Shaun King Says Statues of Jesus Promote White Supremacy

Many protestors and activists have been campaigning to get statues of Confederate soldiers and generals removed in the wake of George Floyd’s tragic murder in late May. 

These statues have been taken down all across the nation, such as in North Carolina where a Confederate statue was just removed from the top of a 75 foot monument. It’s not enough.  It’s never enough.

American author and activist, Shaun King took to Twitter to speak on why he believes statues of Jesus should be taken down. 

Yes, Jesus.

“The statues of the white European they claim is Jesus should also come down,” he tweeted,  “They are a form of white supremacy. Always have been. In the Bible, when the family of Jesus wanted to hide, and blend in, guess where they went? EGYPT! Not Denmark. Tear them down.”

There is a lot of crazy stuff to dissect here. 

First, Google maps has Denmark as a 790 hour walk from Bethlehem. When fleeing from a murderous King I am not sure I’d want to risk traveling 2600 miles even if I had a good camel.

Second, inaccurate racial depictions of Jesus are not an American thing. Old Chinese paintings portray Jesus as Asian. Old paintings in Ethiopia portrayed Jesus as black. Some of these paintings predate America. It is not uncommon for Jesus to be portrayed as the ethnicity of local people. And that’s a good thing, because the “for God so loved the world” passage indicated that He loves all of us. 

Third, if you’re a white supremacist, Jesus’s message is one you would want to suppress, not exalt. 

“For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved,” reads Romans 10:12-13.

King goes on to tweet, “All murals and stained glass windows of white Jesus, and his European mother, and their white friends should also come down. They are a gross form white supremacy. Created as tools of oppression. Racist propaganda.”

The most egregious thing that King suggested was his comment on tearing down the stained glass windows in churches. The government would literally be entering into houses of worship and destroying religious art for the purpose of being politically correct. 

Hey Shaun, quick question: who do you want to tear down these pieces of art? Do we want the government involved in deciding what forms of religious expression are acceptable? 

We can all agree this is not a great idea.

Here’s the truth:

If Jesus is propaganda for racists, they’re not doing a great job. 

Why not promote racial equality in these tumultuous times by listening to the words of Jesus, not tear him down?

Hat Tip: Twitter, cycleback.wordpress.com, ABC News

Image Credit: Wikimedia