Monday, March 24, 2008
Are we sure that Jesus had black hair?
Q: "I find all the pictures of Jesus to be sombody's fantasy of what he would look like. He was middle eastern and they just don't look like that. I find it hard to believe that all the comments give such high ratings. I would much rather see some form that would more correctly represent the people of that time and region of the country and not some model-like depiction. This could not even be close!"
A: Thanks for taking the time to send in feedback about the QOD. I am sorry to hear that you are disappointed in the images that we choose for the quotes of the day that deal with Jesus.
Jesus was, of course, a Middle Eastern Jewish man - probably darker-complected, maybe even swarthy, with black hair. The Urantia Book tells us that he was a maginificent specimen of manhood, and I know he must have been a knockout!!! But, in this passage of The Urantia Book, we see that perhaps he could have even been a red-heard or even blonde: (122:5.5) "The families of both Joseph and Mary were well educated for their time. Joseph and Mary were educated far above the average for their day and station in life. He was a thinker; she was a planner, expert in adaptation and practical in immediate execution. Joseph was a black-eyed brunet; Mary, a brown-eyed well-nigh blond type."
Any chance that you are an artist? Or do you know a good artist who can paint portaits? You may not know this, but it is extremely difficult to find ethnically correct depictions of the Master, or even contemporary artists who attempt picturing the Master. There is a real dearth of newer materials out there from which to choose an image - And to use just any man's picture would surely not be appreciated either.
The images that we have chosen, such as the recent one from Palm Sunday, and through this Holy Week, are contemporary, fresh, not over-used, and painted by people who love Jesus. We think that shows in the image, even if the image may not be correct in all points. The attitude and demeanor of the image is what counts for us.
The image that you chose to write about is one of the beautiful flower pictures, and we often use beautiful landscape images as well. We find that these are always pretty well received - but we can't please everyone, unfortunately...
Maybe it seems foolish to you to use a painting to try and depict a man whose true image can never be known, but some find the pictures comforting and beautiful. Sorry that you do not, but I hope that won't keep you from coming back and enjoying the QOD every day.
We love putting this feature together, and we also very much appreciate the feedback. Even though we wish we could please everyone, that is also a fantasy, alas...!Labels: feedback, Jesus, middle eastern, The Urantia Book
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