From Voice of America: Jesus and race
John Vogel
TYPE=CURRENT AFFAIRS FEATURE
NUMBER=3-17936
TITLE=WAS JESUS BLACK?
BYLINE=TERRI KEEFE
TELEPHONE=401-7444
DATELINE=WASHINGTON
EDITOR=VO'HS
CONTENT=
[INSERTS AVAILABLE IN AUDIO SERVICES]
INTRO: IN AFRICAN AMERICAN CHURCHES FROM NEW JERSEY TO
CALIFORNIA, BLACK CHRIST IMAGES ARE APPEARING IN
PAINTINGS, STATUES AND STAINED-GLASS WINDOWS. NO LONGER
CONTENT WITH TRADITIONAL RELIGIOUS ART THAT PORTRAYS
JESUS WITH PALE SKIN AND BLOND LOCKS, BLACK AMERICANS
ARE FASHIONING A DIFFERENT, DARKER-SKINNED CHRIST IN
THEIR OWN IMAGE. AS TERRI KEEFE REPORTS, THIS TREND
TOWARD AFROCENTRISM IN SOME U-S CHURCHES SIGNALS A
CHANGE MUCH DEEPER THAN THE COLOR OF JESUS'S SKIN:
TEXT: AFRICAN AMERICAN ARTIST MAURICE JENKINS PUTS THE
FINISHING TOUCHES ON AN OIL AND ACRYLIC MURAL WHICH
DOMINATES THE FOYER OF EBENEZER AFRICAN METHODIST
**EPISCOPAL CHURCH -- A MAMMOTH BUILDING NOW UNDER
CONSTRUCTION IN SUBURBAN WASHINGTON:
TAPE: CUT ONE -- JENKINS :20 SNEAK FIRST :04 OR :05 SECS
OF AMBIENT SFX AT ** UNDER INTRO ABOVE
"THE MURAL ITSELF IS 13 FEET (4 METERS) HIGH AT THE
HIGHEST POINT AND 26 FEET (8 METERS) ACROSS. THE CHRIST
FIGURE IS THE MOST PROMINENT IMAGE; HE HAS HIS HANDS
EXTENDED AND WHAT HE HAS IS MORE OR LESS AN AFRICAN GARB
THAT RUNS ACROSS THE SHOULDER."
TEXT: THE PYRAMID-SHAPED MURAL SHOWS A JESUS WITH DARK BROWN
SKIN, KINKY BLACK HAIR AND AFRICAN FACIAL FEATURES.
THIS DEPICTION OF CHRIST AS A BLACK MAN REFLECTS THE
AFROCENTRIC APPROACH TO CHRISTIANITY, A MOVEMENT WHICH
PUTS AFRICA AT THE HEART OF HISTORY AND CULTURE, AND
STRESSES THE ROLE OF BLACKS IN THE BIBLE. ONE OF THE
MOVEMENT'S LEADING, AND MOST CONTROVERSIAL, SPOKESMEN IS
CAIN HOPE FELDER, A PROFESSOR OF RELIGION AT
WASHINGTON'S LARGELY BLACK HOWARD UNIVERSITY. IN
PROFESSOR FELDER'S VIEW, WHITE SCHOLARS HAVE IGNORED THE
ROLE OF AFRICA AND AFRICAN PEOPLE IN THE BIBLE:
TAPE: CUT TWO -- FELDER :25
"MOST PEOPLE DON'T EVEN REALIZE THAT EGYPT IS IN AFRICA
AND THAT THE BIBLE ITSELF IN GENESIS 10 SHOWS THAT THE
AUTHOR OF THAT TEXT, USUALLY DATED ABOUT 1000 B-C, SAW
THAT THE PEOPLE OF EGYPT AND BIBLICAL ETHIOPIA, WHICH IS
PRESENT DAY SUDAN, AND ANCIENT CANAAN, OR PALESTINE,
ESSENTIALLY LOOKED VERY MUCH ALIKE. WE CALL THEM 'AFRO
ASIATICS' AND ALL THESE PEOPLE HAD A DISCERNIBLE AMOUNT
OF AFRICAN ANCESTRY."
