The God of the Christian Bible has always inspired a certain type of image: Authoritative, ancient, stern but just, in command. That's understandable: God is all of those things. Much of the iconography of God has thus reflected all of those qualities.
But now people apparently believe that God resembles not a stunning bearded deity crackling with dominion but rather that nice man named Jeffrey who made your lattes at the local coffee shop like 12 years ago:
In 2018, researchers at the University of North Carolina announced startling news: God had gotten a makeover.
American Christians no longer envision the deity as the fierce, judgmental power figure Michelangelo painted on the Sistine Chapel ceiling, according to the study led by cultural psychologist Joshua Conrad Jackson.
"The face of God in America" is, in fact, a gentle yet distinctly male being with wide eyes, a warm smile and a friendly expression, researchers concluded.
Yes, this is who Americans now picture to be the supreme, omnipotent Creator of all existence, the God Who Is, Was, and Ever Shall Be, the One Who is I AM:
That's, well...
Look, obviously, God could appear to us however He pleases. If he wanted to look like that one dog-walker from your neighborhood that you're sure is a nice guy but who also sorta kinda just barely gives you the creeps...well, surely God could look like that guy.
But after two thousand years of Christian art, don't you think we would have seen this sort of depiction of God – for those who even dared create a metaphorical image to encapsulate the glory and holiness of God – at some point before 2022?
Like, why were none of the world's great Christian artists never inspired to paint God like this? Did they not get the memo? Did they miss the message? Was there something they missed about the Bible describing God as "consuming fire," "Father," "spirit," and the one who "binds the chains" of the constellations, "sends forth lightning," and "puts wisdom in the heart"?
Maybe these folks just need to read the Bible a little more to get a better picture in their heads. It couldn't hurt!
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