# Ethnicity



## DKV (Jul 18, 2011)

I recently saw a project post that got me thinking. Why do all images of Jesus and Mary depict them as white, Europeans? It must have been a very long journey for Mary and Joseph to travel from Europe to Israel (on a donkey) just to have a baby. What were they thinking?


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## patron (Apr 2, 2009)

as i understand it
in the middle ages
nobody had been out of their valley
or fiefdom
save for some merchants and soldiers

and nobody save the rich could read

so the church re-wrote the bible
to appear to be familiar with the lives of these peasants
(like who cared about someone that lived a years walk away)

in today's world
joseph and mary
would live in a chevy nova
and have their baby 
in the parking lot
at wal-mart

all of the iconic religious art is from europe too
with scenes from that time and place too

madison avenue selling religion
to the masses

just like today

for the second coming
maybe jesus will be born 
in the bario or ghetto
and overcome all the trials and tribulations

probably not born rich
and go to harvard
in a mercedes

with churches changing the story 
thru the ages to suit their needs
anything is possible


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## DKV (Jul 18, 2011)

Very convenient…a white god for white folks. If I was black or brown and christian I would demand the truth. It is never too late to come clean.


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## patron (Apr 2, 2009)

the whole world 
is tweeting for truth

stay tuned 
it could happen

just don't get rid 
of your tin-foil hat
if you have one


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## DKV (Jul 18, 2011)

The tinfoil hat I keep by the bed. It goes on first thing in the morning and it's the last thing off at night. How about you. Where do you keep yours?


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## craftsman on the lake (Dec 27, 2008)

Actually, if you go to Mexico, Korea, whatever, the iconic pictures of them are of the people of the area. Even Africa.


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## DKV (Jul 18, 2011)

That then begs the question, what did he really look like? What do you think?


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## patron (Apr 2, 2009)

i have a tin-foil pyramid over my bed
and don't leave much
it sharpens my chisels too

good point *craftman*
every one is doing it


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## helluvawreck (Jul 21, 2010)

We have very old manuscripts of most of the manuscripts of the books of the Bible from 2000 to 3000 years old. In the best translations there has been little change. We also have copies of the scribes who were trained meticulously to copy the books of the Old Testament from generation to generation. The copies of these scribed copies that we have vary little from generation to generation.

Artwork means nothing on this subject - art is art - art is created by artists - they depict their art however they want to.

The Lord Jesus Christ in the Book of the Revelation made it clear that in the latter days Christians would be hated and would have to go through trials and tribulations and maybe even die because of our beliefs. He also said that we would have a great falling away within the church in the latter days. The fact that people in this country are beginning to show their hatred towards Christians doesn't surpprise me at all. It's simply the signs of the times. People can ridicule people like me all they want to. The Lord told us that for those who followed Him there would be trouble in this world. He didn't at all promise us a rose garden.

helluvawreck
https://woodworkingexpo.wordpress.com


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## DKV (Jul 18, 2011)

Nooooooooooooo way Patron…I have a pyramid also, just was afraid to say so. Don't want anyone thinking I'm crazy.


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## DKV (Jul 18, 2011)

Helluvawreck, I'm not attacking your belief system, I'm asking what he looked like. Probably just like my avatar, right?


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## patron (Apr 2, 2009)

i like jesus
and budda 
and the dali lama

i like who and what they stand for
not to good at anyone else's religious beliefs myself
just do the best i can

i would love to sit on my deck
and talk with anyone of them

bald bearded or long haired
makes no difference to me

he just might look like you DKV
and live in sacramento too


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## ssnvet (Jan 10, 2012)

what are you, some kind of racist? what difference does it make what he looked like?

he was every man….and can identify with every man…. regardless of whether they look like him or not.

that's exactly why each culture and ethnicity depicts him in their own image…. because they see him as being just like them.

this much we know for sure…. he wasn't no hollywood star or politician, but rather, "he had not stately form, nor magesty, that we should be drawn to him"

OBTW there are rich politicians and bankers and industrialist of every ethnicity, exploiting the poor in ever country on the globe….. caucasions most definately do NOT have that market cornered.


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## helluvawreck (Jul 21, 2010)

"He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not." Isaiah 53:3

Jesus told the Apostles that if you have seen me then you have seen the Father.

helluvawreck
https://woodworkingexpo.wordpress.com


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## RockyTopScott (Nov 16, 2008)

Helluvawreck speaks the truth….....twice.


