Religion: We need to see ourselves in our deity

Re: "What did Jesus Christ look like?" (TNT, 12-28).

People have a psychological need for their deity to conform to their racial identity. That would explain the popularity of "Black Last Supper," a velvet painting at a garage sale I held several years ago.

The neighbor who bought it and the attendees who paid it the most attention were African- American art lovers, just plain folks who wanted a religious figure who represented themselves.

Good, I say. But good as well is that Jesus, as the son of God, would be more nebulous in his appearance than narrow-minded people might be ready to accept. Indeed, God is cast in our image, in their image, in some other person's image.

And rightly so; he is all things to all people. I am not religious, just thoughtful.

This story was originally published December 29, 2015 at 1:16 PM with the headline "Religion: We need to see ourselves in our deity."