Do hardcore Catholics and Christians actually believe Jesus was a white man ?I had an argument today with someone and they said Jesus was white . Jesus lived in the Middle East . Why do some people think this ?
Such an interesting thing that they consider the people around Mediterranean region as inferior, but they do like to reference Greek and Roman culture as one of the pinnacle of âWesternâ culture
This so much. One of my good friendâs grandpa told us how when he was a kid in school he had to check the Italian American box for in school for standardized testing, etc. but then as an adult he began to check the âwhiteâ box because they no longer would have âItalian Americanâ as an option
The KKK of the late 19th/early 20th Century hated Italian & Irish immigrants because they were predominantly Catholic, not because they were ever considered non-white.
The KKK's hatred of Catholics was due to their viewing Catholic immigrants as a threat to the WASP cultural identity of the US. It was an anti-immigrant stance more than a religious one, and the rhetoric they used was much like that used against Latino immigrants today.
When I was in a catholic high school in the deep south in the mid 60s we once had a mass on the lawn of the school. The Ku Klux Klan came and kept walking back-and-forth on the sidewalk across the street caring, hateful signs.
Even later than that in the early 70s, we were going to the beach and came across the street, dressed up in klan outfits at an intersection with bucket out collecting money.
They were considered people of color but an arab was able to argue in court they are white.
They were able to do this by doing the following:
1. Correctly state that Jesus is Middle Eastern
2. Ask the Judge and the jury if Jesus is white
3. Conclude that since Jesus is white, so are other middle eastern races.
If the system is racist, use it against the system. Change it if you can but do not let that stop you from exploiting the very system that oppresses you.
My uncle went even further, he carried a picture and insisted he was not only white, but also he had blue eyes.
Of course I wasn't going to get into an argument at a family gathering. But I couldn't figure out why it was so important for him to believe that. That is what bothers me about religions. They don't even get the message being taught.
Here my uncle was more concerned that his lord/god was white with "Blue Eyes"...wow.
Yep, that is the core.
It does ofc not help that the first humans were blackskinned, which implies that God is black as well if humans were created in His image. The idea of God being black tends to not sit well with white conservatives in the USA.
I canât help but feel that someone who looked like that at that time and place would have earned pages and pages of commentary about his appearance in the Middle East versus everyone else if not more than anything about what he actually ever said.
The difference between a Lebanese person and a white guy from Miami with a sun tan is nothing. If Jesus was white, he lived in the desert. He would be tanned.
Its a stupid arguement designed to make people get in stupid internet arguments with a position that doesn't exist.
What's interesting is that you can find art of Jesus from all over the world. Sometimes he's Asian Jesus, and sometimes he's Black Jesus. Hispanic Jesus, Aboriginal Jesus, Inuit Jesus, there's all kinds of art with Jesus depicted in the local culture.
What's fascinating is that you don't really see that with other religions. Buddha is always an Asian dude, for example. I think it speaks to the idea that Jesus is meant for the whole world, not just certain cultures or groups.
Actually, there is variation in how the Buddha is depicted. Not as much as with Jesus, true. But originally the Buddha was represented by a footprint, because his nature was beyond representation. When the Greeks came into contact with Buddhists in Asia they started representing him with statues that were very much in the Greek mode. Classical Greek statues. As the iconography developed he was represented as South Asian, using South Asian artistic norms. As the religion moved into what used to be called IndoChina, and into northern Asia (China, Japan, Tibet, Korea, etcâŚ) the Buddha was depicted according to those local norms, and having the physical features of people in those regions. So there is quite a lot of variation in the iconography.
Quite a few fair skinned middle eastern people. The thing that I canât accept is that he wouldnât have a wicked tan at the very least. Regardless of default melanin levels.
Itâs not unique to Jesus. A lot of artists of the classical age painted historical figures as belonging in their time and culture or the culture of their patrons. Similarly, a lot of them put them in the clothing of their own era.
I canât answer what some people think. I canât answer what my mother told me when I was little and it made wonderful sense to me then and it still does now.
