Christian magazine ridiculed after insisting Jesus 'was Asian': 'Did you guys read the Bible?'

 A controversial article in a Christian magazine explaining the ethnicity of Jesus Christ has left commentators fuming on social media on Christmas Eve.

Christianity Today published a story titled "How Asian artists depict the birth of Jesus from 1240 to today", in which writer Victoria Emily Jones argued that "Jesus was born in Asia. He was Asian."

The photo essay depicts nine artifacts from Asian cultures that represent the birth anniversary. Jones claimed that by presenting Jesus as Asian, Christian artists could portray the deeper "theological meaning" of the "universality of Christ's birth".

"Some may object to portraying Jesus as anything other than a brown male, born to a Jewish family in Bethlehem, Judea in the first century, believing that doing so undermines his historicity. But Christians Artists who deal with the subject of the Incarnation often aim not at historical realism but at religious meaning," Jones wrote.

"By presenting Jesus as Japanese, Indonesian or Indian, they convey a sense of God's immanence, of his being 'with us', to their own communities – and to everyone else, the universality of the birth of Christ." ," he explained.

While the article was published on December 18, it gained attention on December 24 when the outlet posted it on social media platform X.

"Jesus was born in Asia. He was Asian. In this photo essay the artist brings him back to Asia — but not to ancient Israel. These nine artworks 'proclaim the pervasiveness of Christ's kingdom,'" the outlet shared Did.

However, commenters on X rejected the article's premise and mocked the evangelical outlet for promoting it.

Joel Berry, managing editor of Christian satirical news site The Babylon Bee, joked, "Next can you please write an article with a bunch of AI images of Jesus if he were Rosa Parks."

“Have you guys read the Bible?” RedState columnist and author Buzz Patterson replied to the post.

Christian blogger Samuel Say hit back, saying, "Blasphemy. Jesus is a Jew."

"It is essential to our salvation that He is the son of David, from the tribe of Judah, and born in Bethlehem. Stop this nonsense. He is not European, Asian, Palestinian or black. He is a Jew - King of the Jews And hence the savior of the world,” he said.

Aiki Thapsupornchai, senior pastor of Western Avenue Baptist Church, also responded to the article, writing, "I am Asian. Jesus was not. Still, Jesus is my God. And his sacrifice gave me the right to become a child of God. That's all." That's all that matters to me."

Christianity Today was not the only media outlet to receive backlash for its commentary on Jesus this holiday.

CNN Christmas morning Father Edward Beck called Jesus "a Palestinian Jew born at a time when his country was occupied."

Critics took to social media to criticize the CNN guest for his "inaccurate" history of Jesus Christ.