How do you imagine Jesus? Does it matter to you how he looked?

[Joker]

I don't recall ever seeing a white, blond hair, and blue eyed Jesus. I've always pictured Him as dark skinned with dark hair. The hair has always been long because I've never seen a short haired version. I also don't think it matters at all. 

[Catwoman]

I'm a non-Christian, but I still have a mental picture of Jesus. I imagine he looked like the picture that's been floating around, but with long hair. I can't seem to get rid of the idea that he had hippie hair.

 

I saw someone online yesterday make the argument that since his friends had names like Luke and John, obviously Jesus was white. :banghead: There was so much incorrect about that statement, I didn't even know how to reply.

Oh come on, Mergath. Everybody knows that Luke was on General Hospital and he was a white guy, and all guys named John are obviously white, so no wonder that online person told you that Jesus was white, too. It's just common sense. :lol:

 

Or else she was just some kind of nut.

 

I vote "some kind of nut."

 

I picture Jesus with the long hair, too. And a nicely groomed beard. :)

[Catwoman]

I don't recall ever seeing a white, blond hair, and blue eyed Jesus.

Me neither.

 

It would be like he was some sort of bizarre Mattel Malibu Jesus, hanging out with Barbie at the beach. Very weird.

 

I have never heard anyone say they thought Jesus was blond.

[Catwoman]

I am telling you, Jesus on the holy cards circa 1970 was blonde. Picture Jesus in white robes, with his blonde hair falling to his shoulders in waves, his sacred heart sort of in front of him in pulsing red and gold, staring into the heavens soulfully. With gold edging.

 

It's burned into my brain. I am sitting here and it's like blonde Jesus is floating in front of me, so clearly can I see him.

 

Don't get me started on the light up neon Mary in the grotto across the road from my house. Mary is neon blue and she flashes on and off, OK ?

No wonder you're not religious. Neon Mary and Blonde Jesus would be enough to test the faith of the Pope. ;)

[MistyMountain]

I picture him inaccurately since those were the images I saw growing up. I picture him as Caucasian with light brown long hair with a little wave to it and lighter eyes either a brown that is not really dark or blue. He has a beard but it was not really long. He didn't have really pale skin but he looks white. I know in reality he actually was Middle Eastern and had a darker skin tone and darker hair and eyes. I would prefer if he was depicted accurately especially since there is so much prejudice and fear of people with Middle Eastern descent.

Edited December 16, 2015 by MistyMountain

[Pawz4me]

We have this Warner Sallman picture at church, him being in the denomination.  Not realistic and it is something we talk about fairly often.

 

I don't really picture Jesus in human form.

 

Yes.  That's the image that was always presented in the churches I grew up in, and in the literature we used.  As an adult I realized it had to be wrong, but what we learn in childhood really does stick!

[Bluegoat]

I don't see a lit of blond, blue eyed Jesus depictions, but I've seen some.  TBH I don't see it as qualitatively different than Africans having a black Jesus - that isn't likely accurate either. 

 

Glowing haloes and such in pictures of Jesus are a different thing - they are meant to represent, in his case, the uncreated light. (Neon Mary I cannot explain.)

 

However - I will quibble with the idea of Jesus not being white, which is a much broader category than some seem to think.  In many places, including the US census, a person of Middle Eastern, Jewish, or even North African ethnicity is still considered white.  Many Hispanics are white.  Even using the old Caucasian designation, people of middle eastern descent are often considered Caucasian (though some divide it up differently.)

Edited December 16, 2015 by Bluegoat

[Bluegoat]

I am telling you, Jesus on the holy cards circa 1970 was blonde. Picture Jesus in white robes, with his blonde hair falling to his shoulders in waves, his sacred heart sort of in front of him in pulsing red and gold, staring into the heavens soulfully. With gold edging. 

 

It's burned into my brain. I am sitting here and it's like blonde Jesus is floating in front of me, so clearly can I see him.

 

Don't get me started on the light up neon Mary in the grotto across the road from my house. Mary is neon blue and she flashes on and off, OK ?

 

There is a rather funny explanation of these kinds of depictions in the book Fifth Business. It refers not just to the Jesus depictions, but all those saint cards where the male saints look so very clean and scrubbed and soft-skinned and rosy.

 

An old Jesuit tells the main character that it is meant to appeal to Italian housewives (1950s housewives), so the saints look as different as possible from their husbands who have rough hands and put their cold feet on the wives backsides to keep them warm in bed.

 

It's meant to be amusing but I think there is probably some truth to the idea that they are not really meant to be realistic so much as to convey an ideal of some sort.

