{"id":32902,"date":"2016-01-01T08:16:27","date_gmt":"2016-01-01T13:16:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/exploringourmatrix\/?p=32902"},"modified":"2016-01-01T08:16:27","modified_gmt":"2016-01-01T13:16:27","slug":"the-average-faces-of-jesus-and-satan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2016\/01\/the-average-faces-of-jesus-and-satan.html","title":{"rendered":"The Average Faces of Jesus and Satan"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"Average \"Average<\/p>\n

I had the two images above forwarded to me by a blog reader. They represent the average composite that emerged from combining the features of actors who've portrayed Jesus and Satan in films. I'll bet you can tell which is which without needing captions. Does this tell us anything about our stereotypes regarding these figures?<\/p>\n

Here is some more information about how these images came about, again forwarded to me by the same individual:<\/p>\n

The project came out of Bluefield College's Department of Art and Design<\/a>. The origin of the idea is that since it's the holidays, several of these movies will be shown on tv and it's interesting to see how Jesus has been portrayed in Hollywood over time. Originally they were just going to do Jesus, but decided that it would be interesting to do the Devil\/Satan as well considering there have been several portrayals of him in film.So in a sense, it is a media studies, art and design, and holiday project all in one.I think the most surprising aspect of the project is actually how \u201cunsurprising\u201d it is. For the most part (until recently) Jesus has been portrayed as very \u201cEuropean\u201d or \u201cwesternized\u201d sometimes even having blonde hair and blue eyes\u2026 and the composite image shows that pretty clearly.Prime example: Jeffrey Hunter in 1961's King of Kings<\/a>We know now that Jesus would likely have been very Middle Eastern looking.Overall, a very interesting graphic.Here is the list of actors that comprise the composites:Jesus:<\/strong>Brian DeaconChris SarandonChristian BaleDiogo MorgadoEnrique IrazoquiEwan McGregorHaaz SleimanHalvard HoffHB WarnerHenry Ian CusickJeffrey HunterJeremy SistoJim CaviezelJohn K SteelJuan Pablo Di PaceMax von SydowRobert PowellTed NeeleyWill FerrellWillem DafoeSatan:<\/strong>Al PacinoAnton LaveyBruce PayneClarence WilliamsClaude RainsDavid WarnerElizabeth HurleyGabriel ByrneGeorge Burns (played God and the Devil)Harvey KeitelJack NicholsonMax von Sydow (if you notice he played both Jesus and the Devil in separate films)Peter CookPeter FondaPeter StormareRobert De NiroRosalinda CelentanoTom WaitsViggo MortensenVincent PriceWalter Huston<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

See below for animations showing the images that went into making the composite.<\/p>\n

