I remember Sister Aurea, my 6th, 7th and 8th grade Benedictine nun teacher at a Catholic school 1959-1962), telling us that, given his time and location, Jesus was definitely at least brown, probably dark brown, possibly Black. Therefore, she asserted, no Christian should ever be racist regarding race or ethnicity. On the other hand, she also taught us that it was a sin to be curious about other religions. She told us that if we needed to attend another church for a wedding or a funeral, for example, we should attend only physically and not engage with the religious part mentally or emotionally.
I wonder what Jesus might have looked like if he had been a typical, average human. Perhaps AI could generate what the generic human male would look like, a mix of all the races.
I don’t think “Aztec Mexican depiction of Mary” is quite an accurate description of Our Lady of Guadalupe. We don’t know who created the art on the tilma, and it quite deliberately portrays her as Mestizo, not Aztec. This article can’t quite do justice to the topic of diverse depictions of Mary in the Catholic Church without discussing Marian Apparitions. Many (if not most) Catholics believe that Mary has actually appeared in forms belonging to different races and ethnicities. No Catholic would expect Our Lady of Kibeho to look the same as Our Lady of Fatima or Our Lady of Akita, either in art or in person.
Our Lady of Guadalupe also dates back to the time of the conquistadors (1531), so it doesn’t serve as a good example of more diverse art from “more recent centuries”. Even during peak Eurocentric eras in Western Europe and the Americas, we had Coptic and Eastern and Ethiopian and Persian Christians creating Christian art that looked like them. This article seems to imply clear trends over time that I’m not sure totally existed.
I remember Sister Aurea, my 6th, 7th and 8th grade Benedictine nun teacher at a Catholic school 1959-1962), telling us that, given his time and location, Jesus was definitely at least brown, probably dark brown, possibly Black. Therefore, she asserted, no Christian should ever be racist regarding race or ethnicity. On the other hand, she also taught us that it was a sin to be curious about other religions. She told us that if we needed to attend another church for a wedding or a funeral, for example, we should attend only physically and not engage with the religious part mentally or emotionally.
I wonder what Jesus might have looked like if he had been a typical, average human. Perhaps AI could generate what the generic human male would look like, a mix of all the races.
A friend at my congregation is convinced Jesus didn't exist as a human being.
I don’t think “Aztec Mexican depiction of Mary” is quite an accurate description of Our Lady of Guadalupe. We don’t know who created the art on the tilma, and it quite deliberately portrays her as Mestizo, not Aztec. This article can’t quite do justice to the topic of diverse depictions of Mary in the Catholic Church without discussing Marian Apparitions. Many (if not most) Catholics believe that Mary has actually appeared in forms belonging to different races and ethnicities. No Catholic would expect Our Lady of Kibeho to look the same as Our Lady of Fatima or Our Lady of Akita, either in art or in person.
Our Lady of Guadalupe also dates back to the time of the conquistadors (1531), so it doesn’t serve as a good example of more diverse art from “more recent centuries”. Even during peak Eurocentric eras in Western Europe and the Americas, we had Coptic and Eastern and Ethiopian and Persian Christians creating Christian art that looked like them. This article seems to imply clear trends over time that I’m not sure totally existed.