[Isabella]

My picture of the earthly form of Jesus is something very similar to Russell Brand, although it seems sacrilegious to say it!

[Mimm]

I picture him white (pale skin, light brown wavy hair) because that's how he's always depicted, but looks are very much not important to me. I realize he looked very different and I do agree that it's ridiculous how we portray him. I saw the picture that was released this week and I'm not at all upset or unhappy to think that Jesus actually looked like that. When I actually think of Jesus, his message and the way he treated people are what stand out and what was important.

Edited December 16, 2015 by Mimm

[elegantlion]

Yes.  That's the image that was always presented in the churches I grew up in, and in the literature we used.  As an adult I realized it had to be wrong, but what we learn in childhood really does stick!

 

That's the picture I had as a child as well. the current Middle eastern likeness is more how I picture him really looking. I think it's from about 2002 and since seeing that, I picture Jesus that way. I for one, do think it's important that we consider Jesus did not look like us (speaking as a white person with mostly English, French, and German ancestry). Again, to me, it's conditioning and I do know a lot of people who faithfully worship Jesus as part of the trinity but have a fearful gut reaction when they see a middle-eastern male. It's disingenuous to sell Jesus as a blue-eyed white dude when in all likelihood he wasn't. 

 

Artwork, okay, I get that. Artwork is an interpretation, but it should be taught as interpretation, not actual recreation. 

[MercyA]

I am telling you, Jesus on the holy cards circa 1970 was blonde. 

 

The very popular Golden Children's Bible apparently depicts Jesus as blonde and blue-eyed, even though he has dark hair on the cover of the Bible. Quite a few of the Amazon reviews mention it, and it's one reason I chose not to buy that particular Bible. It was first published in the 60's.

[MercyA]

Sometimes I picture Him as a white light, which I suppose is not too far off of His description in Revelation. At other times I picture Him as a strong, gentle, dark-haired man. 

[Laurie4b]

 

I saw someone online yesterday make the argument that since his friends had names like Luke and John, obviously Jesus was white.  :banghead:  There was so much incorrect about that statement, I didn't even know how to reply.

 

That's actually funny!  What can you do but shake your head? 

[need2read]

I think of him as having an average Middle Eastern Semitic appearance. The Bible makes it pretty clear that there was nothing about his physical appearance that would have made him stand out among everyone else in the region.

 

 

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[Lb20inblue]

I think it's really important that we stress that he would look like an average middle eastern guy. I think it's really important that we stress where he came from because many people in the united states states have an unhealthy amount of fear about people from that general area.

 

Also, while the US censuses may consider people of the Middle East and North Africa to be Caucasian, socially this is not the case. So it's important, I think for Jesus's representation to be as accurate as possible, meaning he shouldn't be pictured with fair skin and light hair.

[Lb20inblue]

There is a joke a friend told me yesterday about how everyon likes the Canadian singer/rapper Drake because he reminds everyone of what Jesus would look like 😅 Lol

[Bluegoat]

The very popular Golden Children's Bible apparently depicts Jesus as blonde and blue-eyed, even though he has dark hair on the cover of the Bible. Quite a few of the Amazon reviews mention it, and it's one reason I chose not to buy that particular Bible. It was first published in the 60's.

We have that one, he is a very golden blond, though I haven't particularly noticed his eyes.

 

A lot of the other people in the stories are dark, and so Jesus really kind of stands out from them in the pictures, especially since he is generally the only one all in white.  Which may have been part of the point I suppose.

[Bluegoat]

I think it's really important that we stress that he would look like an average middle eastern guy. I think it's really important that we stress where he came from because many people in the united states states have an unhealthy amount of fear about people from that general area.

 

Also, while the US censuses may consider people of the Middle East and North Africa to be Caucasian, socially this is not the case. So it's important, I think for Jesus's representation to be as accurate as possible, meaning he shouldn't be pictured with fair skin and light hair.

 

What would you call them then?  Black won't work. In the last few years I've sometimes seen "brown" used, but it seems to be mostly in specific groups, not that generally. 

 

I think people do differentiate around ethnicity - say, European and non-European, but that doesn't correspond precisely to things like white or black.  For that matter, I've seen people who do use brown as a designation include Mediterranean Europeans.

[Lb20inblue]

What would you call them then? Black won't work. In the last few years I've sometimes seen "brown" used, but it seems to be mostly in specific groups, not that generally.

 

I think people do differentiate around ethnicity - say, European and non-European, but that doesn't correspond precisely to things like white or black. For that matter, I've seen people who do use brown as a designation include Mediterranean Europeans.

I call everyone brown so....I might not be the best person to ask. I think the dichotomy of black/white only make sense in the American experience.

