The Black Presence in the Bible - Part II

It has been said that a picture is worth a thousand words. Assuming that this is true, then the Western world has sabotaged the Bible with images that distort its truth. As an example, consider Leonardo da Vinci’s painting titled The Last Supper; supposedly of Jesus and his apostles, which represents them as Europeans. Da Vinci was not the only European artist to portray the face of Jesus. Other artists captured an image of Jesus in various situations: Michelangelo portrayed him at the Last Judgement; Caravaggo portrayed him revealing himself after the resurrection to his apostles; and he also painted what is called The Doubting of Thomas, where Thomas thrusts his finger in Christ’s wound from the spear during the crucifixion.

The classic book on suggestive selling, Subliminal Seduction by Wilson Brian Key, describes how the advertising industry manipulates our buying habits on one level, and on another level it demonstrates how society can control our tastes, habits and thinking by the images that we see. The images of Christ have conditioned many to believe that he was European; however, Jesus' genetic makeup defies classification: His mother was Jewish and God is his father, which would make him all human and all divine at the same time. And if we examine the scripture, we would see that in order for him to have redeemed humanity, he would have had to be related to all the families of the earth. Leviticus 25 describes the Law of Redemption and part of the qualification of the redeemer was that he had to be a close relative:

47. And if a sojourner or stranger wax rich by thee, and thy brother that dwelleth by him wax poor, and sell himself unto the stranger or sojourner by thee, or to the stock of the stranger's family: 48. After that he is sold he may be redeemed again; one of his brethren may redeem him: 49. Either his uncle, or his uncle's son, may redeem him, or any that is nigh of kin unto him of his family may redeem him; or if he be able, he may redeem himself (Leviticus 25:47-49).

If we could have examined Jesus’ DNA, we would have seen that he was simultaneously related to all the families of the earth.

The Bible doesn’t seem to give us a description of Jesus’ pre-resurrected body; however, it does tell us that when John saw him on the Isle of Patmos, his feet were the color of fine brass and his hair was wooly - 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 (Revelation 1:14-15). Notwithstanding John’s description of him, I believe that it would be difficult to establish a doctrine on his physical characteristics during his life on the earth. However, we do know for certain that when Herod had threatened to assassinate him while he was an infant, the angel of the Lord admonished Joseph to take him to Africa:

7. Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. 8. And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also…12. And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way. 13. And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. 14. When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt: 15. And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son (Matthew 2:7-8, 12-15).

I do not claim to know what Jesus’ physical characteristics were during his time on earth; however, it would appear to be difficult to hide a blond-haired, blue-eyed, white-skinned child in Africa. I think it is significant that God had ordained to call his son out of the dark continent. It would seem based on just a casual reading of the scripture that Jesus and his family had physical characteristics that allowed them to assimilate among the brown-skinned people of Egypt.

Dozens of artists have depicted Jesus as a European; however, Michelangelo exceeded all of the renaissance masters in audacity with his depiction of God as a European in the painting God Creates Adam. These artistic images of God and Christ have had an enduring affect on how people personify them.

Not only has art been used to transform Jesus and God into Europeans, it has also been cleverly used to rob Jesus of his Jewishness. The first paintings of Jesus being associated with the cross displayed a cross with a white lamb next to it in the fifth-century. It was not until late in the sixth-century that artists dared to paint Jesus hanging on the cross, but these first paintings were images of triumph; not images that we’re familiar with of pain and humiliation. In these sixth-century versions of the crucifixion, Jesus wore a long tunic and only had his hands and feet bare to show him being nailed to the cross.

According to former Jesuit Priest, Peter De Rosa, the first 10^th century Greek representation of Jesus suffering on the cross was condemned by Rome as blasphemy; however, the Church of Rome soon yielded to its fascination. And although art coming out of Rome removed the tunic, it replaced it with the loin cloth. The scripture is clear that Christ’s tormentors, in an effort to deny him a single shred of dignity, crucified him while he stood naked before them; an act that imposed total humiliation upon our saviour:

28. And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe…31. And after that they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him, and led him away to crucify him…35. And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots (Matthew 27:28, 31, 35).

23. Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments, and made four parts, to every soldier a part; and also his coat: now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout. 24. They said therefore among themselves, Let us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be: that the scripture might be fulfilled, which saith, They parted my raiment among them, and for my vesture they did cast lots. These things therefore the soldiers did (Luke 19:23-24).

Modesty was not the artists's motivation when they affixed the loin cloth to the crucified body of Jesus. With a few strokes of the brush, in what DeRosa called the great cover-up, the artists concealed Jesus’ sex organ so the world would not be constantly reminded of his Jewishness. An accurate portrayal of Jesus on the cross would confirm that he was circumcised according to the Law of Moses, and by placing the veil over his loins, the Roman artists made Jesus an honorary member of the Gentile family. Had the artists down through the ages depicted Christ in all of his shame and humiliation on the cross, with his Jewish ethnicity visible for all to see, would Caesar and Hitler been able to institute pogroms against the Jews in the name of the cross? (Peter De Rosa, Vicars of Christ the Dark side of the Papacy, New York, Crown Publishers, Inc., 1988, p. 3.)

There has been a concerted effort over the last millennium to rob the Bible of its ethnic purity through art and theology. The urgent question is not so much how was it done, but why was it done.

…to be continued