Black nativity angers Italy's "White Xmas" party

Reuters ^ | Dec.14, 2009

[SnakeDoctor]

I figure he was olive-skinned. Certainly not pasty white. But, not African.

SnakeDoc

[Snurple]

Jesus was a mans man..... don’t care what color he was. He is a representation of the God head... which defies human understanding. We are so finite...he is so infinite.

[SnakeDoctor]

True enough. He looked more "olive" in the movie '300'.

SnakeDoc

[Titus-Maximus]

Tell those paisanos to switch to de-caf cappuchinos.

[smokingfrog]

So what colour was Jesus?

My best guess would be that he was "olive skinned." But definitely not skinny and frail. He was beaten mercilessly and carried his own cross, so must have been in very good shape. There's no mention in the bible that I know of of Jesus having ever been sick, so he was probably the perfect picture of health.

[timm22]

What does your average Israeli look like today? Do we have any reason to believe that they have undergone any radical evolutionary change in skin color over the last 2000 years?

If I'm not mistaken, many modern Israelis are the descendants of Diaspora Jews from Europe, Russia, and other parts of the world. These Israelis appear more "White" looking, probably because of some level of intermixing between their Jewish ancestors and the natives of the regions in which they settled. Many of Israel's modern leaders were either born elsewhere themselves or had parents or grandparents who moved to Israel from Europe.

As a result, I think the appearance of modern Israelis is a little different than what people of that region looked like in the time of Christ. I expect Israelis of that time would have been darker and more "Middle Eastern" looking than they are now.

[New Yawk Minute]

I believe this is what he looked like too.

[TexasFreeper2009]

“white” in broadest meaning of the term would typically include Jews. Most middle easterners look not that different from Italians.

[Clock King]

You’re definitely onto something. I agree with you.

[Mike Darancette]

"History teaches us that baby Jesus and his parents were very probably dark-skinned," Schinaia told Reuters. "This nativity belongs to a universal Christmas tradition that brings together the whole of Christianity in celebration."

A Nordic looking Jesus probably wouldn't have fit in too well in the Israel of that day. Anyway in the day the Nordic types were busy burning each other's villages and worshiping multiple bloodthirsty gods.

[rarestia]

Be mindful that a lot of Jews in present-day Israel emigrated there or are offspring of parents from Europe. I don’t think there’s any doubt that the composition of that part of the world has changed dramatically over history.