Many assume Christianity in Africa was a purely Western missionary import. However, as Ethiopian Christian Orthodox history shows, the religion was on the continent as early as the 4th century AD. It was heavily influenced by local Ethiopian culture. Depictions of figures such as Jesus and the apostles show them with dark skin and giant afros – very different from the blond-haired, blue-eyed figure many associate Jesus with. The Ethiopian Bible is also among the oldest and contains 81 books, 15 more than the King James’ 66.
Surely it is time we replace the images of White Jesus with this more historically accurate one especially on our continent.