The Bible does not give a clear physical description of Jesus, Joseph and Mary, God, or the apostles. Why? Well, if you read the Bible, it’s clear skin color, ethnicity and gender are not relevant to gaining entrance into heaven. Heaven can only be gained through Jesus Christ. It cannot be gained through your church, even though that is what many churches teach. Churches and humans do not decide who goes to heaven. God decides. The Bible is unwaveringly clear that the only path is through Jesus Christ. The Bible is also unwaveringly clear that Jesus and the Apostles came from the area known as Bethlehem. Jesus and Mary returned to the Jewish city of Bethlehem when Jesus was born because they were Jews and it was time for the Jewish census to be taken. They were Jews. The Apostles were Jews. None of these people would have been blond haired and blue eyed white people. They simply were not. It’s ridiculous to even entertain such an idea.
Why are all of the paintings, statues, drawings, and now memes depicting Angels, the Apostles, God and Jesus only as white people destructive and damaging? When we are surrounded by constant images from the time we are born of everything holy and good only being depicted by white people, we are conditioned to equate white skin with goodness and holiness, and dark skin with evil. This is not difficult to understand. For millennia, Catholics and Protestants have depicted everyone and everything good in the Bible as white people. Egyptians, of course are depicted as black people. Moses and the Israelites are depicted as white people. White supremacy has been ingrained for centuries through imagery inside of our churches. It continues today in white America inside many of our churches. We should know better by now. Why would any church at this point in our history depict Jesus as anything other than a Jew? Why would any church at this point in our history depict the apostles as Nordic white people? Why would any church depict angels and God as usually blond haired white men? Find an image of an angel that isn’t a light skinned and light haired white man? Angels are described in the Bible as having a multitude of appearances.
You can use the argument that if your church is predominantly or all white, you want your children and members to self identify with the imagery surrounding them. That’s a fallacy and it isn’t one supported or taught in the Bible itself. We are not supposed to identify with skin color. We are supposed to identify ourselves as followers of Jesus Christ to whom gender, ethnicity, and skin color are irrelevant. The only relevancy in the Bible is that Jews were and are God’s chosen people. They did not accept Jesus as the son of God and our savior and were scattered throughout the world. At end times, the Jews will have all returned to Israel according to the teachings of the New Testament.
Jesus Christ was not a blond haired blue eyed white man.
The apostles were not blond haired blue eyed white men.
Angels are described in the Bible with a multitude of appearances.
What image do most white people in white churches have inside their head when they think of angels, God, Jesus Christ, Joseph and Mary, and the Apostles? White people, one and all. Think of good and you automatically draw an image of a white person. Yes, we are teaching racial discrimination inside of our religious institutions. We have been for centuries.
Middle of the Muddy Road 