[Reefgazer]

This is the picture we have on our wall church, as well, and so my vision of Jesus is this exactly.  It's not accurate, I know that and knew that as a kid.  But old habits (and old images) die hard and I don't worry too much about my delusion.

We have this Warner Sallman picture at church, him being in the denomination.  Not realistic and it is something we talk about fairly often.

 

I don't really picture Jesus in human form.

 

[Bluegoat]

This is an interesting site for people interested in facial features.  It gives computerized "average" faces for people from different regions.  THis is the middle eastern/asian section:

 

Faces

[albeto.]

The bible I got growing up featured illustrations in colored pencil, or pastel maybe. They were very popular. Jesus was always smiling, always hanging out with kids. That image is probably the strongest one I have. But I must have seen too many scenes from bad religious movies because in my imagination he always moves so slow and goofy, like he's concentrating so hard to not let the scarf fall off his head, and a strong wind will knock him over, an insult will make him withdraw into a deep sadness. Those re-enactments were always so kitschy, I thought. 

 

It makes sense to me that he fits the characteristics of whatever culture in which he is featured. Ancient images of El, Yahweh and his consort show them in the same style as ancient images of their contemporaries, and Jesus is no different. I don't agree that it's really important that we stress that he would look like an average middle eastern guy. I think hat's a band-aid approach to a problem of religion's own making. 

 

 

[goldberry]

It would be like he was some sort of bizarre Mattel Malibu Jesus

 

I just choked on my coffee!   :lol:  :lol:  :lol:

[goldberry]

It doesn't make much difference to me, but now that we know more about descent and ethnicity and features, what seems odd to me is when people resist the facts of that or seem to get offended that *their* idea was not really correct.  

 

I picture him as darker, good looking, smiling...  but in the end, what difference does it make?

 

When I was young, I had a picture in my head of what God looked like.  It was only years later that I realized I was picturing the giant floating head projection from The Wizard of Oz.   :huh:

[Bluegoat]

here is actually a movie called Jesus of Malibu.

[goldberry]

here is actually a movie called Jesus of Malibu.

 

That's just wrong.... 

[Onceuponatime]

It has occurred to me that a lot of the art work depicts Jesus as almost androgynous, very non threatening. It doesn't surprise me that he might be considered a kind of Prince Charming by peasant Italian housewives, lol. It could be that is why churches typically attract more women than men. Perhaps that sort of depiction was what C.S. Lewis objected to when he suggested that Jesus was not " a tame lion." Maybe he preferred a manlier version, one that he could relate to. It would be interesting to ask the OP question to a group of men.

Edited December 16, 2015 by Onceuponatime

[Onceuponatime]

here is actually a movie called Jesus of Malibu.

I saw one a few years ago, where a full grown Jesus figure fell out of the sky, became a fisherman, fell in love, and was persecuted because of his alien powers. I can't remember the name.

 

E.T.A. The movie was The Time Traveller with Adrianne Barbeau.

Edited December 16, 2015 by Onceuponatime

[poppy]

It has occurred to me that a lot of the art work depicts Jesus as almost androgynous, very non threatening. It doesn't surprise me that he might be considered a kind of Prince Charming by peasant Italian housewives, lol. It could be that is why churches typically attract more women than men. Perhaps that sort of depiction was what C.S. Lewis objected to when he suggested that Jesus was not " a tame lion." Maybe he preferred a manlier version, one that he could relate to. It would be interesting to ask the OP question to a group of men.

 

Jesus as boy band member.  Interesting.

[Bluegoat]

It has occurred to me that a lot of the art work depicts Jesus as almost androgynous, very non threatening. It doesn't surprise me that he might be considered a kind of Prince Charming by peasant Italian housewives, lol. It could be that is why churches typically attract more women than men. Perhaps that sort of depiction was what C.S. Lewis objected to when he suggested that Jesus was not " a tame lion." Maybe he preferred a manlier version, one that he could relate to. It would be interesting to ask the OP question to a group of men.

 

There are, I believe, a few book out about the feminization of Jesus.  To some extent people seem to date it to the rise of the ideal of courtly love in teh medival period.  People have linked it along with feminization of Christianity more generally, or tried to, with the decrease in male participation in religion.

[Georgiana Daniels]

There are, I believe, a few book out about the feminization of Jesus. To some extent people seem to date it to the rise of the ideal of courtly love in teh medival period. People have linked it along with feminization of Christianity more generally, or tried to, with the decrease in male participation in religion.

I've also heard that the feminization of Christianity comes from the "mushy" love songs sung to Jesus in church (that may make many men uncomfortable.) Glad that's not a thing in the EO church :)

[goldberry]

There are, I believe, a few book out about the feminization of Jesus.  

