BS: What did Jesus look like?

Subject: RE: BS: What did Jesus look like?
From: Slag
Date: 21 Mar 08 - 12:08 AM

Ruth, et al, It is called hermeneutics: an internal logical agreement which unites certain writings and excludes others. A lot of the "infancy gospels" were like the Superman funny books of their day. They were not taken seriously. Others, such as the Book of Enoch are a little more problematic. Some of the writers of both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament clearly believed that they were inspired by God to write what they wrote, as this is what they tell us from their writings! Other writers may not have felt they were divinely inspired but enlightened readers have believed they were. The Council of Nicaea sought God's leading as they began to put together the various letters and writings which circulated through the Christian community of that time. Their "inspiration" is taken on faith as well as the coherent hermeneutic of the final compilation.

This does not mean that there is not a debate that still goes on today and the schools of higher criticism have done much to reconstruct the processes which brought about the New Testament as well as the Torah. That it was humans and the language of humans which inked this "Word of God" is undeniable and undenied! And yet it IS the Word of God to those who believe. Why couldn't God, being God, use the voice and the writings of men He inspired to deliver His word?

The topic was the appearance of Jesus which is undeclared in the Bible. If you want to write a book which asserts something different, write your own book and see how it fairs the test of time.

Subject: RE: BS: What did Jesus look like?
From: Ruth Archer
Date: 21 Mar 08 - 05:49 AM

I realise that this was the topic - my point is simply that it's not even worth speculating about, when the available information that exists about Jesus is limited by the exclusion of a number of texts.

Not sure about the "Superman comic books" gospels, but there were certainly some gospels which challenged the supremacy of St Peter as Christ's choice for the first pope, proposing Mary Magdalene instead. These were taken sufficiently seriously to spawn Magdalene cults in the first centuries after Christ's death.

BTW, I'm not going all Da Vinci Code here - I've never even read it, though I remember thinking that the book that spawned it, The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail, was a thouroughly entertaining (though completely preposterous) read.

Subject: RE: BS: What did Jesus look like?
From: Slag
Date: 21 Mar 08 - 07:26 AM

And point well taken. The mystery cults and various cults of Jesus all vied for supremacy. I remember seeing a photograph of an early depiction of Jesus on a catacomb wall in which he carried a wand! Whether it was a symbol or an agency of magic, only that early cult knew but the message for us today is that there was really no uniformity in the early years of the Christian Church.

Subject: RE: BS: What did Jesus look like?
From: Donuel
Date: 21 Mar 08 - 09:06 AM

I sawed some iron stone in half and Behold

the face of Christ emerged.

alert the mudia !!!!!!!!!

I will show it only to those who believe

The face of Christ, with a rather long beard, is looking at Mary who appears wistful.

I could seriously make a big ebay bruhaha









why didn't he get a close shave every morning like we do?????

Subject: RE: BS: What did Jesus look like?
From: Donuel
Date: 21 Mar 08 - 10:10 AM

Jesus in a rock:

http://usera.imagecave.com/donuel/don1/jfc1.jpg


http://usera.imagecave.com/donuel/don1/jfc3.jpg


http://usera.imagecave.com/donuel/don1/jfc4.jpg


http://usera.imagecave.com/donuel/don1/jfc6.jpg


Sepia tones only
http://usera.imagecave.com/donuel/don1/jfc.jpg

Subject: RE: BS: What did Jesus look like?
From: Amos
Date: 21 Mar 08 - 10:40 AM

Jesus, Donuel!! Your pattern recognition circuits have been fried by that vegetation you've been smoking. I just see a sawed rock!

There is a reasonable school of thought would argue that Jesus didn't "look like" anything, because he is a composite fictional amalgamation of bits and pieces of ancient mythologies and legends put together. OF course, this would be an unacceptable concept to even think about if you had invested emotion and spiritual energy and sweat and adulation into forwarding the legend. But the possibility needs to be faced that what we have been worshipping, lo, these many centuries is actually, strictly speaking, a figment.


A

Subject: RE: BS: What did Jesus look like?
From: Donuel
Date: 21 Mar 08 - 10:55 AM

My son sees moldy bread.

Subject: RE: BS: What did Jesus look like?
From: Donuel
Date: 22 Mar 08 - 09:08 AM

I have done about 6 portraits of Jesus. some were the day before Easter, a month before and the night before.
Many people have depicted the baby Jesus but I have never ever seen the teenage Jesus done in asny format.