Meet the President - Rockhurst University

The fact that many Americanshave come to visualize white imagerythroughout the Bible is the result ofperceptions that have been created— deliberately and otherwise — andperpetuated throughout history.On one hand, it’s a human tendencyfor people to project their ownimages and worldview on to theirreligions, and these religions giveauthority to the social hierarchies andboundaries that people create. “Thehistory of any monarchy grows out ofthis idea … that God sanctions thisfamily,” says Prentiss, who specializesin American religious history. “It’salmost like a Rorschach test, whereour image of Jesus tells us as muchabout ourselves as it does about him.”1 RockhuRst4spRinG 2006Early Christian history wasn’t limitedto Europe as many people perceive,but it was also in Africa and even Asia.Because Northern African Christianitywas separated from the bulk of theChristian population for so long, thatconnection was lost, and the Christianimagery that developed in Europefound its way to the United States.Likewise, the distortion is oppositein Ethiopia, where, Stramarasays, fair-skinned whites are seen asa minority in Christian history fromtheir perspective. Although he noticedEthiopians seem to be more culturallysensitive in religious artworkby painting people with a variety ofbrown skin tones, those with verylight skin tones are all but absent.Stramara visited many holy and historical sites throughout ethiopia.this monk stands outside the church that houses the ark of the Covenant.Religious artwork in ethiopia portraysfigures with a variety of skin tones.On the other hand, the entirecause of this disparity cannot be dismissedas innocent human nature. InAmerican history, the curse of Hamhas been used to validate whites’superiority over blacks. “The Biblehas been twisted to oppress AfricanAmericans,” says Stramara. “Butblacks have just as much claim toearly Christianity as anyone else.”By the fourth century, Christianitystretched from Britain to WesternChina, and from Northern Europe tosub-Saharan Africa.So does the color of Jesus’ skinreally matter?“It has real social impact because itaffects how we treat each other,” saysPrentiss. “It matters in the context ofa Western culture that’s dominated byEuropeans where you create a socialhierarchy. We work toward a morejust society by realizing we’re not thecenter of the universe.”Just as it has taken time for thechurch’s efforts to use inclusive languagein the liturgy, Stramara says,it will take time for people to understandand appreciate the African rootsof the Bible and Christianity.For now, Stramara says he hopeshis experiences in Ethiopia will helphis students recognize that placessuch as Ethiopia have an unbrokenlink to the early church and thatthere are a variety of valid ways toapproach God and interpret the Bible.