Occasionally, I will get asked by one of my fellow African-americans what race do I think Jesus was. Typically, what goes along with that question is the reflection of how Jesus has been displayed in artwork throughout Christianity’s existence. Usually, the sentiment is juxtaposed with a sense of indignation that spurns the anglo, eurocentric dominance of such art reflection that is not consistent with the indigenous culture of the Biblical setting.
Unfortunately, the question represents the broader discontentment of a long history of mistreatment of Blacks. There is a sensitivity to the topic that is often met with emotional disdain at the prospect of historical injustices and contemporary misgivings. This is something that only the impacted feel, most don’t understand and only a few handle with objective care. For those who have evaded the genetic and/or cultural entrapment that sifts issues of race through a highly evaluative colandar, there might be a sense of irritation that an endless recalling of the issue to the forefront brings. For those whom race has been a most central concern due to their ethnic heritage, the continual demand for justice, respect and value can cloud even the most innocent of misunderstandings and misrepresentations. The extreme version of this demand can, and often does result in a myopic insistence that justice prevails even in situations where there have been no miscarriages of it.
Yes, the issue of race and how it has been historically treated remains a highly volatile topic for some, and particularly as it relates to Christianity. The reality is that for centuries, there has been an anglo, eurocentric dominance on the representation of Christianity that is not only reflected in the symbolic artifacts and artifices, but resulted in demoralizing perceptions and practices where Blacks are concerned. The ensuing institutional and political infractions that created a system of inequality and wholesale denigration were supported and promoted by Biblical interpretations and a biased brand of Christianity. That is an inescapable reality that would have a lasting impact, even after lines of demarcation were legally erased. The anglo-orientation of Christianity would cause some to reject it as a by-product of that orientation, failing to see the beauty of Christ that transcends it.
For the Christian with the mandate to see through a Christo-centric lens, this indeed becomes a tricky balance. The idea that race should not matter to one committed to Christ has worked wonderful in theory but not so great practically. While this country has witnessed great strides in race relations, there seems to remain a subtle hum of separatism based on cultural preferences, misunderstandings and in extreme cases, outright prejudices. Some things are hard to forget and even harder to let go of. This is most demonstrated in the composition of the local Christian assembly. How many Christian churches across America have isolated on the basis of race illustrative in separatist nomenclature of black churches, white churches, hispanic churches, etc.? I recall a former pastor frequently citing the phrase ‘Sunday mornings are the most segregated hour in America’. I dare say it is the lingering impact of historic inequality and cultural biases.
Yet Christ effectively dealt with ethnic prejudices long before euro-centric dominance and he established the foundation by which equality must be considered. Jesus Christ stepped into time and space when prejudicial sentiments ran high. Jews were considered superior as God’s chosen people. Gentiles, as a class of people, were considered inferior and unworthy of any divinely favored activity. In fact, they were classified as dogs, which in that time was a derogatory term likening them to unclean animals.
Since Jesus revealed God to humanity, his actions towards the Gentiles demonstrated not only an unprecedented level of care and consideration for them, but what he came to implement would transcend ethnic prejudices and transform discriminatory practices. His death on the cross created a new entity, called the Church, whereby those former lines of demarcation were erased and all who were apart of the this entity would have equal access, equal promises and equal consideration. Ephesians 2:13-16 aptly captures this
But now in Christ Jesus you who used to be far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, the one who made both groups into one and who destroyed the middle wall of partition, the hostility, when he nullified in his flesh the law of commandments in decrees. He did this to create in himself one new man out of two, thus making peace, and to reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by which the hostility has been killed. (Ephesians 2:13-16 NET)
From a first century perspective, no longer would one group (Jews) have the privileged upper hand that denied the other group (Gentiles) equal access and consideration. Now, the privilege would be granted exclusively through Christ and the new entity that he established, access through faith in him. The hostility presented here refers to the Mosaic covenant that created the ability for one group to discriminate against the other group but now has been rendered ineffective through Christ’s death on the cross.
