Jesus Is Not a Cartoon Character

Here’s a concern that has been rattling around in the recesses of my brain for some time; it comes to mind this time of year when familiar Christmas stories are read and portrayed, though it’s something of a wider concern.

Christian art is—and is supposed to be—inspiring and edifying, especially when well done. Indeed, the finest of Western art is at its best when imployed in service to the Gospel. One feature of Gottesdienst that readers have long appreciated is the cover, and this is due in large part to its frequent display of some of the best of this art by the masters.

And this is why I find, by sharp contrast, the use of cartoon characters depicting Bible characters for children to be wearying. I know all the arguments in favor of that, too: It helps kids to relate to Noah, Moses, etc. It brings Jesus to their level. It helps them remember. It’s harmless and it’s a good tool. Et cetera.

But why, I wonder, were cartoon characters not included among the visual aids used by our fathers in the faith? Even going back to as recently as the mid-twentieth century, my own recollection of drawings of Bible characters does not include the crude cartoons that seem so ubiquitous in our day. Ever since, maybe, Veggie-tales became popular, the drawings of Bible stories and characters by and large have gone downhill. As recently as 1998, 100 Bible Stories (CPH) was, I think, acceptable, and well loved, though such art was already beginning to fade, in favor of the more cartoonish look that began to be published in the 1960s and popularized by Arch Books.

The closest these came to real-life depictions was a kind of fake-looking Jesus who at least had the right bodily dimensions.

And I don’t mean to pick on CPH, either. Some of their materials are of much better and more realistic quality, and I’m sure the downward trend in children’s art is pretty much across the spectrum. Still, wouldn’t it be nice if we had more children’s books that used the best in fine art for their depictions of the Bible stories they tell? It’s not like we have a shortage of it from which to choose. I have a vague recollection of one such Bible story book from years ago, in black-and-white, I think, that did this.

We have, for instance, some magnificent art depicting Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son Isaac. Compare this by Caravaggio:

to this ridiculous cartoon:

There was a time when even Western art was controversial as a way of depicting Bible scenes, and the iconophiles of a long-since bygone era preferred only icons, the Eastern representations that those who wrote them (I think “wrote” is the preferred term for icons).

Of course Western culture has since given us magnificent and beautiful art of the more realist or dignified kind, such as artists of Europe since medieval times have been wont to paint (I mean “realist” in the common sense of the term, rather than specifically in the sense of the realist movement). This Gottesdienst cover, for instance, the work of seventeenth-century Florentine painter Carolo Dolci, from Christmas 2020, while not necessarily or literally realist, is certainly dignified:

In those days all art depicting Bible figures and scenes was taken seriously, I think. Today, alas, it is not so.

My objection to the overly cartoonish is more theological than aesthetic, however. I fear that when our children see an endless parade of cartoons depicting scenes and people from the Bible, and not least depicting Jesus Himself, they would be inclined to think of  Him as belonging to the genre of the cartoon, in which Disney characters, and the gang from Peanuts are found.  That is, the realm of make-believe. It’s hard enough to help children distinguish reality from fantasy, especially at Christmas. Santa Claus, like the tooth fairy and the Easter bunny, is not in the same category as our Incarnate Lord, and children need to have that inculcated in them as early as possible, I think.

I would much prefer that if we are going to use drawings of Jesus, His disciples, and others from the Bible, we do our best to find drawings that are closer to reality; and, if possible, even employ the very best of art for such depictions. I think our children would appreciate our attention to such matters and nuances, and maybe even by some kind of osmosis learn just how seriously we ourselves take the matters of our most holy faith. After all, Jesus is not a cartoon character.