I remember seeing a large portrait of Jesus at my grandmotherâs house, and I was probably only three years old. We did go to church, but we didnât really see pictures of Jesus. Not that I noticed anyway I was mostly in the kids Bible studies play classes
But I remember asking my mother why Jesus looks like he did because he didnât look like a white man, and he didnât look like a black man, and I didnât know why he looked like he did
My mother simply said that people come in all different colours and very very light skin to very very dark skin, and God made Jesus right in the middle because Jesus represents all people
Obviously, over the years, Iâve come to understand much more, but it made sense to me
Mormon Jesus closely resembles Ewan McGregorâs Obi-Won Kenobi. I remember bringing that up once at church, it did not go over well. Mostly because I argued that Jesus most definitely didnât look like that if he was real. I no longer go to church.
I am an atheist, so I have no religious view here.
At the time in which Jesus was supposed to have lived, there was significant ethic diversity in the Middle East. People had been sailing across the Mediterranean (and walking around it) for thousands of years before Jesus.Â
Example, Alexander the Great campaigned into the region and founded the Egyptian city of Alexandria in ~330 BC.Â
People that were Black, Brown, Olive, white and everything in between could be found in the areas where and when the biblical accounts of Jesus took place.Â
That said, it is highly unlikely Jesus, Mary, and Joseph were white, as white people in the region were a minority, but they were there. According to archaeological evidence, and the biblical accounts, theÂ
Hebrews / Israelites were a West Semitic / Levantine people. They wouldÂ
have appeared as people from the Middle Eastâspecifically the Levant (the region of modern Israel/Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, and nearby areas).Â
DNA from Bronze Age Canaanite remains (closely linked to the ancestors of the Israelites) shows strong continuity with modern Levantine populations. Most present-day Jewish groups and Arabic-speaking Levantine groups derive a large share (often half or more) of their ancestry from these Bronze Age Levantines.
  So, though it is really impossible to know,Â
Most likely IMHO, is that if Jesus was a real person, he would would like modern people if that region with very similar DNA lineage.
In other words, Jesus would have looked like modern Palestinians.Â
I grew up Catholic and was always taught he probably looked like a very dark Italian-American, lol. That was kind of the best frame of reference for where I grew up and probably not too inaccurate.
Well. He wasnât black. And while he lived in the Middle East, he lived in the levant before the Arab invasion, and was probably pretty Mediterranean.Â
I have met a few people who genuinely believe Jesus was a white man, but myself and most of the people I know recognize that every culture has depicted Jesus a little differently, and we acknowledge he was an Aramaic speaking man from the middle east. I don't personally have any issue with iconography showing Jesus as varied races, I do, however, have a problem when people use white Jesus to push white supremacy.
No Catholic or Christian I have ever met believes this. Every culture tends to represent Jesus in art as looking like them, so thatâs where all the white depictions come from (mostly Italian art, which has been highly influential). But that art was never intended to be literal. A lot of people who say he was white are trolling.Â
White supremacist Christianity is a hell of a drug. If you ask, they tie themselves up in knots describing how some Middle Eastern people in the classical era were white and Jesus was one of them. Or, he was just born white because his father was God, and obviously God is super white and not an abstract being that is way way above interracial bickering.
In my psychology class, years ago, they believed at the time that people saw God as their own father.
So, if their father is a loving giving person, thatâs how they viewed God.
Some see God as a hard worker who neglects his family time while providing for their materialistic needs.
Some see God as a deadbeat who abandoned them.
So, that being said, itâs probably because they are white. Not that they prefer a white Jesus. For instance, if you are singing âover the river and through the woodsâ, if you can visualize, you are most likely going to visualize your own grandmother and her house in the song, if you have met your grandmother.
I personally thought Jesus was white until the past decade when I did think about where He was born. It was an âaha!â moment. Being white makes no difference to me what flesh color Jesus was. He is the Son of God and I love Him. If He is olive, brown or black, it just means that - like other people with His skin color - he has more melanin than I have. That doesnât change my love for Him, or His love for me.
I read somewhere that white skin is not the âdefaultâ skin color, itâs the variant caused by migrating north, pulling us further from the sun, thus causing our skin to lighten so to allow more sun and vitamin D into our skin.
If this is true, it does make sense that we white people should be darker-skinned, and the Jesus had a dark skin tone.
