Modern Theology - Color Jesus.....
Delite
Jesus
Jesus: Color Him ???....
Restorers workings at a Gothic church at Barco de Avila, central Spain,
have decided that a rare
wooden figue of a black Jesus orginally was white. The 13th Century
carving had been darkened
over the years by smoke from votive candles. It has long attracted
pilgrims. The town's council
has decided to display the cleaned-up Jesus in a side chapel of hte
restored church, with special
lighting to show off its color . (Toronto Star Sept 5/98)
( Images of Dark and White Jesus )
Well, current New Testament studies are also cleaning up Jesus.
The Jesus Seminar
has found good reason to posit Jesus of Nazareth, the historical
Jesus, as another kind of
animal when compared with the icon created by gospel writers. In
fact the icon Christ
of Christian faith is really built on a hyped -up icon-buster
Jesus who was likely
regarded by the religious/political leadership in Jerusalem as a
rebel and rabble -rouser. It's
delite's opinion that Jesus was no advocate of violence but Jesus'
Kingdom of God
and his cutting remarks re the financial exploiting ways of
the power elites got him
regarded as one Big Threat. While making him a hero with the poor
working stiff. So the ruling
elite colored him DANGEROUS. Then eliminated him.
Seems, since day one when Jesus began preaching everyone has been
compelled to write his
own gospel and paint his own portrait of Jesus. And though the
four gospels involve common
sources and maybe liturgical traditions, each ends up painting a
radically different Jesus.
Of course, the gospels were more in the line of love letters than
accurate history.
And each gospel was heavily into the subjective in trying to
communicate what Jesus meant
to the writer and the local Christian community he wrote from. Of
course, not only
is God's will and the Kingdom of God involved but, I hope in a
secondary way, matters
of power, money and, yes, ego. So that does not undercut the
truth of the writings.
Merely shows the subjective local color added to Jesus and
demonstrates they
are very human efforts. Just like today when you listen to a
sermon by Oral Roberts,
Billy Graham or your local pastor. Or read this posting.
Reading Gospel Truth by Russell Shorto has reminded me
advanced New Testament
scholars today are a rainbow over the Christian academic world.
Top-notch scholars
from Harvard, Oxford, Jesus Seminar, and Union Seminary are on
the liberal side of
theological research. But, often represent radically different
schools of thought re the
central meaning of the Christ-event. Some color Jesus red as a
doomsday prophet
expecting God to smash into history in the immediate future (1st
century). Others
portray Jesus as a Greek type wandering sage sowing his smart
one-liners re
God's domain (Kingdom) hither and yon. Others conclude the 4
gospels essentially
give us the real Jesus. Or somehow Jesus was a mixture of these
different views.
Or maybe there was an early Jesus as opposed to a mature and later
Jesus.
If I read Shorto right what modern Christians have to do is
seriously study
the New Testament pics of Jesus and informed by modern theology (and
worldview) paint your own picture of Jesus. Many conservative
Christians
would call that blasphemy. I would call it having a living faith in
God .
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