From a contemporary perspective, this ought to impale any notion that one group of people is in anyway superior to another and deserving of a superior status. It is unfortunate that for so many centuries this was not the case, that the beauty of cross was marred by biased applications of unbiased Biblical truths. It is egregious that such interpretations resulted in the denigration of a whole class of people that would have such a forceful and continuing impact.
Nonetheless, misapplications cannot and should not be confused with the intentional actions of a loving God who deemed all creation equally worthy of reconciliation appropriated through the gift of his Son and faith in him. Nor should it be of consequence that culturally biased representations of him would skew his affiliation with one race or the other. He died so individuals from all races, creeds, tongues, nations would have equal opportunity to the gift of eternal life. This transcends race, it transcends historical mis-actions, it transcends cultural biases.
So the quest for the colorless Christ considers his work and person over what has been done with it by lost and misguided people. Colorless is actually a misnomer for it suggests an erasure of ethnic heritage. Rather colorless considers all races and ethnicities as equally valuable. For the Christ-follower, this means moving beyond the past transgressions and embracing the model of integration that Christ came to establish. It recognizes the historic mishandling of evidence and resulting prejudices are nothing more than a product of the same sin that Christ came to expunge in order to create an unprecedented unity that defies ethnic and cultural prejudices. It means stepping outside of the biases and considering the brother as a brother rather than a member of a different race. Paul’s prescription in Philippians 3:13-14 to forget those things which are behind is equally applicable to the sensitivities of historic mistreatment.
As long as sin exists in a broken and fallen world, there will always be racism in one form or the other or milder versions of ignorance and cultural superiority. But let those who look to Christ demonstrate his transcendence of these issues, abolition of biased attitudes and composition of equal consideration and sensitivity to those impacted.
23 replies to "The Quest for the Colorless Christ – and Other Thoughts on Christianity and Race"
Lisa –
I think your words also reach into the gender issue. But maybe you’d disagree? Hey it’s summer and I’m still waiting for your interaction over at my blog. 😉
Lisa,
A thoughtful article on a sensitive subject.
Having grown up the south, and lived through both segregation and the civil rights movement, I understand what you are talking about. Although cultural and ethnic biases die hard, or just go underground, I have also seen a heartening trend in recent years, blacks and whites worshipping together in the SBC, something as a child I never thought I would personally live to see.
Yet, still I see a lot of anti-semitism in the church, and that puzzles me because Christ was of Jewish heritage.
However, the excuse has been made in some parts of the church that because the Jews have rejected Christ as the Messiah, they are to be rejected as well. Amazing how our churches can on the one hand preach Christ being sacrificed once for all, and still not get the message in our own hearts.
And, of course, there are the theological factions that exist, i.e. Calvinism/Arminianism, comp/egal, and cessationisim/continuationism that cause Christ to be looked upon as somehow ‘taking sides’ in both gender issues and non-essentials, rather than being the unifying force as the Head of the church. In the extreme modes of each faction, it seems Christians who should know better actually believe He thinks them superior because they believe they have the most ‘right’ theology, or they are of the most superior gender.
This is a good subject that we really need to look more at in the modern day church, because it is just not a matter of racial inequality, but of gender, and theologically opposing camps which prevent Christ from being presented completely without bias.
Thanks for bringing this out.
Thank you for this post. I believe thinkers and actors in the Church can indeed go further. Pastor and choir exchanges, touchpoints of diverse worship and body life, one-time events (or possibly frequent workshop and conferences) are to some degree fine, but is not enough. Yet the priority of dismantling racism seems like just another option within discipleship.
I am reminded that in Acts, there was hard work done among diverse members while ministry was undertaken.
Racial divides that exist in the kingdom/family of God as manifest in America reflect complex humanity and impact thoroughly present in our society. American Christians utilize rhetoric, concepts, ideals, and yes, emotions — goodly inspired by the Scriptures, the Holy Spirit, and Christ. However, our work comes up shallow (underdeveloped) and transient. We would do well to look at serious efforts to dismantle racism … there are many people and organizations that do this work (e.g. Tim Wise).
