The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-04-30

Contradictions and AnRchrOnismS
of Pictures of the Savior.

Contradictions and AnachronismS
of Pictures of the Savior.
Bishop Hurst In Christian Advocate.
Every few years new rumors arise about
the finding Of unheard-of portraits of
Christ, or descriptions of His actual APP
pearance by contemporaneops writer's, of
which the world hitherto knew nothing.
Only very recently the public has been in
formed of something fresh and original,
that until a few months ago had lain in
concealment, and now, forsooth, must be
taken as a downright revelation from the
obscurity of nearly twenty centuries. But
the eye of just and keen criticism has dis
covered the sham.
The fact is, that OF all the alleged rep
reservations of the figure and features of
Christ not one. which from time TO time
the Roman Catholic Church has invited
its adherents and the world to accept as a
true portrait, is worthy of the name Of
one moments consideration
Taking the whole class of the alleged
pictures of Christ together, even the arch
| biologists of the Roman Catholic Church
have ascribed to them all a later date than
the time of our Lord and His apostles A
most important service In this interesting
| field Of inquiry has recently been rendered
by Prof. Muller. of the Berlin University.
Now that Prof. Piper, the greatest Pro-
| testant archa eologist, has passed away,
Miller stands at the head of this impor-
| tant and fascinating science. He has gone
| over the entire field, and has come TO
certain conclusions which the scholars Of
| all branches of the church are bound to
receive He deals with the representations
| of Christ in the catacombs in new and
| in such a strong manner that his treatment
| may be regarded as final. Nowhere Is
| Christianity stronger or more beautiful
| than where its learned men raise their
| protest against The shams and fables of
| those who would advance their cause by
! these realistic attractions.
| All these portraits in the catacombs bear
| traces OF a thoroughly Roman origin.
| While there is an infinite variety in de-
| tails. even the details themselves are all
| of a Roman character. There is not
single oriental quality in them. They are,
of course. idea. creations, but the type is
that OF the Roman young man upon whom
! The Christians were accustomed to look
/ when they made the catncombs their abid-
| ing place. For example: In the catacomb
| of Praetextatus our Lord and two of His
| apostles have exactly the same figure, the
same head and the same face. Those
early artists had neither rough copies of
! the original nor even a reliable remnis-
cence or tradition 90 help them. They
were in precisely the same condition as
/ Augustine. at a later time, when he con-
| fessed his complete ignorance concerning
] the appearance of Jesus There Is not
! the slightest likelihood that the letter
| forged In the twelfth century in the name
/ of Lentulus, and which. strangely enough,
4 Farrar quotes with some degree of re-
spect i'm his Life of Christ" has any ira
] holm / ont
The earlier pictures represent our Lord
/ as a Young man without a beard. but all
che current portraits of later period rep
resent Him with a beard. Now the intro
! duction of the beard took place about the
/ end Of che fourth or beginning of the fifth
century. and came to be in use because
! as Augustine says, the beard about this
time began 60 be associated with manly
/ strength and maturity The alleged por-
traits OF our Lord represent His hair as
parted in the middle. but this feature IA
] portralture was entirely absent from the
/ earliest art ana this method was unQues-
/ uonabiy intended by Christian artists 10
/ be- an allusion 20 our Lords Jewish or
] igin. The contradictions and anachron-
/ lsms in ell the alleged portraits Of Christ
are SO numerous that there is NOT a single
one n.at would be considered as repre-
senting the face and figure q Christ The
! universal procedure hrs been. whenever
I ire darrg 81 the artist has undertaken
] this high subject 10 cndcaYor 10 portray
our Lord with an the color ana detail 81
] the types whiah be saw in the streets OF
I in abe homes bout h'm.
lt would seem fhat there De- a1mofhing
! OF a providence Be- ihe toial lsence az
| everything .1al bears any aemnlarec ~
proof or sufhorty CD nemind one of fht
/ exact appearance ~ our Lord Isaiah
| sayat "insrr ie 30 beauty fhaf sac should
desire il4m emo that remains trae A. fhe
} present oag "a Noul5 seem tnut ihere