\"average \"average<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I had the two images above forwarded to me by a blog reader. They represent the average composite that emerged from combining the features of actors who’ve portrayed Jesus and Satan in films. I’ll bet you can tell which is which without needing captions. Does this tell us anything about our stereotypes regarding these figures? […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":136,"featured_media":32903,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,62],"tags":[348,2090,5009,5677,7757,10792],"class_list":["post-32902","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-art","category-movies","tag-actors","tag-composite","tag-image","tag-jesus","tag-movies","tag-satan"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Average Faces of Jesus and Satan<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I had the two images above forwarded to me by a blog reader. They represent the average composite that emerged from combining the features of actors\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2016\/01\/the-average-faces-of-jesus-and-satan.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Average Faces of Jesus and Satan\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I had the two images above forwarded to me by a blog reader. They represent the average composite that emerged from combining the features of actors\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2016\/01\/the-average-faces-of-jesus-and-satan.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Religion Prof: The Blog of James F. McGrath\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/religionprof\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-01-01T13:16:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"James F. McGrath\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ReligionProf\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"James F. McGrath\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2016\/01\/the-average-faces-of-jesus-and-satan.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2016\/01\/the-average-faces-of-jesus-and-satan.html\",\"name\":\"The Average Faces of Jesus and Satan\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2016-01-01T13:16:27+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-01-01T13:16:27+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#\/schema\/person\/78342576667b872e3d259c153ce4c5bf\"},\"description\":\"I had the two images above forwarded to me by a blog reader. They represent the average composite that emerged from combining the features of actors\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2016\/01\/the-average-faces-of-jesus-and-satan.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2016\/01\/the-average-faces-of-jesus-and-satan.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2016\/01\/the-average-faces-of-jesus-and-satan.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Average Faces of Jesus and Satan\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/\",\"name\":\"Religion Prof: The Blog of James F. McGrath\",\"description\":\"The Blog of Dr. James F. McGrath, Clarence L. Goodwin Chair in New Testament Language and Literature at Butler University, Indianapolis\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#\/schema\/person\/78342576667b872e3d259c153ce4c5bf\",\"name\":\"James F. McGrath\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/88ca096942acd474313f7ef4227a49da?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/88ca096942acd474313f7ef4227a49da?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"James F. McGrath\"},\"description\":\"Clarence L. Goodwin Chair in New Testament Language and Literature at Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. BD University of London, PhD Durham University. Author of John's Apologetic Christology, The Only True God, Theology and Science Fiction, and The Burial of Jesus, as well as (with Charles Haberl of Rutgers University) the two-volume Mandaean Book of John critical edition, translation, and commentary. Also author of numerous articles (and a few science fiction short stories) and the editor or co-editor of several volumes.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3Ge8ul5\",\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/religionprof\/\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/jamesfmcgrath\/\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/jfmcgrat\/\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ReligionProf\",\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/religionprof\",\"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/religionprof\",\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/James_F._McGrath\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/author\/james-f-mcgrath\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Average Faces of Jesus and Satan","description":"I had the two images above forwarded to me by a blog reader. They represent the average composite that emerged from combining the features of actors","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2016\/01\/the-average-faces-of-jesus-and-satan.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Average Faces of Jesus and Satan","og_description":"I had the two images above forwarded to me by a blog reader. They represent the average composite that emerged from combining the features of actors","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2016\/01\/the-average-faces-of-jesus-and-satan.html","og_site_name":"Religion Prof: The Blog of James F. McGrath","article_author":"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/religionprof\/","article_published_time":"2016-01-01T13:16:27+00:00","author":"James F. McGrath","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@ReligionProf","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"James F. McGrath","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2016\/01\/the-average-faces-of-jesus-and-satan.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2016\/01\/the-average-faces-of-jesus-and-satan.html","name":"The Average Faces of Jesus and Satan","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#website"},"datePublished":"2016-01-01T13:16:27+00:00","dateModified":"2016-01-01T13:16:27+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#\/schema\/person\/78342576667b872e3d259c153ce4c5bf"},"description":"I had the two images above forwarded to me by a blog reader. They represent the average composite that emerged from combining the features of actors","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2016\/01\/the-average-faces-of-jesus-and-satan.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2016\/01\/the-average-faces-of-jesus-and-satan.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2016\/01\/the-average-faces-of-jesus-and-satan.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Average Faces of Jesus and Satan"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/","name":"Religion Prof: The Blog of James F. McGrath","description":"The Blog of Dr. James F. McGrath, Clarence L. Goodwin Chair in New Testament Language and Literature at Butler University, Indianapolis","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#\/schema\/person\/78342576667b872e3d259c153ce4c5bf","name":"James F. McGrath","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/88ca096942acd474313f7ef4227a49da?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/88ca096942acd474313f7ef4227a49da?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"James F. McGrath"},"description":"Clarence L. Goodwin Chair in New Testament Language and Literature at Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. BD University of London, PhD Durham University. Author of John's Apologetic Christology, The Only True God, Theology and Science Fiction, and The Burial of Jesus, as well as (with Charles Haberl of Rutgers University) the two-volume Mandaean Book of John critical edition, translation, and commentary. Also author of numerous articles (and a few science fiction short stories) and the editor or co-editor of several volumes.","sameAs":["https:\/\/amzn.to\/3Ge8ul5","http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/religionprof\/","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/jamesfmcgrath\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/jfmcgrat\/","https:\/\/twitter.com\/ReligionProf","http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/religionprof","https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/religionprof","https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/James_F._McGrath"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/author\/james-f-mcgrath"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32902","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/136"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32902"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32902\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32902"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32902"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32902"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}