Was Jesus Black?
So, before I even begin this post, I'd like to point out several things. First, I do not consider myself religious (spiritual perhaps, but even that is debatable) and by no stretch of the imagination could anyone truly consider me to be Christian, Jewish, or Muslim. I have no personal stake in this question and merely find it to be a fascinating mental exercise. So, on to it...
Biblically speaking, most people supporting the "Jesus was Black" theory reference this passage of Revelation: www.biblegateway.com/passage/. You'll note that I have included several popular versions of the bible in my search. For those who don't want to open up another page, here's a summary of the quotes:
Revelation 1:13-15
American Standard Version (ASV)
13 and in the midst of the candlesticks one like unto a son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about at the breasts with a golden girdle.
14 And his head and his hair were white as white wool, white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;
15 and his feet like unto burnished brass, as if it had been refined in a furnace; and his voice as the voice of many waters.
King James Version (KJV)
13 And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.
14 His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;
15 And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.
Young's Literal Translation (YLT)
13 and in the midst of the seven lamp-stands, [one] like to a son of man, clothed to the foot, and girt round at the breast with a golden girdle,
14 and his head and hairs white, as if white wool -- as snow, and his eyes as a flame of fire;
15 and his feet like to fine brass, as in a furnace having been fired, and his voice as a sound of many waters,
New International Version (NIV)
13 and among the lampstands was someone "like a son of man,"[a]dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest.
14 His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire.
15 His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters.
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
13 and in the middle of the lampstands I saw one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and girded across His chest with a golden sash.
14 His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire.
15 His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been made to glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters.
The onus of the argument is that his hair was like wool and that his feet were like bronze or brass, thus leading to the conclusion that he was black. However, read the various accounts for yourself and indeed the whole of Revelation 1 and you like me will likely conclude several things. One, this whole passage is a description of a vision, not an actual physical account as inferred from the argument. Two, most accounts imply that his feet were like brass or bronze "glowing" as if in a fire. Three, His head, as well as his hair, was white. Fourth and final, the depiction of his voice as "the sound of many waters" cements the notion that the passage is conveying him in a supernatural light and therefore the depiction of various colors are far more likely to be representative of a visual distortion (geeking out for a second here... but no doubt the side effect of occupying more than 3 dimensions) not unlike the explicit audible distortion of his voice previously mentioned.
This above is the only explicit passage I can find specifically discussing Jesus' appearance. Now, the next argument, which I find personally more compelling, is to simply look at the region which Jesus was from. I do find it highly unlikely that Jesus looked like the long haired white dude we typically see depicted in churches. However, that in and of itself does not imply he was black. Every ethnicity has ranges of skin tone, though there does tend to be a predominant range (much like a single station on a radio dial). I think that most people would consider the term "black" to refer to dark skin and "negroid" facial features like the indigenous peoples of central and southern Africa. According to many, many references, Jesus was Jewish. Jews range greatly in color and before the argument comes that Jewish is a religion and not a "race" (though more accurately it would be an ethnicity) I would like to direct your attention to DNA evidence showing strong genetic similarities among those of "Jewish" descent, stronger in fact than many recognized ethnic distinctions that are commonly recognized such Irish, Nordic, Slavic, etc... I guess, while I'm on the subject, I should tangentially relate that DNA evidence shows that no genetic differences are great enough to qualify any ethnicity as a separate "race". We are all human, plain and simple.
The next argument is that Jesus hid among the Egyptians so he must have looked like them. Several holes in this postulation as well. First, its not like he was on America's Most Wanted. They didn't post signs with his picture and description in all the neighboring kingdoms. As evidenced by the many and varied stories of the American West, all one typically had to do to hide in the old days was simply get out of town. Egypt was a thriving nation, with people coming and going all the time. Why wouldn't he fit in regardless of skin tone? Second, isn't Jesus supposed to be godlike? Couldn't he hide wherever he wanted?
There are more arguments, many of which delve in to what amounts to conspiracy theories such as there were no white (read "light skinned") people in Ethiopia before the Caucasians began invading. However, recent genetic studies have concluded that specifically the region of Ethiopia has had almost spontaneous changes in skin color (read genetically "white" Ethiopians) without outside Caucasian genetic influence for much if not most of its history.
Bottom line here. I can not rule out that Jesus was black, no more than I can that he was white. The most likely answer is that he was somewhere in the middle (um... Jewish, yes?). I also cannot rule out that there was a darker purpose in depicting Jesus as white on the part of Caucasians, though Occam's Razor would more likely lead us to conclude that as Jesus was adopted as the lord savior by Caucasians, they made images of him in their own image because they lacked definition to the contrary, something people of all ethnicities have been likely to do throughout history.
I find it interesting that this topic should be so polarizing. As I have done research on it, I have come across some of the most angry accusations and arguments I have ever read. I don't understand why to people of faith, this is such a heated topic. Should it really matter? I'm interested to see any comments or differing opinions on the matter. Though I would like to conclude with this... Again, I am not religious and have no personal stake in this. This post is not intended to be inflammatory in any way and I would ask anyone who replies to try and keep it that way.
