lol its so funny to watch people argue over this. our skin changed much like the fur of a rabbit would in the artic climate would. ones changed white because it needed to blend with snow to survive. while another changed maybe brown for the area it was in. this is adaptation. humans work in a similar way.

anyway as far as if he was black, i personally can say no one will know. if you can go back in a time machine and prove it. play a game of 'telephone' for 2000 years and youll get the idea.

it is more logical that jesus would be a black man than a brown haired white man.

Jesus was Hebrew, therefore he wasn't black, he was Middle Eastern. So, another words, he had an olive complexion.

I agree, if you're going to argue His ethnicity, you're missing the point of His message anyway. I'm not arguing it, I'm pointing out the actual facts here. He was Hebrew, which is a Middle Eastern country, so he looked like all the other Middle Eastern people we see in the news today.

The Hebrews worked out in the Sun all day, making bricks, buidling temples, working as slaves in Egypt, which is in Africa by the way. If you actually read the Bible, & the History books of the World, other people than Me would see this, & I'm sure some of you reading this do know what I'm talking about.

At the time of Jesus, Israel was under Roman law, & in the middle of a social upheaval, with the Jews trying to throw off the yoke of Roman rule.

Most people miss that when they read the Bible.

How rediculous is this thread. If Jesus were here he would give all of you a thumbs down that are even offended of the thought that he was white/black/or even Jewish, yes I said it! lol. Truth is no one knows the color of the skin of the first humans. Adaptation changes our physical appearance. They could've had scales. lol.

No one really knows until older remains are discovered elsewhere. In the future we may find out we all originated in South America or elsewhere. Who cares anyhow?

actually this theory has been around since at least the late 1920's. actually
the theory says the pacific someplace between Hawaii and Guam as I recall.

Ive got to say Hawaii is a lot closer to a garden than Africa or Asia.

also Israel , like Egypt,Jordan etc is on the norther tip of the african continent.
as such Jeezus would be closer to black than he would to the cracker, white bread portrayal the RCC and fundies have of him.

Originally posted by shots
Who cares anyhow?

There are a bunch of radical black power groups and individuals
that have web sites and books dedicated to 'proof' that Jesus
was black. Some folks seem to think a black Jesus is necessary.

They quote that 'brought out of Africa' bit to point
out that they are right.... while ignoring the part of the bible
just prior to that about Him leaving Jerusalem (olive skinned people??)
and going down into Africa for just a few years to escape
being murdered.

Spending a few years in Africa doesn't make a person 'black'.

But yes, there are quite a few extremists who want desperately
for Jesus to have been black. However, He wasn't.

Originally posted by stalkingwolf
Jeezus would be closer to black than he would to the cracker,
white bread portrayal the RCC and fundies have of him.

Not nice! And as far as using the racial slur - cracker - very not nice!

If you look at the Roman Catholic Church art work of Christ through
the years, you will find Christ portrayed in all skin colors, all eye colors,
all shapes, all sizes, and many different heritages. I have seen
Spanish looking Christ's and Madonnas, Asian looking, African looking,
and European looking.

When I lived in Japan, the Catholic Church's there had nativities with
the Holy Family having the Asian looking eyes and straight black hair.
When I was in Bolivia adopting our daughter, the pictures of Christ
and Mary all looked rather Spanish... (or it could have been Middle
Eastern).

I have seen Holy Cards from Africa depicting the manger scene with
the Holy Family being black.

HISTORICAL ACCURACY would indicate that Christ was NOT black
and he wasn't European-white. He would most likely have had
the olive complexion same as the people who live in the area now.

who orignally came up with the theory that Jesus was black? makes no sense to me?

Thanks

Originally posted by madnessinmysoul
it is more logical that jesus would be a black man than a brown haired white man.

no it is more logical to read the bible and relize he is a decendent of a hebrew line.........that would make him hebrew..not black not white not anything other than hebrew......yes i understand that his message is more important than his race but this thread was started to argue the point that he is not black nor white for that matter....as for needing a time machine i have one its called the bible ...although im shure some stories are imbellished to make it a better read i do believe most of it is historical fact and to say its not is to say then that jesus does not exsist becuz the ONLY record we have of him is thru the bible..............

Originally posted by bluesjunior
Go back far enough, we all came from Africa. Therefore we are all black by definition.