I offer up a quote by 19th/20th century AME Bishop Henry McNeal Turner for reflection and provocation:
Every race of people since time began, who have attempted to describe their God by words, or by paintings, or carvings, or by any other form or figure, have conveyed the idea that the God who made them and shaped their destiny was symbolized by themselves, and why should not the Negro believe that he resembles God as much as any other people?
We do not believe that there is any hope for a race of people who
do not believe that they look like God.
David, I appreciate this statement
Mbaker,
I can’t tell you how much I have encountered this lately and having to defend the Jewish heritage of Jesus.
Lisa,
Thanks for this. But here’s the crux of the matter, as you rightly put it:
Yep, we actually got to do more – both sides.
Lisa,
A thought provoking post, and I hope I’m understanding you correctly, but I’m not sure I agree that a “colorless Christ” of the sort you define and defend is what I’m after. I think we’d be better served to look for the thoroughly Jewish Jesus of the Gospels rather than a white, brown, black, or Asian Jesus. Jesus was a Jew, who came in fulfillment of promises made to Jews, and whose blessing overflow to all races. But to seek a race-less Jesus is to obscure part of the fullness of the Incarnation, at least it seems so to me. Jesus came to a particular people group, as a member of that people group, and when I see him in heaven, I think he will greatly resemble a Jewish man, not a Masai, a Tajik, or an Irishman. So while I can appreciate the feelings behind your thoughts, I guess I want a different quest, if I can co-opt the term, for seeing the real, historical, incarnate, fully God and fully Jewish Jesus, just like the Gospels reveal to us.
I guess if I wanted to emphasize the importance of Jesus’ identity with the non-anglo portion of the world and the church, I’d emphasize that Jews are the most hated, most oppressed, most marginalized people the world has ever known, yet when God came as a man, he came as one of them. The Son of God died, naked, cursed, and rejected as the Messiah, put to death under the Roman boot like a criminal. Surely that should be enough identification for oppressed people of every race. But let’s not eradicate Jesus’ Jewishness in order to gain a feeling of group solidarity.
One final thought: I recognize the challenge of achieving diversity within our churches and lament its absence. But it is simply a fact that people congregate in churches with those with whom they feel most comfortable and avoid churches where they feel out of place. Churches are divided not just by racial/ethnic lines but also by theological, cultural, and economic ones. Given this fact, is race as big an issue as we think?
What is racism is in America, casteism is in India! I have heard of a certain church in Chennai, India, where one group of people from a certain caste would worship, and once they are done, another group from another caste would go inside and worship. Pathetic!
Even sincere Christians hold on so proudly to the caste they hail from, looking down on people from the so-called lower castes. Marriages within the same caste is very common among Christians in India.
I wonder how they’d co-exist with Christians from lower castes in Heaven!? (Oh, in Heaven we will be without sin!).
T.C.,
This was actually Lisa’s post.
Lisa: Although I don’t have any deep thought right now, I usually just say that Jesus looked like an Iraqi. I’m certain that’s pretty much true, and it doesn’t let either White, Black, or Hispanic Americans get an upper hand.
But in all seriousness, I can understand the artistic expression of Jesus as black or hispanic. It’s artistically true just as much as a white Jesus.
An excellent post yet again, friend. This definitely works for the gender debate, also. However, my “answer” that Jesus looked like an Iraqi certainly doesn’t advance the gender issues.
The fact is, any artist lives a part of his/her self in the art produced. Art is a reflection of one’s own soul, and so it naturally flows into any picture drawn or painting painted.
Good post. Do you think Liberation Theology is part of the problem? It seems more “black” churches are embracing an increasingly heretical doctrine that may cause separation by doctrine and not just color and culture
Joe, excellent point here,
I thought this was interesting in that regard
http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justintaylor/2010/07/09/what-did-jesus-look-like/
Chad, I do believe that Blacks, in general, gravitate towards theology that will address compensation of past injustices on some level. I firmly believe that is the attraction behind Word of Faith and Prosperity teaching because it give the allusion of control and compensation. It’s teaching that says ‘you’ve been denied but now here is your chance to get yours’.