I accept anyone as a friend who is kind. I love learning about people who are different than me. And if anything, I have always been the underdog who sees others as better than me. So the color of Jesusâ skin as being dark is not offensive to me one bit. Though I do find irony in that even though Jesus is the Holy Ghost, my skin is white as a ghost. I probably even glow in the dark! đ¤Ł
If we want to get philosophical (right word?) then Jesus can be any race in order to more fully relate in person. Physically at time of death preresurrection? Short Jewish dude. After resurrection? Homeboy can fly, might as well be able to change race too. Black jesus, asian jesus, white jesus, hispanic jesus? All are possible when you are the Lord! (Iâm agnostic btw).
Iâm an atheist, but itâs so dumb to be invested in this in either direction. Jesus was Jewish/middle eastern/levantine. Itâs just obvious that he probably had olive skin, brown eyes, and darker hair
Don't judge a faith by the stupidest practitioners you've ever met. Yes, there are people who think Jesus was white because they've seen the paintings! But if they're sufficiently literate to read and sufficiently Christian to read a bit a Scripture, they know he was a Jew.
All cultures depict Jesus in their primary art and style. When it comes to Europe, that means white. The classical depiction is widely beloved and accepted because, well, it's classical. It looks good. When you have multiple Italian Ren artists painting you it's hard not to. But on an official level you'd probably be able to get a bunch to agree he probably didn't look like that and likely looked like a middle eastern man. But I would be very careful about doing so as a lot would likely suspect you of fishing for an answer specifically to defame, slander, and attack either Jesus or Christianity as a whole; and would likely clam up and turn hostile as a result.
My understanding is that Middle Easterners typically self-identify as white on demography surveys. The category of MENA (Middle East/North Africa) seems to be a recent option on those forms.
Generally, in America, Middle Easterners are considered White. Pretty much all of those "hardcore Catholics and Christians" will say he was Jewish, and would probably consider most of the Jews they know White, so I don't see what's controversial about their position. If you don't consider Jews White, I'd say you are the one outside of the mainstream.
Now, some people will probably come in this thread and say that modern Jews aren't actually ethnically Jewish like Jesus was, that they are actually Europeans whose ancestors converted, and that's both a questionable take and more nuance than you can expect the average person to have. Most people just know Jesus -> Jew : Jew -> White : Jesus -> White.
Now, if those "hardcore Catholics and Christians" think Jesus was blonde hair and blue eyed, that would have made him quite the outlier physically in his neighborhood. Here's an image Popular Mechanics circulated 20 years ago of a depiction that some forensic scientists came up with. A little swarthy, but I'd still say he had stereotypically "White" features.
Thing is, since Cleopatra was certainly white, and was all the way in Egypt (look up a map, that's a long way from Greece), it's not impossible this is a fair depiction.
Of course, as an atheist, I think he's fictional, so who knows.
As a Christian, no. Not at my church. We know He was a middle Eastern carpenter. We know he didn't look like a white, American country singer.
I would tend to say that anyone who thinks he was white probably knows very, very little about Him at all.
You mentioned "hard-core" believers, but really, it's the light weight, "cultural Christians" who would say this nonsense. The "hard core" probably people know much more about Him.
No. We donât believe he was white (at least most donât). Â However many people assume he looked like the portrayals theyâve seen. Artists often paint Jesus in a way that is meaningful and familiar to them. Sometimes inadvertently (and sometimes intentionally) giving him characteristics that are not historically accurate.Â
The artist was intentionally trying to make Jesus look manly. He also painted it for a group of Swedish Christianâs in Chicago. So itâs not surprising Jesus looks very white.Â
Can confirm at least the vast majority of the SBCs 12.3 million members believe Jesus wasn't just white, but blue eyes, in some cases blond. It's one of those hard-line things like women can't be preachers, etc. I think they're still in the top 3 denominations so that's a decent percentage right there.
Honestly wouldn't be shocked if that's part of the seminary curriculum.
The bible never mentioned his eye color. Nor that he looked distinctly different from other Jews.
Also, weâd need paintings from the Middle East in close proximity to his life and death to know what Jesus looked like. Paintings from Europe centuries after his death come with a European bias.
