Freethought & Rationalism Archive

everettf · 09-24-2009, 05:38 AM

I have seen paintings, sculptures and engravings that are dated to have been done over 2000 years ago. Was nobody an artist at the time of Jesus? You would think there should be some rendition of this Jesus if he really was that noticeable in his time. I guess, since I'm an atheist, I haven't given this much thought. Has anybody given this any thought?

JABcomix · 09-24-2009, 05:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by everettf

I have seen paintings, sculptures and engravings that are dated to have been done over 2000 years ago. Was nobody an artist at the time of Jesus? You would think there should be some rendition of this Jesus if he really was that noticeable in his time. I guess, since I'm an atheist, I haven't given this much thought. Has anybody given this any thought?

Maybe you don't know this, but it was against Jewish law to make any graven images. This included portraits. So it wouldn't be likely that any contemporaries of Jesus would paint him.

dettus · 09-24-2009, 06:10 AM

umm jesus is a myth

JABcomix · 09-24-2009, 06:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dettus

umm jesus is a myth

Well, actually he did exist. His name was Joshua Ben Joseph.

Toto · 09-24-2009, 07:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JABcomix

Quote:

Originally Posted by everettf

I have seen paintings, sculptures and engravings that are dated to have been done over 2000 years ago. Was nobody an artist at the time of Jesus? You would think there should be some rendition of this Jesus if he really was that noticeable in his time. I guess, since I'm an atheist, I haven't given this much thought. Has anybody given this any thought?

Maybe you don't know this, but it was against Jewish law to make any graven images. This included portraits. So it wouldn't be likely that any contemporaries of Jesus would paint him.

Theoretically it was, but there is surviving Jewish art from the Hellenistic Jewish era, and there are representations of Jesus from later centuries.

Earl Doherty has discussed this, and we had a long discussion that is somewhere in the archives. There are no portraits, and no descriptions of Jesus that are not derived from the Hebrew Scriptures.

jakejonesiv · 09-24-2009, 12:41 PM

The earliest extant representations of Jesus look like Apollo.

Old Scratch · 09-24-2009, 01:06 PM

I'll add that it's interesting to look at artistic depictions of Jesus over the centuries. Very early on he was depicted often times looking very young with no beard and short-ish hair. Later, he was often depicted as a stern middle aged looking with beard and hair. Now he's a hippy looking white guy here in the states... and He loves us bestest of all.

JABcomix · 09-24-2009, 06:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Toto

Quote:

Originally Posted by JABcomix

Maybe you don't know this, but it was against Jewish law to make any graven images. This included portraits. So it wouldn't be likely that any contemporaries of Jesus would paint him.

Theoretically it was, but there is surviving Jewish art from the Hellenistic Jewish era, and there are representations of Jesus from later centuries.

Earl Doherty has discussed this, and we had a long discussion that is somewhere in the archives. There are no portraits, and no descriptions of Jesus that are not derived from the Hebrew Scriptures.

No, it's not Theoretically. This was the way things were back then. Also, the question is not whether people painted Jesus after he died. Did anybody paint Jesus when he was alive? No.

Quote:

Judaism strongly prohibits any form of idolatry, and holds that idolatry is not limited to the worship of a statue or picture itself, but also includes worship of the Almighty Himself with the use of mediators and/or any artistic representations of God such as "Jesus on the Cross". According to this understanding, even if one directs his worship to the Almighty Himself and not to a statue, picture, or some other created thing, but yet he uses a created thing as a representation of the Almighty in order to assist in his worship of the Almighty, this is also considered a form of idolatry. In fact, Maimonides explains in chapter 1 of Hilkhot Avodat Kokhavim (Avoda Zarah) in the Mishneh Torah that this is one of the ways that idolatry began.~Wikipedia

Alex MacDonald · 09-24-2009, 06:33 PM

You may want to check out these early and well known physical descriptions of Christ.

Toto · 09-24-2009, 06:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alex MacDonald

You may want to check out these early and well known physical descriptions of Christ.

The first two items there are well known forgeries. (Publius Lentulus, Letter to Tiberias)

And then there is

Quote:

Another description of Jesus is found in "The Archko Volume" which contains official court documents from the days of Jesus. This information substantiates that He came from racial lines which had blue eyes and golden hair.

Aryan Jesus ?!?

If there is anything of value in that webpage, it would take more time that I have to find it.

09-24-2009, 05:38 AM	#1
everettf Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: orange county,ca Posts: 630	a question about Jesus I have seen paintings, sculptures and engravings that are dated to have been done over 2000 years ago. Was nobody an artist at the time of Jesus? You would think there should be some rendition of this Jesus if he really was that noticeable in his time. I guess, since I'm an atheist, I haven't given this much thought. Has anybody given this any thought?

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09-24-2009, 06:10 AM	#3
dettus Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: where apologists for religion are deservedly derid Posts: 6,298	umm jesus is a myth

09-24-2009, 12:41 PM	#6
jakejonesiv Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Atlanta Posts: 2,060	The earliest extant representations of Jesus look like Apollo.

09-24-2009, 01:06 PM	#7
Old Scratch Regular Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: U.S.A. Posts: 229	I'll add that it's interesting to look at artistic depictions of Jesus over the centuries. Very early on he was depicted often times looking very young with no beard and short-ish hair. Later, he was often depicted as a stern middle aged looking with beard and hair. Now he's a hippy looking white guy here in the states... and He loves us bestest of all.

09-24-2009, 06:33 PM	#9
Alex MacDonald Regular Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Tucson, Arizona Posts: 158	You may want to check out these early and well known physical descriptions of Christ.

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