Great post, Lisa, and it speaks well to the situation of ethnic peoples who have been negatively impacted or mistreated by sinful, fallen human beings using conversion to Christ or other excuses as a reason to do so. I don’t believe in hair shirts and artificial guilt for people alive today who had nothing to do with the events of 100, 200 or even 300 years ago when Blacks, American Indians, Mexicans and others were learning what the conquest of the New World would mean for them, but it is impractical for people today to believe that those events and the stories associated with them have been erased from their collective consciousness…nor should they be, but the goal is to remember them in light of God’s great grace, mercy and love, for even as the stories are told, one can often pick up a thread of grace weaving through the narrative, and it should assure both the hearer and the teller that inasmuch as God never forgot their forebears, he hasn’t forgotten them either.
I found Joe Horn’s remarks quite apropos. While social Darwinism that was adopted by some in the 20th century and Hollywood’s character ‘negro Joe’ may have contributed to a demeaning portrayal of the African – American in general, the fact that the Gospel has enabled such to forge a new ethnic group in their own ‘promised land’ is nothing short of a marvel.
But, the Gospel does not blurr or obliterate cultural and ethnic boundaries, although it transcends and even transforms them -esp. among the regenerate.
Don’t fool yourself, Lisa, you’ll still hear black people offer the explanation for their own idiosyncratic behavour “my peoples.”
Guilt and reparition is not something the US government is concerned with. A “salt and pepper” combination is not the solution, nor is laying us ‘white folk’ on a guilt trip.
Vladimir
Vlad, I hear what you’re saying but I also note Artisan’s pointed comment here
That collective consciousness is something that is not easily erased and moreover has contributed to particular motivators and behaviors endemic to the African-american culture. While I do not endorse the application of injustice onto those who were not responsible (as some do), I do think a particular sensitivity is in order. Yes, some will filter every situation through an afro-centric lens that colors every situation with the stain of racism. That is both unfortunate and dishonest. I think it only hinders progress. But neither can we be dismissive of the impact of centuries of infractions.
I was hoping with this post to address the fact that while these sensitivities do exist, there is the impetus to rise above them and seek the greater good of reconciliation.
While psychological trauma may have existed amongst the former slaves of the white man, that hardly is applicable today – particularly when one black man has to inform another that he already has equality under the law.
The unregenerate black man even now still seeks a handout, a free ride, you owe me something attitude. This is not however a peculiarity solely exclusive to the African-American. Nevertheless it is a prominent social attitude.
In urban settings you will see two churches of the same denomination on opposite corners, one filled with African-Americans and the other with whites. Their creed is the same, but the cultural and ethnic differences are holding sway – willingly and of choice.
The only “higher good”, as you put it, that I can think of that transcends all prejudices is that of the former slave trader John Newton and his hymn ‘Amazing Grace.’
Vladimir
I think there is a big difference in the mindset that says we separate into churches of any kind because a certain race or ethnic group feels they are superior to another. Simply making individual choices on where to worship based on personal preferences is quite another matter.
For example, some people prefer certain types of ethnic food over others, but eating a pizza instead of taco doesn’t mean there’s racial discrimination involved. I am free to choose whatever kind of food I want to eat, as long as it is available. However, if I were to walk into an ethnic restaurant, and was refused service or asked to leave because I wasn’t of that particular heritage, then the owner of that restaurant would be guilty of discrimination.
The same holds true for our churches. Thankfully we all have choices in our country as to where and how we want to worship based upon personal preferences. However, if the pastor or the congregation of that church refuses us entry because we look different than they do, then that’s discrimination. While God has graciously extended freedom of worship to everyone in our society, He never intended us to make those choices strictly on the basis of the color wheel, no matter who we are.
Vladimir,
With all gentleness and respect, people who occupied the lowest strata of society as America was conquered and colonized saw their lives rapidly turned upside down. Their families, language, culture and way of life were literally torn from them and everything they were, everything they had known for multiplied hundreds of years was forever gone, in some cases in a matter of weeks or months, never to be restored to them. I wonder how you’d feel were it you in their stead upon waking tomorrow morning? How bewildering it must have been! And how quickly would your ethnic group progress in a subsequent environment that often ranged from indifference to hostility?
