Why are Jesus and other biblical figures so often depicted as white?

Question

So I made a previous topic asking whether the association of Light with goodness and darkness with evil could potentially fuel people's racial prejudice towards people of darker complexion. Many users claimed that this perception comes from prehistoric time, where darkness signified the unknown and therefore was viewed as bad.

However, if there is no racial belief then why was it deemed necessary to make Jesus, Mary, Joseph, all the archangel, god and all the 12 apostles to look Caucasian in appearance? The reason I find this peculiar is because given the region and time period that Jesus came from, he would have had a brown to dark skin complexion. Yet, you go to any western church and he's depicted as a white male; sometimes with blue eyes and yellow hair.

Why are Jesus and other biblical figures so often depicted as white?

And this stereotype of Jesus being a white male is still maintained in modern cinema today.

So if there is no racial belief behind associating white with goodness and darkness with evil, why was it deemed necessary to make Jesus a white male rather than what he actually looked like? Why is it every pope just happens to be caucasian?

new-person · Accepted Answer

Because, for hundreds of years the public was not allowed to read the scriptures. Only a priest was, but then people started to question what are they hiding. So a king James (a king with an extremely lose set of morals) worked with the church to approve a form of the scriptures that was -not easy to read. -Changed to fit in with his people, is where all people was changed to be white. -not making his lifestyle look bad. With this he changed a lot of the wording to form people to think and believe in what they (the king and church) wanted you to believe, act like and form your life like at that time

jshm2 · Accepted Answer

They aren't.

In fact Jesus and other biblical figures are depicted "Brown" or "Black" more often. You're just alluding to American and European depictions (which only account for something like 20% of art).

Each region depicts Jesus in it's own way. That you've only seen one - means you're small minded and insular to not have travelled much.

Jesus was dark Brown or Brown, most likely. Proper Jews were actually Black - not white. Most of the people who are Jewish today are not Jews from that bloodline - just converts to the faith - and mostly from the Far East - hence appearing White.

jennifer_bloom · Answer

The bible says the son of man will come at an hour you do not expect him, at a time you do not think he will. This means, Jesus and the people of God, are not going to come into your life to test you dressed as white 6”6 Harvard Wall Street bankers in $10,000 ball room suit. The virtuous saint might come to you as a blind beggar, a black cancer patient, a Chinese infant with crooked teeth. The bible says God will use his followers to test you so that you will be judged for you for how you treat them and these followers will come to you in disguise. The disguise might be a short height, a persecuted race, a medical condition, a persecuted life style, an ugly face, a disability, a foreign accent etc…

Zack-Bann · Answer

Because Jesus is of Canaanite descent considered he was born a levantine jew 2000 years ago
And Canaanites are an ethnic group that’s a mix between Neolithic farmers and people from mount Caucuses, also known as the Caucasians which we refer to today as “white”

So yes, Jesus was not black, he was not Asian, he was not hispanic

He’s what today counts as “Mediterranean” and anyone who traces their real ancestry to the Levant (meaning not counting the occupants who migrated there in the past 2000 years) are of clear skin more similar to European white people than any other group

ohsheeT · Answer

It just goes to show you all the things that have been taken out or put into the Bible, it's still being manipulated common. Sense would tell me.
Just because we're Jesus came from that. He is dark completed It's not about what he looks like. It's about his message of love and faith.
The two most powerful messages that we can get and have is love and faith And then if you understand frequency, vibration, energy particles retinas that everything that we see is solid carriers, only vibration, even our eyes or retinas, have their own vibration. And
That's how we see color through frequency and vibration As a matter of fact, that's how we see everything. It's because of the vibration and frequency of our eyes. I think most powerful messages, love and faith
And authentic , you have to be authentic in your beliefs in your wisdom the answers are all within us.

RavVid · Answer

Yes historically you would expect Jesus to be of Levantine appearance.

That is not necessarily as dark skinned as what you might expect because if you look at the contemporaneous Fayum mummy portraits, there is a large degree of skin colors from white to black. Yeah that is from Egypt but at least it is next door.

The simple answer is that Jesus is represented to appeal to the local target audience. At top right in your selection He has been feminized to appeal to the ladies and that was quite deliberately done since he was displacing goddesses in a lot of areas.

On dark is bad, night has always been scary for homo sapiens. A lot of apex predators are crepuscular. That is they hunt, kill and eat in low light conditions when we can't see so well.

It seems to me that that is a good enough reason to equate darkness with badness in One Million BC.

RingOfFire · Answer

Because artists often portray historical figures with an appearance that mimics their own culture.

Jesus was Jewish and most historians agree that he most likely had a similar appearance as most other people in the Jewish community where he was from. Short dark hair, brownish complexion, and brown eyes.

The long light hair and blue eyes and lighter skin came from later depictions of him in Europe. They did what many cultures have done and depicted him with an appearance similar to theirs.

