According to some accounts, a white Jesus started appearing in the 15th century. In his Celebrated Crimes, Frenchman Alexandre Dumas, the novelist, claimed that the picture of a modern white Jesus was first introduced to Christianity by Leonardo da Vinci (1452 – 1519), a renowned Italian painter (The Mona Lisa, The Last Supper, etc.), and accomplished draughtsman, engineer, scientist, sculptor and architect.
To depict Jesus, around 1500 Leonardo painted the Salvator Mundi (Latin for ‘Saviour of the World’), after being commissioned by Pope Alexander VI (formerly Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia). According to Dumas, Leonardo used Cesare Borgia, the son of the pope as a model for the Salvator Mundi.
“The 26-inch haunting oil-on-panel painting depicts a half-length figure of Christ as Savior of the World, facing front and dressed in Renaissance-era robes. In his painting, Leonardo presents Christ as he is characterized in the Gospel of John 4:14: ‘And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son as the Saviour of the World.’ Christ gazes fixedly at the spectator, lightly bearded with auburn ringlets, holding a crystal sphere in his left hand and offering benediction with his right.” (www.LeonardoDaVinci.net).
The painting was sold by Christie’s at a public auction in 2017 for US$450m, making it the most expensive painting ever sold at a public auction.
Although portrayed as a white man, the Gospels do not provide a physical description of the Christianity deity. The earliest depictions of Jesus Christ as a Semitic Jew in the Middle East look nothing like his modern depiction. In 2001, the BBC rendered a more realistic portrayal of Jesus Christ.
When Afrikans abandoned their indigenous religion to embrace an alien one which depicted its deity as a white man, it was a tacit acceptance that Afrikan belief systems, traditions, norms and culture are backward. In the subconscious mind of the Afrikan Christian, white people are the children of God and are therefore superior to Afrikans, and should be given whatever assistance they require.
This triggered a major crisis in the Afrikan Christian as it gave rise to self-loathe and an incredible level of an inferiority complex. The self-loathe bred a hatred for things Afrikan. The image of an Afrikan is regarded with regret – this is the reason for the use of skin lightening creams, wigs, weaves and the straightening of the kinky Afrikan hair to look like God’s ‘children’. A complete mess.
The self-hatred naturally transforms itself into a hatred for fellow Afrikans, Christians and non-Christians alike. In fact, jealousy instead of affection for each other among congregants is rife for this reason.
An acquisition of modern comforts is equated with trying to be white, and generates a wild rage. ‘Who does he think he is?’ is the default reaction of an Afrikan in a position of power when dealing with another Afrikan to deny him an economic opportunity. And in his consuming self-hatred, the Afrikan Christian blindly lumps white people together with those of a lighter hue than his, such as Asians and Chinese.
This self-hatred is the genesis of the pull him down (PHD) syndrome – the reason an Afrikan would rather assist a foreigner to acquire wealth over a fellow Afrikan, whose missteps are drummed up as an irrefutable proof of ineptitude and are used as an excuse.
Business initiatives by Afrikans are sabotaged by other Afrikans, and those belonging to foreigners are encouraged and supported. For example, foreigners find it easy to acquire state and tribal land, which is controlled by Afrikans in government. They are then lauded for their property development initiatives, as if Afrikans cannot do the same if they had access to land. The wealth created from the support of Afrikans allows foreigners to invest in other economic sectors to become business magnates.
The domination of the economy by foreigners is not because they are any smarter than Afrikans. Granted, there are some foreigners who had more experience in business management for historical reasons, but this is no longer a competitive advantage. There are Afrikans who can compete with foreigners and even outdo them in any type of business, if only they could get the necessary support.
Had the efforts of Rre Raphael Sikwane, an Afrikan, been given the necessary support, the country could have long had an indigenous commercial bank. Also, the Phakalane suburb in Gaborone, established by an Afrikan, nearly didn’t see the light of day had it not been for the persistence and perseverance of its founder in the face of efforts to thwart his pioneering initiative.
Since Afrikan Christians are the decision makers, over the years, policies and regulations of government have generally favoured foreigners, hence the recent outcry in parliament over their disproportionate control of some sectors of the economy.
Western countries are not developed by accident. They are where they are by appreciating innovation, talent and merit and nurturing these for future generations to grow. Crucially, inferiority complex doesn’t exist in these countries. Having arrogated Christianity as their own (hence a white Jesus Christ), they have waged fierce wars to prevent infiltration and proselytization by external forces especially Muslims.
A white Jesus is so ingrained in the psyche of Afrikan Christians that getting rid of this depiction would require political balls of steel. Therefore, for our survival and that of future generations, we need to do two things.
Firstly, we should reduce the number Christian events, such as Christian prayers before and after official events – these could be replaced by calls for guidance and expression of gratitude to the Ancestors. At the same time, government should establish a dedicated fund for the revival of Afrikan Spirituality.
Secondly, we should instil in Afrikans an uncompromising pro-Afrikan attitude from an early age. In this regard, a daily pledge should be introduced in schools, starting with kindergarten. Appointments and promotions in the public service should be accompanied by the pledge, and the daily morning Christian prayers should be replaced by the pledge.
