Give Thanks Jah Bird, it is a good reasoning...
I was privileged to reason with an EOTC Priest One day, to whom I posed the question, "why all the blond haired blue eyed Jesus pictures in the churches?" He said, very simply, we don't know what Iyasus looked like, we have many different pictures of Iyasus ranging from black to white, painted during many different times in Ethiopia, and they are all just an homage to Christ, they are inspiration, and all have equal siginificance.
The Priest is right. Unfortunately we are turned off by the white Jesus because that is the image that has been used the most during most of white people's barbarous acts, in which conversion to Christainity was a forced thing. But we should remember that every Christian society around the world has painted Christ in their own image. One can find images of Iyasus that are of every ethnic background around the world and that's a beautiful thing, and imparts the message which should be accepted by all that we are made in the image of the Creator as human beings and not of chosen ethnicity.
Also the EOTC does not use any three dimensional images of Christ in order to not create anything that might be considered too realistic and partial.
But getting back to the question of:
"is it OK then to have the 'white' Chrit everywhere in and out the church as an interpetation of Jesus,to feel uplifted even i and i know it is not the right picture of him? is that not cheating form the truth. Wouldn't then the cross be enough?"
His Majesty sure did love HimSelf some caucasian Iyasus pictures!!! In fact I beleive He was a collector of Iyasus images from around the world (How beautiful to see the I in so many shape color and form!!!) Aside from seeing pictures of His Majesty in His office with various pictures of caucasion Iyasus, Ones can visit His Majesty's palace, now college in Addis, where they have left His bedroom intact, and Ones are allowed to enter a small space of that sacred ground and see it as His Majesty had it. Most powerful caucasian Iyasus picture I've ever seen hangin' over the bed.
SELAM
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