Representing Jesus?

From Edward Colston to Mahatma Gandhi, statues of public figures are under intense scrutiny.

American Black Lives Matter activist, Shaun King, recently made the news by calling for white statues of Jesus to be added to the list of historic monuments to be torn down. He tweeted: ‘Yes, I think the statues of the white European they claim is Jesus should also come down. They are a form of white supremacy.’ Not only statues, but he called for other forms of representation to be removed: ‘All murals and stained-glass windows of white Jesus and his European mother, and their white friends, should also come down.’ He claimed that they were ‘created as tools of oppression. Racist propaganda’.

Images of Jesus

There are some embarrassing portrayals of Jesus to be seen in religious art. But is this necessarily the product of racism? From a global perspective we find that Jesus is generally portrayed in a style appropriate to the artist’s culture. From sub-Saharan Africa to rural China there is a beautiful array of images of Jesus that tell us more about those who have received Him than it does about His actual appearance.