Soandso
ᛋᛏᚨᚾᛞ ᛋᚢᚱᛖ
So I was watching a video on YouTube by some guy called "The Friendly Atheist" about an article posted by Christianity Today, and I thought the response many Christians had to the article was interesting
I went online to see if I could read more responses on Twitter concerning the subject, but unfortunately I have to sign up to see comments and I'm loathe to participate in most forms of social media, so no thanks
Instead, I found some articles the subject, so I'll be referencing that here. Here's one from Fox:
www.foxnews.com
Christianity Today published a story entitled, "How Asian Artists Picture Jesus’ Birth From 1240 to Today," in which writer Victoria Emily Jones argued "Jesus was born in Asia. He was Asian."
The photo essay featured nine pieces of artwork from Asian cultures depicting the Nativity. Jones claimed that by representing Jesus as Asian, Christian artists could portray a deeper "theological meaning" of "the universality of Christ’s birth."
"Some may object to depicting Jesus as anything other than a brown male born into a Jewish family in Bethlehem of Judea in the first century, believing that doing so undermines his historicity. But Christian artists who tackle the subject of the Incarnation are often aiming not at historical realism but at theological meaning," Jones wrote.
So apparently the article was more about how Jesus was depicted in the east since all we see are depictions of how Jesus was historically portrayed in the west. After all, Jesus was born in Asia, no?
Still, this concept got a LOT of blowback from more popular Christians in the west, with some saying things such as:
Christian blogger Samuel Sey shot back, "Blasphemy. Jesus is a Jew."
Blasphemy? That's a pretty vitriolic response to Jesus being Asian
Managing editor for Christian satire news site The Babylon Bee, Joel Berry, joked, "Next can you please do an article with a bunch of AI images of Jesus if He were Rosa Parks."
Oof... A weird take. I don't really care for conservative "comedy," but that's a thread for a different day. Anyways, so the guy thinks this is some kind of leftist political thingy? I dunno
Then there's Franklin Graham's (Billy Graham's son) response to the prospect that Jesus was Asian as seen on a different article, here:
www.christianpost.com
"We don’t have to wonder or speculate about this — the Bible gives us very specific details about Jesus’ earthly lineage and where He was born and grew up," Graham wrote. "We know that Jesus was Jewish. However, if you don’t believe the Bible or accept it as the Word of God, then everything is in question."
"Guess what — we don’t get to make God in our own image," Graham added. "He is Who He is! We must be on guard against anything or anyone who attempts to undermine the authority of the Word of God."
More geographical ignorance, but what's more interesting is that there's more of that vitriol. "Guess what - we don't get to make god in our own image." I don't see him saying anything in regards to people depicting Jesus as a white, blue eyed European even though that is WAY more common of a way to depict Jesus. I wonder why that is?
The article continues:
CT took flak from many others on social media for the article, which prompted some to accuse the publication of "going woke."
Interesting that people are so repulsed by things like this. What does "going woke" even mean anymore?
Anyways, if anyone wants to take the time to do so, the comments section in both articles make an interesting read. Just... A warning before you read anything on the Fox comments section - it's a nasty, toxic place no matter what the article is about
The original Christianity Today article:
www.christianitytoday.com
Thoughts?
I went online to see if I could read more responses on Twitter concerning the subject, but unfortunately I have to sign up to see comments and I'm loathe to participate in most forms of social media, so no thanks
Instead, I found some articles the subject, so I'll be referencing that here. Here's one from Fox:
Christian magazine ridiculed after insisting Jesus 'was Asian': 'Did you guys read the Bible?' | Fox News
'By representing Jesus as Japanese, Indonesian or Indian' art can convey 'the universality of Christ's birth,' the Christianity Today article suggested
Christianity Today published a story entitled, "How Asian Artists Picture Jesus’ Birth From 1240 to Today," in which writer Victoria Emily Jones argued "Jesus was born in Asia. He was Asian."
The photo essay featured nine pieces of artwork from Asian cultures depicting the Nativity. Jones claimed that by representing Jesus as Asian, Christian artists could portray a deeper "theological meaning" of "the universality of Christ’s birth."
"Some may object to depicting Jesus as anything other than a brown male born into a Jewish family in Bethlehem of Judea in the first century, believing that doing so undermines his historicity. But Christian artists who tackle the subject of the Incarnation are often aiming not at historical realism but at theological meaning," Jones wrote.
So apparently the article was more about how Jesus was depicted in the east since all we see are depictions of how Jesus was historically portrayed in the west. After all, Jesus was born in Asia, no?
Still, this concept got a LOT of blowback from more popular Christians in the west, with some saying things such as:
Christian blogger Samuel Sey shot back, "Blasphemy. Jesus is a Jew."
Blasphemy? That's a pretty vitriolic response to Jesus being Asian
Managing editor for Christian satire news site The Babylon Bee, Joel Berry, joked, "Next can you please do an article with a bunch of AI images of Jesus if He were Rosa Parks."
Oof... A weird take. I don't really care for conservative "comedy," but that's a thread for a different day. Anyways, so the guy thinks this is some kind of leftist political thingy? I dunno
Then there's Franklin Graham's (Billy Graham's son) response to the prospect that Jesus was Asian as seen on a different article, here:
Franklin Graham slams Christianity Today for article claiming Jesus was Asian
Evangelist Franklin Graham criticized Christianity Today on Wednesday after the magazine his father founded published an article claiming that Jesus Christ was Asian
www.christianpost.com
"We don’t have to wonder or speculate about this — the Bible gives us very specific details about Jesus’ earthly lineage and where He was born and grew up," Graham wrote. "We know that Jesus was Jewish. However, if you don’t believe the Bible or accept it as the Word of God, then everything is in question."
"Guess what — we don’t get to make God in our own image," Graham added. "He is Who He is! We must be on guard against anything or anyone who attempts to undermine the authority of the Word of God."
More geographical ignorance, but what's more interesting is that there's more of that vitriol. "Guess what - we don't get to make god in our own image." I don't see him saying anything in regards to people depicting Jesus as a white, blue eyed European even though that is WAY more common of a way to depict Jesus. I wonder why that is?
The article continues:
CT took flak from many others on social media for the article, which prompted some to accuse the publication of "going woke."
Interesting that people are so repulsed by things like this. What does "going woke" even mean anymore?
Anyways, if anyone wants to take the time to do so, the comments section in both articles make an interesting read. Just... A warning before you read anything on the Fox comments section - it's a nasty, toxic place no matter what the article is about
The original Christianity Today article:
How Asian Artists Picture Jesus’ Birth From 1240 to Today
Through Nativity art, the Word takes on flesh across diverse Eastern cultures.
Thoughts?
