Responding to ‘Black Jesus’

by Letters Editor · February 5, 2018

Our readers weighed in on the “Was Jesus Black” debate and although the article’s premise was a figurative one, some took the premise a little more literally…

What is the Purpose of ‘Black Jesus’?

Margaret von Solms, Sedgefield – Responding to Günther Simmermacher’s article “Was Jesus black?”, anyone would know that Jesus looked like a typical Middle Eastern Jew of that era, swarthy to a greater or lesser extent. It’s understandable that Western Europeans depicted him as relatively fair-skinned (never a blue-eyed blond, to the best of my knowledge) and equally understandable that Jesus and John could be represented as Africans.

As for Jesus looking like a Christian Palestinian, on my visits to Israel I was often at a loss to distinguish between Sabras and Christian Arabs, both of whom I came into a fair amount of contact with.

So munificent of you not to invalidate the faith of white Christians!

The first time I read this article I thought: “My word! Günther Simmermacher is being politically correct.” Then no! What is the purpose of the article at all? To denigrate white South Africans, or white people in general? It certainly seems like that.

I would say it would be a lot better had this article not been written, let alone published.

Jesus Was Not Black (or White)

Juanita Jansen van Rensburg, Cape Town – I read Patrick Dacey’s letter “Culture Determines Our Images of God” and the article “Was Jesus Black?” in the same issue.

Why surmise, as Mr Dacey does, that Eve was of African descent when it is clear from what we learn in the Bible that colour is not an issue in the biblical message? The scientific analysis regarding Eve is a joke.

Jesus and the disciples talk about Jews and Gentiles, not the colour of the person.

I, as a white person, have never identified Jesus as being of any colour, rather as the saviour of mankind, and we were never encouraged in catechism to think of Jesus as black, white or coloured, for that matter.

We were taught, as it says in the Bible, that Jesus was a Nazarene and, if I remember correctly, “out of the House of David a king shall be born to save all”.

Look at the people of Jesus’ time and that will determine what Jesus actually looked like.