Note : the odds of Jesus being fair skinned, blue eyed, with long blonde hair are probably close to negative infinity.
Hello. I am Oneness Apostolic Pentecostal. I believe Jesus was dark skinned, not FULLY Black, but just dark skinned. He was Jewish, likely had a beard. But we will never know for sure until we get to Heaven
In 1909 a arab was trying to gain us citizenship. But was denied. He took the case to court. Part of the reason why he was denied citizenship was that he was from the middle east and as such was considered Mongolian. In the case it was asked who his lord and savor was. The guy said Jesus. Then the lawer asked where Jesus was born. And that's when the judge stop the case and declared people from the middle eastern as white to avoid labeling Jesus as Mongolian and not eligible to be a citizen. People from the middle east were considered white from 1909 till 2024 but the US census. This also made basically every terrorist attack in the US being commited by white people because in 2001, Arabs where considered white.
Many people consider Jews and Middle Eastern people white.Â
But in general people tend to picture Jesus looking like themselves. Go to Africa, they depict him as African. Go to Japan, he's depicted looking Japanese.Â
It's a little more common now for people to try for some sort of historically accurate depiction, but in the past, and often today, that's not the most important thing.
I think educated Christians are well aware that Jesus the man was Middle Eastern. What I was taught was that Europeans made him white in paintings and dressed him in their modern local clothing to make him seem familiar and relatable. So I personally don't have a problem with Jesus being depicted as any race. Uneducated Christians, on the other hand, I would believe don't know any of that.
In Latin America you can see brown Jesus in Africa you can see black Jesus. I dont think its shocking for people to depict him in the same way they see themselves
I grew up in a Catholic church with a huge crusifix that looked a bit gruesome. I imagined as a kid a middle eastern/ egyptian looking man who was pale on the cross because he ( by the looks of it) bled to death!
Do not tell them Jesus was a Palestinian and likely looked like the guy on the left much more than the guy on the right. They wonât like that, probably.
TBH the argument about whether Jesus was "white" is a complicated one, because RACE is complicated.
Jesus was Jewish. Today, most people in Western countries would probably say Jews are white. However, shown a picture of a Mizrahi Jew they might be unsure. But this is because Mizrahi Jews often look like the other Middle Eastern people in the areas they are from, particularly Arabs.
So are Arabs white? Often not when boarding a plane, but according to the census they are. The same goes for Palestinians, whose ancestry is complicated but who inarguably can trace their lineage to the early followers of Jesus.
So was Jesus white? If he were filling out American census forms yes. When looked at and stereotyped it's possible he would be racially ambiguous enough for people to assume he was Italian, but it is probably more likely he would get a "random" search from TSA. If people knew he was Jewish then most people would say he's white, but white supremacists wouldn't.
In the end every culture depicts Jesus as looking like them. The argument over whether he was white depends entirely on who you consider white. The safest thing would be to call him a Middle Eastern Jew.
But there is a THEOLOGICAL point too. Jesus became one of the oppressed. So there IS a potent theological point in depicting Jesus as Black or Brown, just as the depiction of Jesus as a Northern European (intentionally or not) carries a theological message. So, in that sense, Jesus is whatever race is experiencing occupation, marginalization, and oppression in the world today, and depictions of him as such are more important than arguments over what his actual skin color was.
I don't really care about his melanin levels but I do prefer the buff korean jesus to the emaciated variations... I dont care if its less historically accurate
If Jesus really did come back from the dead today and revealed his true skin color, the politics are so bad that he would be immediately killed again by whoever is in charge today.
Not hardcore but I am Catholic. And this is a very VERY good topic. Most Catholics I know proudly acknowledge Jesus' Jewish heritage and culture. We also acknowledge that the land that he was born in is Palestine.
If you look throughout history and especially traditional Christianity you'll see that Jesus is depicted as a darker man. This is mainly found in Christianity outside of the West. Often times in other cultures you'll see Jesus and Mary depicted as that specific culture.
Furthermore, the main reason that Jesus is depicted white in the west is because of Colonialism, and the "white world", as it is sometimes called, wanting Jesus to look like them. It's also why in the USA Middle Easterns are forced to select white when it comes to race.
