From science and computers, a new face of Jesus

CNN ^ | Thursday, December 26, 2002 Posted: 9:45 AM EST (1445 GMT) | By Jeordan Legon

[vannrox]

This image of what Jesus may have looked like is on the cover of Popular Mechanics this month.

This representation is quite different from the typical lithe, long-haired, light-skinned and delicate-featured depiction of the man Christians consider the son of God.

[vannrox]

COOL.

[vannrox]

[Chad Fairbanks]

I know that guy! He works at the AM/PM down the street! Holy cow!

[johnboy]

a more thought-provoking article on the subject is to be found elsewhere on this forum (five or eight months ago) concerning the most up to date lay report on the shroud of turin.

anyone have a link?

[Orion78]

You mean Jesus wasn't a blond haired, blue eyed caucasian !?!?!?!

[webber]

I don't see how they can make a dipiction of Jesus Christ since Jesus had no inherited traits of either Joseph or Mary since He was conceived of the Holy Ghost, AND THEN that seed was placed in Mary's womb. But you know how those liberal "God doesn't exist" anthro-apologists are. It always ends up being a "politically correct" mongrel version of humanity with a look of "WHO ME, THE MESSIAH?" look on his face as if he were a "Reluctant Messiah". Since He was conceived of the Holy Ghost and therefore did not inherit any "defect" that sin imposed upon mankind, Jesus, IMHO, was a perfect human being without any physical or mental defects whatsoever.
The picture that they portray as being the "Best Depiction of Christ Jesus" is a JOKE!!!!!!

[Izzy Dunne]

Luciano Pavorotti:

[Izzy Dunne]

YOU DECIDE:

[Slyfox]

[John Jorsett]

Pffft. Everyone knows he looked just like Max von Sydow.

[Slyfox]

[Slyfox]

I ask, which one looks like a caveman and which one looks like the Son of God?

[AdA$tra]

Pffft. Everyone knows he looked just like Max von Sydow.

In the church I grew up in it was the Erroll Flynn version.

[ZULU]

Idiotic.

Jesus was Jewish and probably looked so. But to extrapolate that fact into the creation of this "face" and body is the height of idiocy. 110 lbs?? I don't think a 110 lb man could drive money changers out of a temple or work as a successful carpenter.

I think the figure in the shroud of Turin looks both Jewish and resembles what taditional interpretation of his appearance would be like - 5'10 or 11 and of powerful build,
with sriking, not common features.

[Swordmaker]

Recent Shroud of Turin Threads on FreeRepublic:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/755025/posts

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/737270/posts

[Swordmaker]

The article claims that Jesus would have had short hair because it says "would Paul (one of the apostles) have written, 'If a man has long hair, it is a disgrace to him' if Jesus Christ had had long hair?" the article surmises.

This is a false argument as the actual article in Popular Mechanics says that Paul actually KNEW Jesus... seems to me he was a late-comer to apostlehood.

I can show you quite a few passages in the Bible where it states that the hair should not be cut, especially the beard and forelocks. To this day many Conservative and Sephardic Jews do not cut their hair.

The study of the shroud showed that there is a strange blurring in the hair image on the back of the head in the center extending down to the shoulder area. Subsequent research found that male Jews of the period often braided their hair in a queue and oiled it to keep it braided. Short hair was also a Greek and Roman style. It is unlikely that the oppressed people of Judea would emulate their conquerors and oppressors. It would be more likely they would return to ethnic affectations to differentiate themselves from the oppressors.

Contemprory depictions of Levantine people in Egyptian wall paintings show them to be consistently bearded and long haired, in contrast to the shorter haired and mostly beardless Egyptians. The sole exceptions to this were depictions of Levantine people who were clearly in the position of slaves. One can surmise that slaves would not have much say in their appearance.

Also the assumption of a heighth of 5'1" isbased on spurious data also. Data developed because the study of the Shroud of Turin image seems to be that of a man 5'10" tall, found that, contrary to assumptions, the men of that area and period actually averaged about 5'6" inches tall and while the image on the shroud is taller, it is not out of the range of normal for the period. This data was found by measuring skeletal remains from the period. Jehohannon, the one skeleton discovered that HAD been crucified in the first century, is calculated from his leg bones to have been 5'7" to 5'8" tall. The creators of this "new" image took the EXTREME LOWER END of the male height range for their caricature. This choice alone makes me very suspicious of the motives behind this effort.

[Gorzaloon]

I know that guy! He works at the AM/PM down the street! Holy cow!

Actually, several years ago, another source had come out with a picture, based on assumptions of Biblical scholars and anthropologists, etc.

The person in this picture bore a disturbing resemblance to someone I had worked with years before. He was a good person, but marched to a different drummer (Or zither), as they say.

So I forwarded the picture to the former president of the company, who still kept in touch with us all, and titled the e-mail, "He was among us, and we knew Him not!". The former employee was a humble person, and aghast at the article.

But people often represent Him in a manner in which He can be related to their culture or surroundings, and that is not always a blue-eyed, blonde superman. And if He resides in His followers, then what difference does the vessel make? Why would He elect to be made manifest in Judea and look like Sven Olafson or Paddy O'Brien, or Cabot Standish-Waspwell, etc..?

[Chad Fairbanks]

I don't know, to be honest... good question though - but, I thought everyone knew that God was an American Indian????

;0)

[Gorzaloon]

but, I thought everyone knew that God was an American Indian????

Cherokee, of course. :-)

[Chad Fairbanks]

No way - Haudenosaunee... ;0)