TEXT: ESSENTIAL TO CAIN HOPE FELDER'S THEORY IS THE NOTION
THAT EGYPT IS PART OF AFRICA, NOT THE MIDDLE EAST. HE
ALSO CONTENDS THERE WAS A GREAT DEAL OF INTERMINGLING
BETWEEN THE PEOPLE OF ANCIENT AFRICA AND ANCIENT ISRAEL.
BUT AMONG ACADEMICS, PROFESSOR FELDER'S IDEAS ARE NOT
WIDELY ACCEPTED. JEFF ROGERS, A RELIGION PROFESSOR AT
FURMAN UNIVERSITY IN SOUTH CAROLINA, AGREES THAT WHITE
SCHOLARS HAVE DOWNPLAYED REFERENCES TO AFRICA IN THE
BIBLE. BUT HE SAYS THERE IS NO EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT THE
AFROCENTRIC SCHOLAR'S CLAIM THAT JESUS OF NAZARETH WAS
AN "AFRO-ASIATIC" JEW:
TAPE: CUT THREE -- ROGERS :36
//OPT// "PROFESSOR FELDER USES THIS TERM TO SPEAK OF AN
AFRO-ASIATIC PEOPLE, WHICH SEEMS TO IMPLY A RACIAL AND
CULTURAL CONTINUITY THAT JUST DOESN'T EXIST AMONG MODERN
SPEAKERS OF AFRO-ASIATIC LANGUAGES AND DID NOT EXIST AS
FAR BACK AS WE HAVE RECORD OF THESE LANGUAGES, SO //END
OPT// TO PROPOSE A RACIALLY OR CULTURALLY CONTINUOUS
POPULATION IN CANAAN, EGYPT AND AFRICA I THINK STRIKES
MOST SCHOLARS AS AN OVERSIMPLIFICATION OF WHAT IS A
TERRIBLY COMPLICATED LINGUISTIC AND RACIAL AND CULTURAL
SITUATION."
TEXT: BUT WHILE MANY RELIGIOUS SCHOLARS DEBATE THE HISTORICAL
ACCURACY OF AFROCENTRISM, FEW TAKE ISSUE WITH THE
DEPICTION OF JESUS AS BLACK. ACCORDING TO JEFF
ROGERS, IT HAS LONG BEEN A TRADITION FOR IMAGES OF JESUS
CHRIST TO MIRROR THE FACES OF THE FAITHFUL:
TAPE: CUT FOUR -- ROGERS :29
//OPT// "AFRICAN AMERICAN CHRISTIANS ARE DOING THE SAME
THING THAT OTHER GROUPS, INCLUDING CHRISTIANS OF
EUROPEAN EXTRACTION, HAVE DONE ALL AROUND THE WORLD AND
THROUGH THE CENTURIES OF CHRISTIANITY'S EXISTENCE. //END
OPT// I THINK IF YOU LOOK AT ARTISTIC REPRESENTATION OF
JESUS ACROSS THE CENTURIES, IT SEEMS ALWAYS TO HAVE BEEN
MORE CONCERNED WITH PRESENTING CHRIST IN A MANNER THAT
IS MEANINGFUL TO BELIEVERS IN THEIR OWN TIME THAN IT HAS
BEEN INTERESTED IN ATTEMPTING TO PRODUCE A HISTORICALLY
ACCURATE PORTRAIT OF JESUS."