 

I always thought that was so weird.  He was a middle eastern man.  He was a carpenter, a job that entailed hard physical work.  The whole androgynous/feminist thing doesn't fit anywhere.

[MercyA]

The bible I got growing up featured illustrations in colored pencil, or pastel maybe. They were very popular. Jesus was always smiling, always hanging out with kids. That image is probably the strongest one I have. 

 

I'm curious if the illustrations were by Frances Hook? Her books were very popular when I was growing up. (Yes, I was born in the 70's.)  ;)

Edited December 16, 2015 by MercyA

[Bluegoat]

I always thought that was so weird.  He was a middle eastern man.  He was a carpenter, a job that entailed hard physical work.  The whole androgynous/feminist thing doesn't fit anywhere.

 

In terms of courtly love, it was about a kind of romantisization of life in general I think.  THink of King Arthur, for example - those are very romantic stories about warriors.  There is a kind of idealization. 

 

I suspect too the appealing to housewives thing may have some grain of truth - in a society where people lived pretty hard, dirty lives, there likely wasn't a whole lot of longing for that in their spiritual life.  It's all very well for us to want nitty-gritty realism, but we have pretty soft lives, and often can be rather hysterical when we come face to face with risk and grit.

 

That romanticism in religion was also something of a reaction to a highly intellectualized period.

 

We always seem to want to make things over in the fashion of the day.  Even the current tendency to show Jesus with a sense of racial or ethnic accuracy fits that pattern - those are things we care about, those are the categories we think about, so we emphasize them, or even create them.

[VaKim]

This is an interesting site for people interested in facial features.  It gives computerized "average" faces for people from different regions.  THis is the middle eastern/asian section:

 

Faces

Off topic, but I looked at the other categories as well, and if these are "average," then I have discovered that I am definitely butt ugly. Looks more like composites of the most beautiful people in each region. 

[Bluegoat]

Off topic, but I looked at the other categories as well, and if these are "average," then I have discovered that I am definitely butt ugly. Looks more like composites of the most beautiful people in each region. 

 

 

 

What scientists have found is that faces that are perceived as beautiful are generally the most perfectly average and symetrical.  Nothing odd or exotic.

 

So it makes sense that if you average out many individuals with a computer algorithm you would get faces that people perceived as very attractive.

[Junie]

What would you call them then?  Black won't work. In the last few years I've sometimes seen "brown" used, but it seems to be mostly in specific groups, not that generally. 

 

I think people do differentiate around ethnicity - say, European and non-European, but that doesn't correspond precisely to things like white or black.  For that matter, I've seen people who do use brown as a designation include Mediterranean Europeans.

 

 

I call everyone brown so....I might not be the best person to ask. I think the dichotomy of black/white only make sense in the American experience.

 

My girls have a bunch of Fisher-Price dollhouse stuff, including 2 houses and 2 families.  They call the Caucasian family "The Peach Family" and they call the African-American family "The Brown Family".

[umsami]

I think how we picture Jesus is really important right now, when there's so much overt discrimination against Middle Eastern folks.  Think of a revised Charles Sheldon's "In His Steps".  How would most people react if Jesus showed up today and looked like your typical Palestinian? (On a side note, one pronounces Palestine as Philistine in Arabic.)   What if Jesus was a Syrian refugee?  

 

I do remember reading a few years ago that it was unlikely he was a carpenter.  It's one of those mistranslations and he was likely more of a handyman/contractor.   Is that true? No idea.

 

Blue eyed, blondish Jesus.  

 

 

[albeto.]

I'm curious if the illustrations were by Frances Hook? Her books were very popular when I was growing up. (Yes, I was born in the 70's.)  ;)

 

Yes! My mom saved my children's bible and when she gave it to me many years ago, those pictures brought back memories. Then I found a $2 bill I'd tucked away. That was fun, too.

[Bluegoat]

I think how we picture Jesus is really important right now, when there's so much overt discrimination against Middle Eastern folks.  Think of a revised Charles Sheldon's "In His Steps".  How would most people react if Jesus showed up today and looked like your typical Palestinian? (On a side note, one pronounces Palestine as Philistine in Arabic.)   What if Jesus was a Syrian refugee?  

 

I do remember reading a few years ago that it was unlikely he was a carpenter.  It's one of those mistranslations and he was likely more of a handyman/contractor.   Is that true? No idea.

 

Blue eyed, blondish Jesus.  

 

Maybe not a bad thing.  People don't think very highly of contractors.

[albeto.]

