The Look of Jesus

by Letters Editor · Published September 30, 2022 · Updated September 29, 2022

By Bernard Moat, St Helena Bay – You should be proud of the numerous accolades that your publication is receiving, and rightly so, not only for its quality but also its content which is world class.

In your editorial of the June issue, you revisit a topic previously raised some years ago by one of your correspondents dealing with “The look of Jesus”. I recall being taught in catechism that God made humans in his own image and likeness.

The fact that no two people look alike, except for identical twins, leads us to fairly assume that God intended all of us humans to be in his image and likeness. The continual debate as to how Jesus looked seems to refer to depictions in art during the Renaissance period.

In art circles, depictions are considered to fall under artistic licence, and they can be complimentary or downright ugly. There is nothing stopping a modern artist from using artistic licence, and we know that some artists have depicted Jesus as other than European.

We also know that St Faustina, the Polish mystic nun, was given an image of Jesus in an apparition to replicate, and it is displayed in many Catholic churches.

This letter was published in the August 2022 issue of the Southern Cross magazine