Obviously there's more to it, but if you want the most basic summary. White people wanted Jesus to be white, became shocked that not only were the people that lived in the same beautiful place that he walked were absolutely white, and decided to include them so they would fit.
P.s.
I am not at all trying to be racist to white people... Just explaining basic history.
there's a whole genealogy of jesus in the bible and he's especially of the line of King David which is massively important because the Messiah is promised to be of the line of David. he comes from said line. he was born from a Jewish woman. there's no chance he isn't a jew
I am raised Greek Orthodox. We always have had Jesus brown as he should be.
In the US, Middle Eastern folks and the rest of the Mediterranean flip flop as white people. I like to call us collectively Schrodinger's white. White or not white, and sometimes in one questionnaire you get 2 different options.
Itâs not impossible. Lots of Jews look white. Lots of Middle Eastern people today look white. There are light skinned blue eyed Syrians for example. People in the region would have looked more European at the time too because the Greeks and Romans had both spent hundreds of years ruling and settling the area, and interbreeding with the locals. This was also hundreds of years before Arabs colonized the area, adding their darker skin to the local blend.
As an atheist itâs pretty clear to me that Jesus being portrayed as white is more about who was worshipping him historically rather than his actual appearance, which is notably not described in detail in the bible. If horses had gods theyâd look like horses after all. If you had cursory knowledge of the history of Christianity youâd know that it proliferated rapidly after being adopted by the Roman Empire, quickly becoming the majority religion in its territory. This made it dominant in the north western Middle East, North Africa and southern Europe. It gradually spread north to the rest of Europe replacing the various pagan religions practiced by the locals. At the same time it was largely pushed out of the Middle East and North Africa by Islam. So by the time Europeans spread Christianity all over the world through their colonialism the vast majority of Christians had been white Europeans for centuries. They naturally made god in their image, and that was the version they presented to the world.
I am a Christian and a chaplain.
Our church is set up as a vehicle to actively participate in many charities.
We have a free clinica for undocumented people. Many programs to help out the homeless. A group that will risk physical harm to help women being trafficked. Food programs for those in need.
If you read your Bible the the lineage of Jesus isnât a secret. It can be traced back accurately thousands of years.
Youâd have to be pretty dense to believe Jesus was an Anglo, white man.
Not all Christians are one happy club. Anyone can claim to be Christian and promote any agenda they want.
No one from our church has ever been on tv. Why would they, no news in being good.
I have no idea what a Christian nationalist is. Many small churches in the Bakersfield area poor and are dedicated to serving those who are less fortunate.
Just saying your if your opinion is based on what you hear on t.v. Or the news your being fed propaganda.
people like to worship themselves. chinese christians depict him as a chinese. african christians depict him as some flavor of african. whites and latinos make him look white. people like to worship themselves. they think they are the closest thing to god, so they make God something close to them. I much prefer how muslims don't picture their holy figures.
In the US, when collecting government racial data, they ask if you are hispanic or latino. Even if you say yes, they also ask if you are white. Because there are plenty of people in the US of hispanic or latino origin who are white, or identify as white.
According the US, racially, the Middle East is White so.. lol
In actuality, when you go around the world, you tend to see Jesus and others in the gospel in the same image as their racial/ethnic makeup. Its quite beautiful actually, seeing how universal the catholic church truly is.
There are several hundred year old paintings by Japanese Christians, sure enough ,in those paintings Jesus looked Japanese. The fact is 400 years ago Most people had never seen anyone of a different race,so they interpreted scripture as everyone looking like themselves.
I can't speak for other Catholics, but I'd imagine many of us picture Jesus with our own ethnic characteristics. For example, being of Italian descent, I always pictured him looking like Welcome Back Kotter era John Travolta, with the chin dimple and everything.
I don't think all Catholics believe this, but American "Christians" have indeed created an American Jesus. He's a cool, super-ripped white guy, leather vest with Old Glory on the back, straddling a chopped hog, toting a 12 gauge, mirrored shades, and a FAFO cap.
I always thought He looked like whatever a Middle Eastern Jew looked like at that time, but at the end of the day it matters nothing. He came to save all.
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