TEXT: //OPT// SOME BLACK MINISTERS SAY THE IMAGE OF THE
AFRICAN CHRIST IS IMPORTANT TO THEIR CONGREGATION FOR
PSYCHOLOGICAL, AS WELL AS RELIGIOUS, REASONS. ACCORDING
TO CAIN HOPE FELDER, AFRICAN AMERICANS WHO DISMISSED
CHRISTIANITY YEARS AGO AS A "WHITE MAN'S RELIGION" ARE
NOW RETURNING TO CHURCH. BECAUSE BLACK AMERICANS STILL
FACE DISCRIMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES, HE SAYS, IT IS
CRUCIAL THAT CHURCHES STOP THINKING OF JESUS AS WHITE:
TAPE: CUT FIVE -- FELDER :21
"AFTER THE DISCRIMINATION IN HOUSING, DISCRIMINATION IN
WHERE YOU CAN LIVE, DISCRIMINATION IN THE SCHOOLS,
DISCRIMINATION IN THE POLITICAL PROCESS, SHABBY
TREATMENT ON THE JOB, DISCRIMINATION IN THE ARMED
SERVICES, AND THEN YOU GO TO YOUR MOST HOLY PLACE AND
YOU SEE THE VERY PEOPLE DISCRIMINATING (AGAINST) YOU
DEPICTED AS GOD OR AS DIVINE CHARACTERS. THIS IS
INSANE. AND SO WHAT WE NEED TO DO IS TO SAY, 'HOW CAN
WE SHOW A DIFFERENT PORTRAIT OF HISTORY?'" //END OPT//
TEXT: WASHINGTON ARTIST MAURICE JENKINS RECENTLY COMPLETED HIS
PORTRAIT OF A BLACK CHRIST IN A LARGER-THAN-LIFE MURAL
GRACING THE BALCONY FOYER OF A SUBURBAN WASHINGTON
CHURCH. TWELVE YEARS AGO, THE ARTIST PAINTED HIS FIRST
BLACK CHRIST IN ANOTHER CAPITAL AREA CHURCH. MISTER
JENKINS SAYS HE'LL NEVER FORGET THE CONGREGATION'S
REACTION TO THAT MURAL:
TAPE: CUT SIX -- JENKINS :16
"I RECALL PEOPLE COMING TO ME AND SAYING THAT THE CHRIST
LOOKED LIKE SOMEBODY THEY SAW IN THE STREET. THAT'S THE
WHOLE IDEA -- FOR US TO SEE GOD IN (OUR)SELF AND NOT
ALWAYS OUTSIDE OF OURSELF. AND I FEEL LIKE EACH AND
EVERYBODY, THERE'S A LITTLE BIT OF GOD IN THEM AND IT'S
UP TO US TO TAP THAT SOURCE AND FEEL OF GOD AND BEGIN TO
DO THE WORK OF GOD."
TEXT: THE BLACK CHRIST IN MAURICE JENKIN'S LATEST MURAL TOWERS
OVER A COLORFUL PYRAMID OF FACES FROM AROUND THE WORLD
-- NOT JUST BROWN FACES BUT ALSO WHITE, YELLOW, AND
RED. THIS JESUS MAY LOOK LIKE A "SOUL BROTHER", BUT HE
IS ALSO A CHRIST EMBRACING THE WORLD. (SIGNED)
20-Jun-94 4:55 PM EDT (2055 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
Dan Hydar
>
>INTRO: IN AFRICAN AMERICAN CHURCHES FROM NEW JERSEY TO
> CALIFORNIA, BLACK CHRIST IMAGES ARE APPEARING IN
> PAINTINGS, STATUES AND STAINED-GLASS WINDOWS. NO LONGER
> CONTENT WITH TRADITIONAL RELIGIOUS ART THAT PORTRAYS
> JESUS WITH PALE SKIN AND BLOND LOCKS, BLACK AMERICANS
> ARE FASHIONING A DIFFERENT, DARKER-SKINNED CHRIST IN
> THEIR OWN IMAGE.
Eh? This is supposed to be a *new* development? I thought that this
has been done fairly widely for at least a few decades now... can
anyone comment?
|Dan|
tig...@wet.com
Richard S Ellis
Egypt.
