The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby has recommended that Western churches should reconsider their portrayal of Jesus’ image.
According to Welby while speaking in a BBC Today Programme monitored by CNN, Jesus’ image does not necessarily has to be a white man. He said he has been to different countries and they portray the image of Jesus differently.
“You go into their churches and you don’t see a White Jesus — you see a Black Jesus, or Chinese Jesus, or a Middle Eastern Jesus — which is, of course, the most accurate.
“You see a Fijian Jesus — you see Jesus portrayed in as many ways as there are cultures, languages, and understandings.”
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Welby was replying to a question by the host on whether the way the western church “portrays Jesus” needed to be “thought about again” and “re-imagined” in light of recent Black Lives Matter protests across Europe following the death of a black man, George Floyd.
Clarifying his proposition, Welby stated that the representations of Jesus were not, however, “who we worship” but rather served as a “reminder of the universality of the God who became fully human.”