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## DKV (Jul 18, 2011)

SSNVET, I'll say it once more. I'm not disparaging your beliefs. What I want to know is what he looked like in real life. You don't have to preach to me being a racist, etc. Again, what did he look like even though it doesn't matter to you. Help me out here.
Patron, he may look like me but I can promise he would not live in Sac when he has San Diego to choose from.
RockyTop, I'm glad for helluvawreck…...twice.


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## CharlieM1958 (Nov 7, 2006)

"*That then begs the question, what did he really look like? What do you think?*"

I have my suspicions…..


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## RockyTopScott (Nov 16, 2008)

Except the Salvation of Jesus and one day you will see what he looks like.


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## helluvawreck (Jul 21, 2010)

DKV, what difference does it make who or what He looked like? The Bible doesn't actually describe His looks in detail I don't think. His mother Mary was a simple Hebrew peasant woman who lived in a poor village. His occupation for probably over half of His first thirty years was a simple village carpenter. Common sense would tell me that He looked and dressed like very many of the peasants from that village in that day and time. Perhaps they all looked like this fellow in Charlie's picture but I sort of doubt it. ;-|

helluvawreck aka Charles
http://woodworkingexpo.wordpress.com


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## 280305 (Sep 28, 2008)

Charlie,

How long ago was it that you had that much hair on your head?


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## derosa (Aug 21, 2010)

DKV- a lot of the iconography of Jesus that you see is here in the west in actually greatly influenced by renaissance artists who didn't know what the people of Jesus' time wore and painted the complexion in the manner most pleasing to their patrons. The result is that for the Catholic based western civilization Christ is a white man. 
To get at what he actually looked like, probably a lot like modern day Palestinians; I use them and not Jews because many Jews emigrated to the area from Europe and the US following WWII and their overall appearance did change some. Abraham was Mesopotamian his descendants married more local women, from Joseph to Moses they resided in Egypt and there was probably some Egyption added to the pool. We know that various Canaanite bloods were added to the mix at times such as with Ruth the Moabite. Descending through the kings the Bible isn't particular about who the mother was, just the father and the Kings did marry outsiders from all over the Holy Land. Greek later adds into the mix. So really Jesus probably was a very dark skinned man of general Holy Land appearance.

In my living room I have a painting of a black Madonna that my father painted it, on it he painted several prayer cards that shows the Madonna as Indian, Hispanic and White. I prefer to put less emphasis on appearance and more beliefs although we can't help wanting Christ to look however is most comforting to us. Besides we all really know that Christ is really White, perfectly formed and really spoke English which is God's language so no worries. ;P


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## tomd (Jan 29, 2008)

A couple of months ago I watched a program that asked the same question, I believe it was the Discovery Channel. They took the skelton of the average Hebrew man of that time and had a forensic antropoligist do a recreation of the average Hebrew man's face. It was very interesting, the result was a meduim dark skinned very Hebrew looking man, nothing like we have been shown for years. I think it is interesting to see him physically in trying to understand everything about such an important man.


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## DKV (Jul 18, 2011)

At last. Thank you derosa and tomd. I appreciate the feedback.


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## redryder (Nov 28, 2009)

DKV: Very convenient…a white god for white folks. If I was black or brown and christian I would demand the truth. It is never too late to come clean.

I think you don't really care what he looked like. 
I think you just want to start trouble…........................


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## DKV (Jul 18, 2011)

Mike, my question was strictly out of curiosity. No evil intentions. BTW, I attended 3rd and 4th grades in Chehalis at St Joseph's catholic school.


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## Magnum (Feb 5, 2010)

*David:*

After this:

*in today's world
joseph and mary
would live in a chevy nova
and have their baby 
in the parking lot
at wal-mart*

You can drag your Buns Up Here and clean the Diet Coke Off My Keyboard!! LMAO!!!

Okay. You guys continue. I'm not Religious. I do believe in a "Supreme Being". It DOES make for Good Reading, and Continuos Study.

Personally? I think St. John has never been given the "Credit" He deserves.

I have a Painting *"Beheading of St. John The Baptiste" Michellanglo, 1608*. Something in there "Speaks To Me". Not the Brutality or Anything Anti Religous. It Just Fascinates me. I Do Not Know Why…Perhaps *"The Darkness"? *This is a Copy I Found on The WWW.
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The Interpratation of Art seems to be Allowed here. So. *"Baptisum Of Christ By St. John The Baptist*
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*The Patron Saints Of Freemasonry* Yes. For Many Years.
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*"Start Trouble" *The Farthest thing from MY Mind!! A VERY Interesting Topic is how "I" see it.