Can you imagine hiding a white baby in Egypt?
--Richard Ellis at AUsome AUburn
Dan Hydar
>
>If Jesus was not Black, please tell me how his Parents could hide Him
>in Egypt. Can you imagine hiding a white baby in Egypt?
Depends *heavily* on what you call "black" and "white", dunnit? Could
you imaging hiding a "white" baby in Palestine?
|Dan|
tig...@wet.com
Kristin A. Blais
The same way you could hide a black, mediterranian baby etc etc.
Egypt is not mostly "black" but the people of Eygpt, like
any other north African country have shades from white to black
to everything in between. I am reasonably sure that Jesus was not
the lily English white that he is often portrayed as being9
(but again given the fact that some historians now believe the
Jews were a Indo-European group that moved Southward- who knows)
but other than that we really don't know WHAT he looked like-
at ALL. Seeing as there is no physical description given
to him in the Bible- GEEE I wonder why that is- MAYBE
there's a reason for it. Like we shouldn't worry about
such things i.e. let people portray him as they want as
long as noone gets attached to a particular image as TRUTH-
after all you wouldn't want to reject him at a crucial hour
because he doesn't LOOK like you thought he would.
;-)
Kristin
Rae Stabosz
=======================
The "new development" angle is just a little media ritual engaged in by
all but the best journalists. Whenever a trend is being highlighted in
the media -- as opposed to an event being reported -- most journalist
start out by stating that whatever it is they intend to highlight is a
"new development". I don't know why this is. It's like a bit of magic,
an incantation. I think it's a short cut so they don't have to give any
real background to the trend they are highlighting.
It's annoying but essentially harmless. Yes, black images for Christ
have been around for decades (centuries? I don't know about that) but
it's this guys shortcut way of bringing the topic up. The rest of the
article is fairly interesting.
Rae
Anne E. Skove
: >From: John Vogel <uunet!DGS.DGSYS.COM!jvogel>
I thought this had been done for some time as well.
Wasn't there a priest who was excommunicated for leading an Afrocentric
Catholic church in D.C. a few years ago?
Also, the whole race thing seems like common sense. Whatever Jesus
looked like, it's very different from the blondes that were painted in
Europe! I used to go to a church that had a picture of Jesus as a child
with blonde, curly hair and a suit of armor! Maybe he wasn't "black,"
but he definitely wasn't white.
Anne
Kathy Hutchins
> Yes, black images for Christ
> have been around for decades (centuries? I don't know about that) but
> it's this guys shortcut way of bringing the topic up. The rest of the
> article is fairly interesting.
I've seen African crucifixes for sale through art catalogues. They
were reproductions of items that had been made in Africa 200-300
years ago, and the Christ figures were unmistakably African
in appearance.
Kathy Hutchins
khut...@vax1.iupui.edu
Kathy Hutchins
> Wasn't there a priest who was excommunicated for leading an Afrocentric
> Catholic church in D.C. a few years ago?
Yes, Fr. George (?) Stallings. Actually, he wasn't excommunicated
for Afrocentrism. I forget the complete details if in fact I
ever knew them, but it was one of those "you can't fire me,
I quit" deals, and I believe a number of issues were contended.
The entire congregation left the Catholic Church and became
the Imani Temple. This happened when I lived there, so it was
between 1987 and 1990. Maybe someone like Jim McIntosh remembers
better, or someone could search the old Washington Post files. It
was widely covered in the local media.
> Also, the whole race thing seems like common sense. Whatever Jesus
> looked like, it's very different from the blondes that were painted in
> Europe!
I must say that Catholic European Jesus images are not quite as
WASPish looking as, well, WASP ones. There was a picture in
the Sunday School room that made Jesus look like some sort
of Swedish Lord Byron with the long wavy blonde hair and the
blue eyes and the romantic poet facial expression. There's
nothing wrong with the images reflecting our ideal, I suppose,
so long as we don't confuse this stylized representation with
the Truth. Those lambs He's always holding are a lot cleaner and
look like they smell a lot nicer than the real article.
