Eric Metaxas criticized for ‘Jesus was white’ tweet
By Matthias Browning | Reporter
July 31, 2020
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Popular radio host and author Eric Metaxas has sparked a backlash after tweeting that Jesus was white.
After all America has been through over the last two months with Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd, not to mention protests and riots over Black Lives Matter, the normally conservative Metaxas’s unnecessary and ill-timed tweet has sparked a storm.
“Jesus was white. Did he have “white privilege” even though he was entirely without sin? Is the United Methodist Church covering that? I think it could be important,” he said on Twitter.
Jesus was white. Did he have "white privilege" even though he was entirely without sin? Is the United Methodist Church covering that? I think it could be important. https://t.co/lNv67Z7g5l
His comments, however were not random. They have come after news that the United Methodist Church has enlisted Robin DiAngelo to produce a series of videos on “Deconstructing White Privilege”.
Premier News reports that in comments made on his show following the tweet, Metaxas admitted it was “ill-considered” but that he was “trying to start a conversation”.
Jesus was a Palestinian Jew. Very likely, he looked like the image below. FYI, he did not speak English (or “American). The man known as Jesus, most likely returned to India after the attempt to crucify him & died there at age 80. https://t.co/mbY1C9jpB9pic.twitter.com/YN98BJdZ3V
Just a simple question. What difference does it make what color of skin Jesus had? He is our example for living, all he did and has done for me had nothing to do with skin color. This baffles me!
It's almost like you know nothing about Christianity, the ANE, or history in general. Maybe attending a church that wasn't founded in defense of slavery would help. For the record, Jesus wasn't white. He probably looked a lot like this. ⬇️ And he was Jewish. pic.twitter.com/QhvNnZwPMu
— Rev. Dr. Chuck Currie (@RevChuckCurrie) July 28, 2020
Not parody, I'm afraid. What's sad is that Metaxas is a brilliant man. Yale grad. Author of an excellent biography of William Wilberforce, and another of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. I have no idea why he would go on record as saying Jesus was/is white. He definitely knows better.
Metaxas hosts the two-hour, daily nationally syndicated radio program broadcast from the Empire State Building in New York called The Eric Metaxas Show. He also founded and hosts a New York City event series called “Socrates in the City: Conversations on the Examined Life,” where he interviews thinkers and writers, and is labeled as a forum on “life, God, and other small topics” in Metaxas’ book about the series.