Thank You: Rick


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## Gene01 (Jan 5, 2009)

Like Rick and DKV, I find this an interesting topic for speculation. But, in the end, what does it matter?


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## ssnvet (Jan 10, 2012)

Despite these comments…

a white god for white folks. If I was black or brown and christian I would demand the truth. It is never too late to come clean.

I'll give the benefit of the doubt and add this….

If you accept the testimony of the Bible as true and accept that Jesus is who he said he is…. then you're dealing with a "metaphysical" image (Jesus is a full and complete expression of God, packaged in human flesh, so that other humans could experience and comprehend him) and not a physical image.

There are many paintings, sculptures and stamped coins bearing human images from long b4 the time Jesus, that show us (with varying accuracy) what certain people looked like. So I think it is very telling, that within the life time of the people who walked with Jesus daily and new him well (not all of whom were peasants) a myriad of well crafted images were not created and handed down. Many of these were people who were killed because they would not renounce there testimony that Jesus rose from the dead and performed miracles … validating that he was in fact the "Messiah" and "Son of God". So they obviously cared about passing down an accurate record of who Jesus was…. Yet no immages? For me the obvious conclusion was that they knew it didn't matter what he looked like…. But look at what they were ever so carefull to pass down…. an accurate record of his words, deeds and teachings.

IMHO, our world and generation is over concerned with physical appearances….. and way to under concerned with the inner being…. things like character, soul and spirit. Want an example?? pretty boy John Edwards came very close to being elected president of the USA….. and now look what has been revealed about him since.

Do you trust a liar, just because they're charming….

Do you give yourself to a cheater, just because they're hot….

moral of all this… look up and not left and right and you'll discover things that really matter.


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## JollyGreen67 (Nov 1, 2010)

To get into this would really be stressful for me - as I do not believe in any of this. Oh - by the way - I know I will be blocked, eliminated, "taken care of", gotten rid of, etc, etc, etc, for expressing my constitutional rights to free speech, as numerous individuals here on LJs have proven.


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## DKV (Jul 18, 2011)

Get into it Jim, why would I block you? I am interested in your opinion. It is a fascinating topic IMO.


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## DKV (Jul 18, 2011)

http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/health/forensics/1282186
This is good reading. No religious affiliations whatsoever. Straight scientific discussion.


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## DKV (Jul 18, 2011)

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Dejnz-H5RW34&v=ejnz-H5RW34&gl=US
The Discovery Channel episode tomd was talking about. It seems St Paul didn't have high regards concerning long haired men. I suppose the same way Nixon did.


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## ssnvet (Jan 10, 2012)

So now were done ragging on honky Jesus and moving on to Paul' s grooming standards being associated with Nixon….

Yeah… Sincerity was feigned… my benefit of the doubt expired


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## DKV (Jul 18, 2011)

Ssnvet, you are waaaaaaaaaaaay too sensitive. This is not, I repeat, is not a discussion of religion. Now that you know that you no longer have to participate. Did you even watch the Youtube video?


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## GrandpaLen (Mar 6, 2012)

Boys and Girls,

There are answers that we will not know on this side of eternity, so live in such a way that those who do not know God, come to know God because they know you.

...oh, and that thing about "Love Your Neighbors", I'm pretty sure He meant it. - Len


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## renners (Apr 9, 2010)

The answer could be as simple as when the first portrait of Jesus was commissioned, no Nazarene was available as a life model.
I suspect though, that the image of a European male was probably more palatable to the Church, and that kind of kicked the whole standardised image off.

Look at Hollywood as well, the Jesus in Ben Hur perpetuates the popular image, as does Robert Powell in the mini series 'Jesus of Nazareth'.

Madonna caused a stir with a black Jesus in the video for 'Like a Prayer', though that was probably just to get everyone talking about it.


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## RockyTopScott (Nov 16, 2008)

When I pray, i say "in jesus name".....not in Jesus face or race or ethicity.


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## DKV (Jul 18, 2011)

Why does it bother everyone so much that I want to know what he looked like? No different then wanting to know what King Tut looked like and there has been a lot of study on that one. This is not a religious discussion. BTW, more power to you for saying "in Jesus' name". It would be wrong to say "in Jesus' face".


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## AHuxley (Apr 22, 2009)

The Crusades were probably more palatable to the average Christian if the people they were fighting looked less like their image of Jesus and more like them, then again the plenary indulgence was probably most of the Crusaders primary motivator.

