Is it wrong to depict Jesus and or his mother in diffrent Ethnicites?

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braeden_mackay

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Is it wrong / not right to depict Jesus and or his mother / disciples as say Native Americans or African Americans? I am only asking because my favourite icon of Christ is one where he is depicted as a native American. However, my religion teacher said it was an inappropriate depiction of Jesus. I was shocked and now I am concerned that in using / venerating this icon I am sinning and offending Christ. I hope someone can help me out here, thank you to all who reply!
 
Some Children See Him

In other words, no, not wrong. Has been happening for centuries. Look at Our Lady of Guadalupe, compare to Our Lady of Lourdes, compare to Our Lady of Manaoag … Most of the images that people of European descent are familiar with also put the face of Christ (and His mother) as being of the same ethnicity as the people who created that artwork. It’s just that we may notice it less when it’s our own ethnicity reflected in the images than it is when it is an “other” ethnicity, whatever the other may happen to be.
 
There’s nothing wrong with different peoples seeing our Lord as one of them. There’s a particular Korean statue of our Lady holding the infant Jesus which I really like. Where I think it goes astray is “diversity” and “inclusiveness” for their own sake. Trying to meet quotas to not offend anyone, or just trying to be culturally hip. I think that people who belong to those cultures find that insulting rather than inclusive. But if He’s being portrayed by a certain culture as one of their own…no problem.
 
If we are called to see Jesus in other’s faces, then I guess He already has numerous ethnicities. As well, we are all part of His mystical Body. He was Jewish, but His Body consists of every believing, baptized soul on earth. That involves a lot of races and ethnic backgrounds.

I would imagine that your image of Him is pretty much what Saint Kateri Tekakwitha envisioned as her Savior. The RelEd person needs to relax.
 
In the US, Jesus is often depicted with the looks of an Englishman, which seems incongruous to me.
 
I am not an artist. I can’t draw a decent smiley face. But if I were, and if I were asked to portray Jesus or Mary, I would portray them as Middle-Eastern Jews, because that’s what they were.

But that’s me. Other people’s mileage may vary. I cannot call it wrong to portray them in other racial groups.
 
No. Probably the largest number of renditions of Mary and Jesus make them look Germanic, which isn’t all that accurate. It might not be as big of a leap as making him Asian or African, but the point still stands.
 
thank you everyone for your insights and replies. I really love two images that I have, one of Mary and one of Jesus depicted as Native Americans, even though im not a Native American myself, I just really love the way and how they are both depicted. Im just scrupulous when it comes to anything spiritual, I just don’t want to offend the Lord or his mother by using those images.
 
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