Biblically speaking, most people supporting the "Jesus was Black" theory reference this passage of Revelation: www.biblegateway.com/passage/. You'll note that I have included several popular versions of the bible in my search. For those who don't want to open up another page, here's a summary of the quotes:
Revelation 1:13-15
American Standard Version (ASV)
13 and in the midst of the candlesticks one like unto a son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about at the breasts with a golden girdle.
14 And his head and his hair were white as white wool, white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;
15 and his feet like unto burnished brass, as if it had been refined in a furnace; and his voice as the voice of many waters.
King James Version (KJV)
13 And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.
14 His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;
15 And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.
Young's Literal Translation (YLT)
13 and in the midst of the seven lamp-stands, [one] like to a son of man, clothed to the foot, and girt round at the breast with a golden girdle,
14 and his head and hairs white, as if white wool -- as snow, and his eyes as a flame of fire;
15 and his feet like to fine brass, as in a furnace having been fired, and his voice as a sound of many waters,
New International Version (NIV)
13 and among the lampstands was someone "like a son of man,"[a]dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest.
14 His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire.
15 His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters.
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
13 and in the middle of the lampstands I saw one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and girded across His chest with a golden sash.
14 His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire.
15 His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been made to glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters.
The onus of the argument is that his hair was like wool and that his feet were like bronze or brass, thus leading to the conclusion that he was black. However, read the various accounts for yourself and indeed the whole of Revelation 1 and you like me will likely conclude several things. One, this whole passage is a description of a vision, not an actual physical account as inferred from the argument. Two, most accounts imply that his feet were like brass or bronze "glowing" as if in a fire. Three, His head, as well as his hair, was white. Fourth and final, the depiction of his voice as "the sound of many waters" cements the notion that the passage is conveying him in a supernatural light and therefore the depiction of various colors are far more likely to be representative of a visual distortion (geeking out for a second here... but no doubt the side effect of occupying more than 3 dimensions) not unlike the explicit audible distortion of his voice previously mentioned.
This above is the only explicit passage I can find specifically discussing Jesus' appearance. Now, the next argument, which I find personally more compelling, is to simply look at the region which Jesus was from. I do find it highly unlikely that Jesus looked like the long haired white dude we typically see depicted in churches. However, that in and of itself does not imply he was black. Every ethnicity has ranges of skin tone, though there does tend to be a predominant range (much like a single station on a radio dial). I think that most people would consider the term "black" to refer to dark skin and "negroid" facial features like the indigenous peoples of central and southern Africa. According to many, many references, Jesus was Jewish. Jews range greatly in color and before the argument comes that Jewish is a religion and not a "race" (though more accurately it would be an ethnicity) I would like to direct your attention to DNA evidence showing strong genetic similarities among those of "Jewish" descent, stronger in fact than many recognized ethnic distinctions that are commonly recognized such Irish, Nordic, Slavic, etc... I guess, while I'm on the subject, I should tangentially relate that DNA evidence shows that no genetic differences are great enough to qualify any ethnicity as a separate "race". We are all human, plain and simple.
The next argument is that Jesus hid among the Egyptians so he must have looked like them. Several holes in this postulation as well. First, its not like he was on America's Most Wanted. They didn't post signs with his picture and description in all the neighboring kingdoms. As evidenced by the many and varied stories of the American West, all one typically had to do to hide in the old days was simply get out of town. Egypt was a thriving nation, with people coming and going all the time. Why wouldn't he fit in regardless of skin tone? Second, isn't Jesus supposed to be godlike? Couldn't he hide wherever he wanted?
There are more arguments, many of which delve in to what amounts to conspiracy theories such as there were no white (read "light skinned") people in Ethiopia before the Caucasians began invading. However, recent genetic studies have concluded that specifically the region of Ethiopia has had almost spontaneous changes in skin color (read genetically "white" Ethiopians) without outside Caucasian genetic influence for much if not most of its history.
Bottom line here. I can not rule out that Jesus was black, no more than I can that he was white. The most likely answer is that he was somewhere in the middle (um... Jewish, yes?). I also cannot rule out that there was a darker purpose in depicting Jesus as white on the part of Caucasians, though Occam's Razor would more likely lead us to conclude that as Jesus was adopted as the lord savior by Caucasians, they made images of him in their own image because they lacked definition to the contrary, something people of all ethnicities have been likely to do throughout history.
I find it interesting that this topic should be so polarizing. As I have done research on it, I have come across some of the most angry accusations and arguments I have ever read. I don't understand why to people of faith, this is such a heated topic. Should it really matter? I'm interested to see any comments or differing opinions on the matter. Though I would like to conclude with this... Again, I am not religious and have no personal stake in this. This post is not intended to be inflammatory in any way and I would ask anyone who replies to try and keep it that way.