White Jesus modeled on Cesare Borgia?
The theory is that people were generally not too enthusiastic about the Catholic Church’s regular massacres of Jews and Crusades against Muslims, because the people they were killing looked like Jesus. Pope Alexander VI then ordered the destruction of all art depicting a Semitic Jesus and commissioned a number of paintings depicting a Caucasian Jesus. His son, Cardinal Cesare Borgia, was the model for these paintings. Thus, the nastiest of all the Borgias, became the iconic Caucasian Jesus so loved by Christians today.
In 1995, GZA’s Liquid Swords album featured the solo track by Wu-Tang Clan affiliate, Killah Priest, ”B.I.B.L.E. (Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth)”. The lyrics include the lines; “I even learnt Caucasians were really the Tribe of Edam, The white image, of Christ, is really Cesare Borgia”
I find it really interesting how this was done, quite surprisingly, maybe not out of racism but purely out of political and territorial agenda.
Why I have an ingrained distrust of established religion: History happens. People happen. I don’t care if it was direct from God… it’s been tampered with since.
