be spread in the West, his image would be transformed to the same white guy we see in movies today. In this day and age, look at the number of people having issues accepting BO as president - think how badly a non-white person would have "played in Peoria" thousands of years ago.
Link (Race of Jesus - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) also has depictions of Chinese. middle eastern and Ethopian versions of jesus.
I have no idea how we would recognize him if he returns.
Last edited by calmdude; 11-12-2009 at 01:03 PM..
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