In the end most Christians don't search for the historical Jesus since to Christians he is more of a concept than actual man, the embodiment of a diety whose human form is inconcequential. There are probably as many representations of the human form of God's son as their are sects of Christianity and it is almost certain he didn't look like the blonde haired blue eyed Jesus you see in some iconoclasty. Even Siddhārtha Gautama Buddha is seen through his inconoclasty in a many faceted light. Most everyone has a mental image of Jesus as a man, the vast majority of them are probably not close enough to pick him out of a crowd, but the image probably has little if anything to do with their faith.


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## hobby1 (Feb 10, 2012)

DKV Thankyou for posting this interesting thread.

It has brought out of the woodwork (pun intended) the wonderful Christian brothers and sisters on this board, who are very knowledgeable not only in the Bible as it is written, but also in the universal message givien in it.

There is nothing wrong with your curosity of knowing the physical appearance of Jesus when He was born into this world.
As you said it is a scientific study, and I'm sure those who responded feel the same, but they are trying also to let you know, that when it comes to asking questions concerning God (Father Son HolySpirit), that a person cannot just study this on a natural way, the way we study other persons in history, that to study things that pertain to God, (in this case Jesus the Son of the Father), there has to be a completely higher approach to this infinitely above mere human understandings, it is beyond natural means of study, that's why when the History channel tries to do studies on Biblical topics, they cannot succeed with Truthfullness, because everything that pertains to God is Holy and Righteousness, far above Human comprhension, that's why people become so misled thinking that the Bible is in error and all the stuff that people come up with, 
The Bible says that to understand the ways of God, takes His Holy Spirit dwelling in us who can bring to light the things of God in ways we can understand.

Hope this helps clarify why a simple explanation about the physical appearance of Jesus is beyond human comprehension, just as we cannot comprehend His incarnation, also when He was transfigured, His appearance was completely changed,.

So a study about His physical appearance during His earth ministry, must always include the message of why He came in the first place in Human form.
And that must always be by the study of Scripture with the Leading of the Holy Spirit.


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## patcollins (Jul 22, 2010)

I've wondered how peoples looks have changed over the years since I read somewhere that the Celts of Ireland originally came from present day Pakistan. Irish are rather light skinned and have red hair more commonly than most, did the people that use to live in that area look like the modern day Irish?

I am a believer in evolution and wonder if all modern humans can be tied to the fossils in Africa that are millions of years old then why do people from different areas look so different, was it evolution through enviromental conditions or what?

I suspect Jesus looked middle eastern.


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## DKV (Jul 18, 2011)

Now here is the reason I started this thread. Thanks patcollins. I have read that red and blond hair are in fact genetic mutations and before people started traveling outside of their home areas and interbreeding with different groups, local mutations were common. But, back on point I agree with you that Jesus looked like our Muslim friends. In fact, Abraham, Mohammed and Jesus all looked alike and are from common stock.


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## DanYo (Jun 30, 2007)

*Good topic. Ethnocentrism is a term that fits this discussion … here is some interesting reading…
Ethnocentrism
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search

Ethnocentrism is judging another culture solely by the values and standards of one's own culture.[1] The ethnocentric individual will judge other groups relative to his or her own particular ethnic group or culture, especially with concern to language, behavior, customs, and religion. These ethnic distinctions and subdivisions serve to define each ethnicity's unique cultural identity.[2]
Contents

1 Origins of the concept and its study
2 Anthropology
3 Biology and evolutionary theory
4 See also
5 References
6 Further reading
7 External links

Origins of the concept and its study

The term ethnocentrism was coined by William G. Sumner, upon observing the tendency for people to differentiate between the in-group and others. He defined it as "the technical name for the view of things in which one's own group is the center of everything, and all others are scaled and rated with reference to it."[3] He further characterized it as often leading to pride, vanity, beliefs of one's own group's superiority, and contempt of outsiders.[4] Robert K. Merton comments that Sumner's additional characterization robbed the concept of some analytical power because, Merton argues, centrality and superiority are often correlated, but need to be kept analytically distinct.[3]

Anthropologists such as Franz Boas and Bronislaw Malinowski argued that any human science had to transcend the ethnocentrism of the scientist. Both urged anthropologists to conduct ethnographic fieldwork in order to overcome their ethnocentrism. Boas developed the principle of cultural relativism and Malinowski developed the theory of functionalism as guides for producing non-ethnocentric studies of different cultures. The books The Sexual Life of Savages in North-Western Melanesia, by Bronisław Malinowski, Patterns of Culture by Ruth Benedict, and Coming of Age in Samoa by Margaret Mead (two of Boas's students) are classic examples of anti-ethnocentric anthropology.
Anthropology