Lol, good point - we are all Africans in origin. I think that there are people who try to claim that Cleopatra was black as well, which goes against descriptions of her (and the Romans hated her and would have mentioned something like her skin colour) and her portrait on Egyptian coins. I hate it when people bring pseudo-political slants in on history.

The Hebrews worked out in the Sun all day, making bricks, buidling temples, working as slaves in Egypt, which is in Africa by the way. If you actually read the Bible, & the History books of the World, other people than Me would see this, & I'm sure some of you reading this do know what I'm talking about.

this is a good point but if you remember correctly jacobs (who later become israel) 11 sons who originally came from the area we believe to be israel now were brought to egypt by the 12 son joseph to escape famine .... then after escaping the egyptians god made a covent with the 12 tribes of israel/jacob.......read the bible it will show you that in fact the 12 tribes are hebrew not black or white hispanic....the thing to remember is in the bible god was speaking to the hebrews no one else ....

What did Jesus say he was?

sorry to drift away from the subject, but isnt one of the commandments

THOU SHALT NOT WORSHIP ANY FALSE IDOLS

Why is there a picture of Jesus in every church portrayed as a blue eyed blonde haired hippy.

Not even the pope could possibly know what Jesus looked like, The bible did not have illustrations.

Isnt this an obvious contradiction

The only people that seems to be worry about Jesus skin color as to portray him a Caucasian with green or blue eyes and honey colored hair are the white extremist, as KKK and other white supremacy groups.

For anybody else that are real Christians and only goes by the teachings of him as a man The color of the skin doesn't matter and yes is only one description of Jesus the man before been taken out of the scriptures when the compilation of it.

He was a man with all the characteristics of the middle easten race.

Originally posted by jagzz
Why is there a picture of Jesus in every church portrayed
as a blue eyed blonde haired hippy.

Go back and read my post. The Catholic Churchs have
Jesus looking very different, depending on which ever church
you are in. Some are European, some are Asian, some are
African .... It changes depending on what part of the world
you are in, and what time period you are looking at.

Originally posted by FlyersFan
The Catholic Churchs have
Jesus looking very different, depending on which ever church
you are in. Some are European, some are Asian, some are
African .... It changes depending on what part of the world
you are in, and what time period you are looking at.

Thanks for that post FlyersFan, I remember that in the spanish culture like mine that are predominant chatolic Jesus was represented as spanish looking.

Do you have information as when the Church adopted the multiracial point of view?

Jesus, the historical man, came from the Middle East and was of the line of David. This would suggest a Semetic person.

Jesus, the man of myth, grew from the theologies of man and can be seen by the various races as comparable to those who worship Him as their saviour.

In the same way, Christians decorate a Christmas tree while others adorn a Yule tree. No wonder the secular wish to now call it a Holiday tree.

And, if a black man wants to see Jesus as a black man, what possible harm can it do? To deny them this could be seen as racist, IMO.

Originally posted by SpartanKingLeonidas
The Hebrews worked out in the Sun all day, making bricks, buidling temples, working as slaves in Egypt, which is in Africa by the way. If you actually read the Bible, & the History books of the World, other people than Me would see this, & I'm sure some of you reading this do know what I'm talking about.

The slavery part is something of a misnomer. It is likely that the story of Jacob and Joseph is in fact a dim echo of the Hyksos inveasion of Egypt, which was one of the most terrible shocks to the ancient Egyptian midset that can be imagined. A coalition of invaders, called Hyksos (shepherds) invaded the Nile Delta, using new weapons like the composite bow (a bow made up of various parts like wood, bone, cowgut, that is more powerful than the ordinary wooden bows that the Egyptians were using) and occupied a large part of the country for decades. There is reason to believe that the Hyksos coalition included at least some ancient hebrews. Eventually the Egyptians got organised enough to fight back and throw them out - to wander in the wilderness.

Would anyone like to give an answer for this question?

Originally posted by saint4God
What did Jesus say he was?

[edit on 7-12-2005 by saint4God]

jesus never actually spoke of what race he was.......which is becuz he was with other hebrews therefore did not need to bother telling them hey im a hebrew...i mean do you go around and tell everyone what race you are ...probably not becuz people already know when they see you....and i think that if he had been anything other than hebrew they would have wrote about it.......