AviatorTom · Answer

Most depictions of religious figures were first made during the Renaissance. Artists had nothing to go by, so they made the figures look like most of the people around them. Since most of this took place in Italy, where most people are white, the religious figures were painted as white.

In fact, we have no idea what historical religious figures looked like or what colour they were.

Screenwriter · Answer

The painters and the biblical printers were all white Europeans, so they made the images resemble themselves and the ruling class patrons who wanted their art.. And historically there has been the penchant that whiter skin belonged to the ruling classes, also. Even in India before colonization.

People working in the fields had darker skin because of sun exposure. So, few wanted their biblical heros to look like the lower classes. Money and power have always ruled art and education.

Telekinetic-Potato · Answer

Because people are dumb and would probably go on a rampage if you want to Saudi Arabia and told them Jesus was some short Chinese guy. Or if you want to the mountaintops and told the little eskimos that God is actually some buck toothed British looking guy.

Like guys cmon it's god. It doesn't look like anything.

BCRanger10 · Answer

Various cultures throughout history have portrayed Jesus and the Blessed Virgin Mary as one of their own.

Snowman84 · Answer

Well because Jesus is a name that generates profit. If he’s white and handsome with flowing locks of golden hair, it’s an image that resonates with potential buyers.
Let’s face it folks, American MEGA churches wouldn’t exist if Jesus was depicted as a brown man. I mean Americans send their military after brown men, they don’t worship them.

Anonymous · Answer

They are depicted as white in white countries, and black in black countries, and every other race in whatever other countries Christianity is observed. It has always been that way. Now that the U. S. is more diverse than it was 50 or 100 years ago, the depictions of biblical figures is also more diverse. Saying it is white supremacist is like saying it's black supremacist in black countries.

Sal_Monella · Answer

All of the artwork depicting Jesus was commissioned by the Popes in the Middle Ages. Those artists had nothing else to go on except what people looked like around them. But when I have walked around in Sicily, and looked at all those people that are ethnically mixed, including some from North Africa, I think that was more like what Jesus looked like

purplepoppy · Answer

Because in the middle ages the Moors raided Europe looking for slaves. People were naturally weary of dark people so the chuch made Jesus white.

FreyaRed · Answer

Maria who was likely Caucasian was railed by white Germanic Roman soldier and Jesus was a product of this seconds of... love  It's likely he was white.

strateguy632 · Answer

As we say in the game "i call bs" Jesus is not only depicting white.

AMS700CX4u2 · Answer

Because Rome became the purveyor of Christianity and considered it self more pure that pigmented people. Blond Haired and Blue Eyed White Jesus Odd for a Hebrew.

love_conquers_lust · Answer

It's pleasing to the eye. Don't overthink the wrapping, focus on what's on the inside. Focus on his message, from a religious or historical perspective and understand why he said the things he said.

DryGermanGuy · Answer

The people in this region are white. Some with a tan and some not. I visited there.

exitseven · Answer

God is white so why wouldn't his son be white?

XXblack88 · Answer

I don't know it doesn't make sense to me since the middle east is part of Africa and Asia. But then again I wasn't born in Jesus's time.

WonderingManII · Answer

Nobody knows what Jesus looked like. The Europeans painted Jesus, and that is why I think He is depicted as being white.

HighValue · Answer

He actually was White. Why are racist people obsessed with race swapping to replace Whites?

beefcakebradybatson · Answer

Racism and lack of common sense by believers who conveniently forget the Middle East is full of swarthy, some very dark-skinned folk as Jesus almost surely was.

andreasderjuengere · Answer

Jesus himself might comment like... "why not. It doesn't matter " ?

Anonymous · Answer

Jesus was Middle Eastern and there are plenty of Arabs like Bashar Assad, Zidane and Rami Malek (from Mr Robot) who have blue/green eyes. If you visit Syria, you’ll be surprised how many people have reddish/blonde hair.

genericname85 · Answer

everything is fake about them. why is the skin color the one aspect that bothers you? xD

AngryCarl3 · Answer

Simple answer: The Christian church has always been run by white dudes.

qwerty2469 · Answer

In Jesus' case word for word from the Bible description. The other mythologies... The same thing. They were white by description

Sabretooth · Answer

racism. it empowers white supremacy. they'd make MLK white, if they could... and damn, do they try.

najekim · Answer

White privilege at the time. If he was real, he would have been Arabic ethnicity most likely.

Anonymous · Answer

FYI - Semitic people are "white" (Caucasians), but darker type, because of the specific climate.

KimmySchmit · Answer

Where are they depicted as light?

DextroShade · Answer

Jesus was not a nig.

Staximus · Answer

Because the Europeans wrote the history

In_Trance · Answer

Ask the Jews. It's their fairy tale

CupcakeTheDestroyer · Answer

White supremacy

Aiko_E_Lara · Answer

Roman washed

Anonymous · Answer

white supremacy

Why are Jesus and other biblical figures so often depicted as white?

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