Kathy Hutchins
khut...@vax1.iupui.edu
Patrick Sweeney
Anne> Dan Hydar (bellahs!corndog!dhy...@UUNET.UU.NET) wrote: :
Anne> >From: John Vogel <uunet!DGS.DGSYS.COM!jvogel> : > : >INTRO:
Anne> IN AFRICAN AMERICAN CHURCHES FROM NEW JERSEY TO : >
Anne> CALIFORNIA, BLACK CHRIST IMAGES ARE APPEARING IN : >
Anne> PAINTINGS, STATUES AND STAINED-GLASS WINDOWS. NO LONGER : >
Anne> CONTENT WITH TRADITIONAL RELIGIOUS ART THAT PORTRAYS : >
Anne> JESUS WITH PALE SKIN AND BLOND LOCKS, BLACK AMERICANS : >
Anne> ARE FASHIONING A DIFFERENT, DARKER-SKINNED CHRIST IN : >
Anne> THEIR OWN IMAGE.
Anne> : Eh? This is supposed to be a *new* development? I
Anne> thought that this : has been done fairly widely for at least
Anne> a few decades now... can : anyone comment?
Anne> I thought this had been done for some time as well.
I agree, images of Christ (Mary, Joseph, the Apostles, etc.) adapted
to local cultures have been around for a long time.
Is there anything really new in this news report?
Anne> Wasn't there a priest who was excommunicated for leading an
Anne> Afrocentric Catholic church in D.C. a few years ago?
The status of Augustus Stallings in the Roman Catholic Church is that
he is a priest suspended from ministry as a priest in the Roman
Catholic diocese of Washington.
I believe he obtained a consecration to bishop in some Christian sect
and continues a public ministry.
--
Patrick Sweeney
Lehman Brothers
388 Greenwich Street 11th floor
New York, NY 10013
internet pswe...@lehman.com
voice (212) 464-3815, fax (212) 464-3011, compuserve 73063,1427
Pavel Chichikov
> and at least one young man came forward to allege sexual abuse.
It was St.Teresa of Avila in southeast DC. There were allegations
of misuse of funds and misconduct, but so far as I know they remain only
allegations to this day.
With all due respect, we should be chary of retailing unproven
and/or indistinctly remembered allegations.
Peace,
Pavel
Dan Hydar
>
>From my understanding of History, 2000 years ago, the Egyptians were
>Black, no shades of white, no tanning parlors, no sunscreens, etc. These
>people were BLACK.
I rember reading that Egyptian drawings included pictures of some
foreigners that were drawn much darker than the "Egyptian" images...
so it seems unreasonable to assume a monochrome environment. If by
"black" you mean darker than the average Swede, well, you're probably
right but your terminology seems over-stretched...
I seem to recall that 10-15 years ago someone claimed to have proof
that Jesus was from Ethiopia... does anyone know what this claim was
based on?
>If Jesus were not BLACK, how could he hide in Egypt?
BTW, even if everyone in Egypt was "black" does fleeing to Egypt imply
that Jesus, Mary and Joseph hid by looking identical to the natives?
|Dan|
tig...@wet.com
P.S. This is a relatively trivial subject, but interresting...
certainly better that beating the dead horse of homosexuality. (The
ol' gay mare she ain't what she used to be...)
J.J. Ursic
> BTW, I think it is much more important to live like Jesus than to
>look like Jesus.
The woman's ordination movement goes one step farther and says it is
totally unimportant to look like Jesus:-) -J.J.
Dan Hydar
> With all due respect, we should be chary of retailing unproven
>and/or indistinctly remembered allegations.