People who are born into a particular culture and grow up absorbing the values and behaviors of the culture will develop patterns of thought reflecting the culture as normal.[5] If people then experience other cultures that have different values and normal behaviors, they will find that the thought patterns appropriate to their birth culture and the meanings their birth culture attaches to behaviors are not appropriate for the new cultures. However, since people are accustomed to their birth culture, it can be difficult for them to see the behaviors of people from a different culture from the viewpoint of that culture rather than from their own.[6]

Examples of ethnocentrism include religiously patterned constructs claiming a divine association like "divine nation", "One Nation under God", "God's Own Country", "God's Chosen People" and "God's Promised Land".[7]

In Precarious Life, Judith Butler discusses recognizing the Other in order to sustain the Self and the problems of not being able to identify the Other. Butler notes 'that identification always relies upon a difference that it seeks to overcome, and that its aim is accomplished only by reintroducing the difference it claims to have vanquished. The one with whom I identify is not me, and that 'not being me' is the condition of the identification. Otherwise, as Jacqueline Rose reminds us, 'identification collapses into identity, which spells the death of identification itself' (146).[8] However, Butler's understanding of Self and Other is Eurocentric itself because she writes that one cannot recognize Self unless it is through the Other. Therefore, Self and Other are limited through a language of binary codes. Considering that language is essential to culture, individuals will know themselves through the result of language plus culture. Dichotomous language is embedded in English and similar languages; however, dichotomous language is not universal. Indeed, there are few dichotomies in many Indigenous and non-European languages (Battiste and Henderson 76).[9] It is by looking into the language of a culture that one will be able to see oneself in relation to one's environment and one's place in the world.
Biology and evolutionary theory

A 2011 paper in PNAS suggested that ethnocentrism may be mediated by the oxytocin hormone. It found that in randomized controlled trials "oxytocin creates intergroup bias because oxytocin motivates in-group favoritism and, to a lesser extent, out-group derogation".[10]

In The Selfish Gene, evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins writes that "Blood-feuds and inter-clan warfare are easily interpretable in terms of Hamilton's genetic theory."[11] Simulation-based experiments in evolutionary game theory have attempted to provide an explanation for the selection of ethnocentric-strategy phenotypes.*


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## DKV (Jul 18, 2011)

North Korea would be a good study under ethnocentrism. They hate us and have no reason to other than they were brought up that way. That's also why your average Christian cannot comprehend anything other than Christianity. As an example, if any of the Muslim hate mongers on this site had been born and raised in the middle east their outlook would be different.


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## TedW (May 6, 2012)

He looked like the people of his native home, and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that one out. Which begs the question, *DKV*, why did you ask?


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## DKV (Jul 18, 2011)

Tedw you seem very hostile. Are we living in a police state where it is not ok to ask questions. But, if you must know I will repeat myself once more. Curiosity, nothing more. And really I was more curious as to why western christians always see him as something that he was not.


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## TedW (May 6, 2012)

Sorry, I don't see the hostility and certainly didn't mean any. But you asked the question to which I think the answer is pretty obvious, and also an obvious controversy waiting to happen. So I asked why you asked. Was it because you really weren't sure what he probably looked like? Sorry if I touched on a nerve.. that wasn't my intention.

I'm also curious why you suggest that he probably looked like you.


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## JollyGreen67 (Nov 1, 2010)

DKV - It's not you blocking me out, it's others who are afraid of a little insight to the other side of an issue. I've expressed my beliefs on a lot of subjects here, and this one I am with you all the way. I was having a spirited discussion with an avid jesus freak last week and I made basically the same remark to him, "How does anyone know what jesus looked like, cameras were'nt even invented yet"! Just like all the others, he had no answer.


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## DKV (Jul 18, 2011)

Tedw, if you go back to my original post that will answer the why. A little humor with the long donkey ride probably riled the wrong people. Supposedly, my avatar is Jesus and someone prior said he may look like me. Doesn't anyone read all the posts prior to posting?


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## DKV (Jul 18, 2011)

Here's another question I'm curious about after all of Joe's ranting and raving. How many Muslim woodworkers do we have on this site. And, why didn't they speak up while Joe was doing his ranting and raving? See, I'm a very curious person and have lots of questions.


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## Everett1 (Jun 18, 2011)

To start, i'm agnostic, and mean no disrespect to anyone else's beliefs.

