Upon Further Inspection
Today, in studying for my African Art class, an interesting prompt was given. It was along the lines of "How can our perceptions of the bible impact our reading, and our faith?" I soaked in articles on the history of Christianity in Africa, and had reiterated to me once again that this is no "white mans religion". Jesus was brown, the stories of the bible are those with colorful textures, of shared meals and celebration. Looking back at my own upbringing, I pondered this watered down Christ that POC (People of Color) often encounter in America.
As a person of color growing up in a majority white church demographic, there was an element of personal connection that was missing. As a young girl I didn’t notice it as much, blond angels with white skin and rose-red cheeks, a pale Jesus with blue eyes, the apostles with mousey-brown, straight hair and speaking only English, I thought these were reality. I thought that is how it must have been in the middle east of ancient times. Now, give me a break, I was only 5 or 6! But when I first heard the mumblings that my Jesus was dark, brown like my brother, had curly hair like my mother, had brown eyes like me, it was like a treasure chest was opened.
The problem with white washing, and especially in the church, is it steals away that which has a rightful place to be known. It conceals the reality of what the atmosphere must have felt like, and what the food must have tasted like, and what their voices would sound like, and yes, what they looked like! But all of those truths deserve to be known, and there is no reason to impose a false narrative on the stories God has already chosen to write.
These visual perceptions and associations have an impact. They had an impact on me, and they have an impact on everyone. When that treasure chest opened, I was finally able to have a real picture in my mind, I was able to be transported to an authentic, colorful, lively place. And I did not feel the need to steal that culture away or claim it was completely mine. Because it is not, and I am okay with that. I don’t want Jesus to be African American or white, I want him to be real, as he is. When the Biblical text is interpreted truthfully and respectfully, our faith can become truly holistic too.
And so, upon further inspection a new beauty was revealed.
