“Christianity Today” (CT) is facing backlash after it featured the claim that Jesus was Asian. “Jesus was born in Asia. He was Asian,” the article opens. “Yet the preponderance of Christian art that shows him at home in Europe has meant that he is embedded deeply in the popular imagination as Western.” The article featured art depicting Jesus in Asian culture. “Some may object to depicting Jesus as anything other than a brown male born into a Jewish family in Bethlehem of Judea in the first century, believing that doing so undermines his historicity. But Christian artists who tackle the subject of the Incarnation are often aiming not at historical realism but at theological meaning,” the article went on. “By representing Jesus as Japanese, Indonesian, or Indian, they convey a sense of God’s immanence, his ‘with-us–ness,’ for their own communities—and for everyone else, the universality of Christ’s birth.”

“CT” shared the article to X, where it faced immediate criticism. “Blasphemy,” wrote conservative Christian blogger Samuel Sey. “Jesus is a Jew. It’s necessary for our salvation that he is a son of David, from the tribe of Judah, and born in Bethlehem. Stop this nonsense. He isn’t European, Asian, Palestinian or black. He’s a Jew—the king of the Jews and therefore the saviour of the world.” Franklin Graham also called out the magazine. “@CTmagazine is being criticized for their article about artists depicting Jesus as Asian—and I also have to ask why they would publish something so far off base,” he wrote. “We don’t have to wonder or speculate about this—the Bible gives us very specific details about Jesus’ earthly lineage and where He was born and grew up. We know that Jesus was Jewish. However, if you don’t believe the Bible or accept it as the Word of God, then everything is in question. Guess what—we don’t get to make God in our own image. He is Who He is!”

“Christianity Today” has faced a number of criticisms throughout the year. In August, it featured an article entitled “Barbie and Taylor Swift Are Bringing Us Together.” The article included the tagline “Beyond hot pink and bejeweled outfits, they showcase a deeper desire for community and collective joy.” According to the article, Swift’s Eras Tour is reminiscent of a church gathering. “Swift, too, invites her fans into her own embodied life as she sings unabashedly of emotion and relationship and loss… And that’s what church is. It’s life in the body together, the people gathered around the one who is the truth, who gives life meaning, who knows our embodied longings because he took on flesh for our sake. The kids want communal meaning. So I’m going to keep hoping — hoping that, maybe, what they want is the body of Christ.”

More recently, the magazine is facing backlash for resharing an article about gendered language. “When it comes to gendered language, these Christian leaders agree on three things: Everything is changing so fast. We’re figuring it out together. And we should give each other grace,” the post said. Megan Basham, reporter for The Daily Wire, responded, “As usual, you miss that the word of God, which tells us “male and female be created them” and ‘thou shalt not lie’ is not changing. Faithfulness doesn’t have to be as hard as you try to make it.” The article is from August and features the title “Should I Offer my Pronouns?” “‘When it comes to bowing down to the statue of Nebuchadnezzar, everything is, like, changing so fast. Let’s all just figure it out together and give each other grace, man.’ – Shadrach to Meschach and Abednego, paraphrased,” mocked Babylon Bee editor-in-chief Kyle Mann. “Can you please change your name to ‘Today’s Agnostic’” wrote another commentor.