"Chary" == Charity + wary? Nice.
|Dan|
tig...@wet.com
Alfred S. Chavez
>Wasn't there a priest who was excommunicated for leading an Afrocentric
>Catholic church in D.C. a few years ago?
You are speaking of the notorious Rev. George Stallings, who spun off his
own African Catholic Church a few years ago, having had himself ordained a
bishop in the process. The Washington Post was having a great time writing
about how Rev. Stallings had tapped into a great vein of dissatisfaction
among African-American Catholics. Then the Post discovered independently
of the diocese that Stallings had been investigated for misuse
of funds while pastor of one of the city's black parishes (St. Augustine's?),
and at least one young man came forward to allege sexual abuse.
Stallings promptly tried to rally blacks in the city to boycott the Post,
which seems to have worked to neutralize the situation--Stallings got no
more publicity--publicity that was helping him to fill his church and its
coffers--and the Post's anti-catholic glee on how badly the Catholic
Church treats black catholics ebbed.
Pavel or Jim McIntosh, is this how you recall it?
Fred Chavez
PATRICIA KIRBY
of his church with him to Imani Temple, the fact is that he didn't,
though a lot of them left St. Teresa of Avila, the parish in question.
This church, in Southeast Washington, was assigned to Fr. Raymond East,
an outstanding youngish charismatic black priest made pastor in full
knowledge that a cross would await him at St. Teresa's (this was before
Imani Temple was fully formed) -- and Fr. Ray has been a stabilizing
influence because he is a tremendously gifted priest, one of the best
preachers in any faith as well as singers, who blends traditional and
Afrocentric beautifully. If only all priests could do that, or for
that matter all of us laity -- just as delighted to sing and pray the
Latin Mass as much as to raise or join arms in fervent Gospel service.
As for Fr. Stallings' excommunication, I think it may have occurred
when he became "bishop" in Imani Temple and took it on himself to
"ordain" other priests (or maybe they call them ministers). The Car-
dinal Archbishop here was very saddened by the whole affair, for he
had previously done a great deal to let Fr. Stallings do a lot of what
he wanted to, and then for Fr. Stallings to say he had to leave the
Church because he was not permitted to move on his own lights -- that
was a "bad rap" as well as divisive among blacks.
John Vogel
>
> I thought this had been done for some time as well.
>
> Wasn't there a priest who was excommunicated for leading an Afrocentric
> Catholic church in D.C. a few years ago?
>
> Also, the whole race thing seems like common sense. Whatever Jesus
> looked like, it's very different from the blondes that were painted in
> Europe! I used to go to a church that had a picture of Jesus as a child
> with blonde, curly hair and a suit of armor! Maybe he wasn't "black,"
> but he definitely wasn't white.
>
The Black priest was the Reverend James Stahlings. He left the
church, complaining that Blacks were prevented from entering the
leadership. He founded the Imani Temple an African-American Catholic<?>
church in nearby maryland. He found someone to ordain him a bishop, and
I believe has since married.
Mercifully, he's been out of the papers recently.
John
Dan Hydar
>
>The woman's ordination movement goes one step farther and says it is
>totally unimportant to look like Jesus:-) -J.J.
>
Speaking of beating a dead horse... welcome back, J.J. 8^) -D.H.
Pavel Chichikov
Chary = very cautious; wary
chariot - very cautious, wary person; analogy with idiot
Pavel Chichikov
> WASPish looking as, well, WASP ones. There was a picture in
> the Sunday School room that made Jesus look like some sort
> of Swedish Lord Byron
I lived briefly in Nazareth about ten years ago. If Jesus looked
anything like the people there now, he looked - well - Palestinian.
Galilee has been for a long time, and most likely was in Jesus' time, very
mixed ethnically. There is a wide range of body types and pigmentation. A
Swedish look-alike is most improbable though. Nazareth is on the same
latitude, roughly, as southern Georgia, USA.
BTW, I think it is much more important to live like Jesus than to
look like Jesus.
Best wishes,
Pavel