The whole thing, to me, personally, seems silly. IF he existed, he probably had kids (back then, that is what you did, since people lived to only be so old), or maybe he was a magician like guy, like David Copperfield with ear tricks.

I don't know why people get so mad, or claim DKV is trying to start trouble. It's crazy that some are open to others opinions/thoughts, but some get so worked up over something/someone they've never even seen. I've always wondered, if someone was raised by wolves, would religion even exist for them?

Best way I heard it explained once is that believing in things you can't see was a survival mechanism. Early people knew that if you walked through tall grasses, something in there would kill and eat you. I'm sure however many crazy stories of what it could be where made up, but it led to surviving.

He was most likely Arabic in appearance.


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## JollyGreen67 (Nov 1, 2010)

DKV - Curosity will get you in trouble every time - just ask me.


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## derosa (Aug 21, 2010)

If you accept the testimony of the Bible as true and accept that Jesus is who he said he is…. then you're dealing with a "metaphysical" image (Jesus is a full and complete expression of God, packaged in human flesh, so that other humans could experience and comprehend him) and not a physical image.
I would argue that this is an incorrect statement and not how the early church understood Jesus. He was in his time on earth fully and truly human while at the same time truly divine. This duality gave the early church a lot of trouble in trying to wrap their head around the how of it and I don't think anyone today still fully understands it. However to argue that Jesus was more then fully human is to diminish the human nature of the being and thereby diminish the quality of the sacrifice that was made on our behalf. Additionally the early church couldn't focus on the human side early on as they really needed to focus on the fully divine aspect in order to sell themselves to a very skeptical world that couldn't fully understand why a god would sacrifice themselves for the good of humanity. By the time they could focus on the humanity those who walked with him had passed on and his image was lost to time.

Wanting to know what Christ looked like is actually a very positive thing that any true Christian should be willing to explore. Part of becoming fully human was so that God could walk among us and we could feel that connection that God was seeking to make with us. All too often we ignore the human for the divine but it is the human that has felt our pain, walked in our uncertainty, knows our despair, and has experienced the all the joys and sorrows of our lives. It is therefore the human that we can most readily connect with in the times of our life when we need to feel that God is walking with us and empathizes with us. Don't assume that just because someone wants to more fully know God by knowing the fully human side of things that it is trolling for trouble and be glad someone may be genuinely curious about their creator and is looking for a way to be closer.


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## DKV (Jul 18, 2011)

Derosa, you're a good man. Two fine answers. Accomplished without belligerence or hostility. You can tell those that are comfortable with themselves and their beliefs.
Peace


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## DanYo (Jun 30, 2007)

.
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.
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Cheesus Toast


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## Smile_n_Nod (Jan 20, 2011)

It's interesting that the Bible pointedly ignores what Jesus (and almost every other person mentioned in the Biblical narratives) looked like, unless their appearance is important to explain someone else's actions in the story. It is we moderns, with our TVs, Internet, cameras, woodworking forums, etc., who focus so much on appearance.

One thing that is almost certain is that Jesus did *not* have long hair, unlike most traditional depictions. In a letter to Christians in Corinth, the Apostle Paul (who claimed to have seen Jesus personally) wrote, "Does not nature itself teach you that if a man wears long hair it is a disgrace for him." Whether or not you think long hair is a moral or cultural issue, Paul certainly would not have said it was disgraceful for a man to have long hair if Jesus himself had long hair.


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## DKV (Jul 18, 2011)

So I am guessing that my avatar based on the History channel research is fairly close to what he probably looked like. End of mystery, end of thread. Thanks to all who responded.
Tedw and ssnvet, my curiosity is satisfied. I now know what Jesus looked like…my avatar.


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## dpwalker (Aug 25, 2010)

Some time ago I watched a program on TV about this topic. Scientists used the Shroud of Turin to render a 3D CGI of Christs' face. Their results were of a Middle aged, bearded Hebrew man. Very interesting program & topic. Thanks for posting this DKV. 
On a side note (& yes I know this isn't the same thing), when I was a kid I was at a friends' home & he had a picture of himself with Santa Claus. Both he & his Santa were African American. Me & mine were Caucasian. Just saying….


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## toeachhisown (Eddie) (Mar 30, 2011)

thats a easy question DKV but not very meaningful , go look in the mirror ,we are made in his image


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## AlaskaGuy (Jan 29, 2012)

To me, Jesus's teaching is whats important. What he looked like is immaterial.


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## JollyGreen67 (Nov 1, 2010)

We were made in THEIR image - so it says.


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