The African Jesus
At the JESUS MAFA website you will find a number of pictures of Jesus depicted as an African.
When asked why should they do this the answer brought forth is:
It is urgent and necessary for us to proclaim and to express the message, the life and the whole person of Jesus-Christ in an african artistic language, in our language which is the expression of our daylife, of our culture. Many people of different cultures have done it before us and will do it in the future, without betraying the historical Christ, from whom all authentic Christianity arises.
The creation of a black Christ in Africa does not diminish at all the historical Christ, on the contrary, it enriches the universal meaning of the message of God.
What our African brothers and sisters are doing visually is simply what Black preachers have done verbally for years. Preachers paint the picture of a God who is on our side in our pain, hurts. This God is acquainted with our grief.
In addition, this God took on concrete human existence. I like these pictures and will on occasion use them to illustrate this blog.
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