Of course these traumatic events became a part of each group’s cultural memory – and it’s good to remember. As sad and as tragic as it is for me to reflect upon the events that led to (for example) the Trail of Tears (my ancestors were there) – it is far better for me to look for the shimmering threads of God’s redemptive grace in the midst of the suffering, and to minister that grace in the spirit of reconciliation when and where possible. I’ve read the slave narratives as well – amazing pieces of literature. Everyone has stories; God himself gave us stories, but the key is in how we tell them, and Who we are pointing to in the telling.
Artisan,
if we look at history from both sides, which isn’t nearly as often done as it should be, we can see there were always two sides. My ancestors owned quite a large plantation in Andersonville, Georgia, home of the infamous southern cicil war prison. Even though they were not slave owners, and did not sympathize with that faction, (which people forget was only 10% of the population), their land was confiscated for the prison. However at great risk to themselves they shared what little food they could spare, like potatoes and onions, by throwing them over the fences to the prisoners at night. After the war, ended my great aunt and uncle then lovingly took care took of all the graves that remained after the civil war, and tried to identify many of the prisoners who had died there without their families benefit of being notified of their demise. So there are also the unsung and largely ignored, white heroes who did show genuine Christian love.
Yes, artisan, man has oppressed man from the beginning. I remember Abel. I remember Amalek. Yes, the Greek and Spartans waged numerous battles, and the slaughter at Thermopylae, which rosed the Ionian coasts to rise and defeat the invading and plundering Persians. Yes, I remember the deportation of the Jews to Babylon. Yes, I remember Stahlin’s obliteration of churches in the USSR and their conversion into porn theaters. Yes, I remember the countless priests that were martyred. Yes, I remember Hilter’s super race ambitions and the extermination of the Jews, his and others world conquering ambitions. Yes, I remember Pearl harbor, December 7th, 1941 and D-day. I remember the A-bombed cities. I remember September 11th. Yes, I remember Watts and the 1.5 million abortions per annum. Yes, I remember the Blackfoot Indian and this nation within Montana – I know. Yes, some Cherokees still live near Asheville – I know. Yes I remember Pocahontas and the lost colony.
I remember Bonnie and Clyde. I remember the MOVE people.
I remember Matin Luther King and sitting with his widow at his memorial in Atlanta – alone. I remember the Khmer rouge and the MIAs and Bobby. I remember the orphans and rape victims. I remember the picture of the black slave with his back permenantly deformed by the lash of the whip. I remember….
I’ll tell you what I’m going to do. I’m going to Greensboro, NC and to the now converted F.W. Woolworth five and dime and see what’s what about the civil rights movement. (Apparantly, the present negro president of the USA couldn’t make it to its formal opening). And then I’m going to move on and get on with this life.
“Histories make men wise…”
Vladimir
mbaker:
You underscore my point by remembering and telling the story, as you should. As I said, if we look for God’s mercy and grace to and through individuals caught up in traumatic, life-altering events, or any kind of suffering, we will find it, and, as Christians, we point to it and creatively minister reconciliation (and mitigation of that suffering where possible) to the Father through Christ – the only way.
History should be the purview of all who lived through it, so the more voices heard, the more rounded, the more rich the experience becomes for those who come after. The temptation to apply or feel guilt should be avoided and should not be the point of entering into the fascinating journey we have all shared.
artisan,
Thanks,
I like what you said:
“The temptation to apply or feel guilt should be avoided and should not be the point of entering into the fascinating journey we have all shared.”
I am often amazed (and sometimes amused) at the crazy perceptions we Christians have of each other, racially and culturally. When I moved out here to the northwest from the south 28 years ago, for instance, I was frequently asked such questions (in all seriousness) like was I a member of the Klu Klux Klan! I told them no, and with as straight a face as I could, replied ” But I am a Southern Baptist.” 🙂
I think this quote really sums it up:
“At present, too much theological thinking is very human-centered. ”
John Polkinghorne
God bless.