I think how we picture Jesus is really important right now, when there's so much overt discrimination against Middle Eastern folks.  Think of a revised Charles Sheldon's "In His Steps".  How would most people react if Jesus showed up today and looked like your typical Palestinian? (On a side note, one pronounces Palestine as Philistine in Arabic.)   What if Jesus was a Syrian refugee?  

 

I do remember reading a few years ago that it was unlikely he was a carpenter.  It's one of those mistranslations and he was likely more of a handyman/contractor.   Is that true? No idea.

 

Blue eyed, blondish Jesus.  

 

Discerning what's true is difficult, as the only references to Jesus in the time of his supposed life are the bible, and Paul admits his reference is through visions (hallucinations) and Jewish scripture exclusively. 

 

ETA: While it makes sense to see him as a product of his time and ethnicity, it also makes sense to see him as a product of the time and ethnicity of any culture. Renaissance artists depicted biblical scenes while all the characters were garbed in medieval clothing, for example. Our illustrated Jesus Mercy and I talked about is very 70's in his image. I wouldn't be surprised to see a resurgence of "bad-ass jesus" in the future. Supply follows demand, kwim? 

Edited December 16, 2015 by albeto.

[Catwoman]

Yes! My mom saved my children's bible and when she gave it to me many years ago, those pictures brought back memories. Then I found a $2 bill I'd tucked away. That was fun, too.

I love finding things like that! :)

[8circles]

I only think it matters how you picture him, if it matters how you picture him. LOL  

 

I'm OK with blue-eyed blond Jesus.  Because I don't think being blue-eyed and blond is a positive.  It just is.

 

I'm OK with dark-eyed, dark-haired Jesus.  Because I don't think being dark-eyed and dark-haired is a negative.  It just is.

 

I'm OK with African-looking Jesus.  Because I don't think being African is a negative.  It just is.

 

If either one bothers you, I think that's the issue.  

[Lady Florida.]

As a child growing up in a Catholic family I pictured the typical Catholic Jesus.
 
 
 
But then this:
 

I think this is true to a point.  It's only recently that we have a global enough perspective to think about what he looked like as compared to his ethnicity.

 
And I don't really have a picture but I know now that he didn't look like the Jesus I grew up seeing. 
 

I think how we picture Jesus is really important right now, when there's so much overt discrimination against Middle Eastern folks.  Think of a revised Charles Sheldon's "In His Steps".  How would most people react if Jesus showed up today and looked like your typical Palestinian? (On a side note, one pronounces Palestine as Philistine in Arabic.)   What if Jesus was a Syrian refugee?

 

I think it matters too. People might see refugees differently if they think their savior looked like any of the men fleeing Syria. They might see Middle Eastern people differently if they saw the face of their savior in the faces of Middle Eastern men and the face of Mary in the women.
 

[beaners]

I'm not fond of the expression on the trending picture of what he might have looked like. I imagine him smiling.

[Pamela H in Texas]

I think the article's picture is a good suggestion; but as a perfect man, I'd guess he was handsome.  Maybe if you google Handsome Arab or Israeli Man?  I do like the longish hair, but I already was aware his hair probably wasn't particularly long.

I never believed he was white, sickly looking, homely, or any of the other common ways to depict him.

[PeacefulChaos]

Fwiw, I've never seen Jesus depicted as blue eyed, blonde, etc.

 

Every bible with illustrations for kids, every picture, everything - has always had him with dark hair and dark eyes.

 

I've never really 'pictured' Jesus outside of that bc I just don't, but my guess would be that he'd look Jewish lol. Whatever that even means. Dark hair, dark eyes, probably not particularly fair skinned since he spent time in the desert lol.

I've never heard anyone say otherwise.

[poppy]

Fwiw, I've never seen Jesus depicted as blue eyed, blonde, etc.

 

Every bible with illustrations for kids, every picture, everything - has always had him with dark hair and dark eyes.

 

I've never really 'pictured' Jesus outside of that bc I just don't, but my guess would be that he'd look Jewish lol. Whatever that even means. Dark hair, dark eyes, probably not particularly fair skinned since he spent time in the desert lol.

I've never heard anyone say otherwise.

 

I don't know about blue eyed and blonde but I have been to so many museums ..... Jesus almost invariably looks European, and is often pale skinned.

 

I do think how he looks matters at this political moment.  The Syrian Refugee crisis  is the epitome of a WWJD situation, and it's happening pretty close to the events of the New Testament.

[Pawz4me]

As a child growing up in a Catholic family I pictured the typical Catholic Jesus.

 

 

Wow.  I think Catholic Jesus must have spent a good deal of time on his hair, beard and make-up.  He did a really great job on the eyeliner.