
Images of Jesus
How Jesus is Perceived and Portrayed in Non-European Cultures
Anton Wessels(Author)
SCM Press
Published on 31. July 2012
Book
Paperback/Softback
208 pages
978-0-334-00697-8 (ISBN)
Description
Jesus has been depicted in many different ways all over the world. But has he been betrayed as well as portrayed? That is the question this book sets out to answer. Anton Wessels begins by reminding us of the changing portraits of Jesus in European art down the ages, from the youthful shepherd through the conquering emperor to the suffering and dying Christ. Later chapters range further afield. We meet Jewish perspectives on Jesus and Christian perspectives on Jesus, and then see the oppressive way in which Christ was introduced to the Indians of the New World, a way which is contrasted with the more modern approach of the liberation theologians. We are introduced to black Asian and Asiatic perceptions of Christ, and the way in which Jesus is brought into relationship with Hinduism, Buddhism and Taoism. How true and trustworthy are our images of Christ? Are they legitimate, or are they distortions to serve the not-so private agendas of those who present them? By the end of the book, the reader is left with a good deal of food for thought.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Dimensions
Height: 216 mm
Width: 140 mm
Thickness: 11 mm
Weight
264 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-334-00697-8 (9780334006978)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Anton Wessels is Professor Emeritus of Missiology and Religious Studies at VU University Amsterdam, where he taught for twenty-four years. His most important works in English include "A Kind of Bible": Vincent van Gogh as Evangelist; Europe: Has It Ever Been Really Christian?; and Muslims and the West: Can They Ever Be Integrated?