this post was submitted on 14 Feb 2025
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[–] [email protected] 88 points 6 days ago (8 children)

99% invisible just released a podcast on this subject ☞ https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/615-your-own-personal-jesus/

The most popular image of Jesus Christ in the world—a white man with blue eyes, wavy brown hair, and a soft, peaceful gaze—comes from Head of Christ, a 1940 painting by Chicago artist Warner Sallman. It’s been reproduced over a billion times, shaping how millions imagine Jesus.

But its dominance also cemented a white Jesus in the cultural imagination. Scholars point out that the historical Jesus, a Middle Eastern Jew, likely had darker skin. Yet Head of Christ reinforced whiteness as central to Christian identity in America. As historian David Morgan puts it, “It gave white Americans a Jesus that was theirs.”

[–] Landless2029 17 points 5 days ago

"Skin of bronze and hair of Sheep's wool"

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