The Crown of Thorns

[JW Insider]

I agree that in past years the Watchtower did not do enough research into various historical issues. (The lack of a beard, for example.)

But if one conjectures that Jesus could not have been physically handsome based on Isaiah, then although that is quite possible, creating a less-than-handsome look to him would be distracting. (And it's quite possible that this referred to the disdain and rejection he suffered from his own nation throughout his ministry.)

The truth is that the Watchtower has learned a lot over the years. Pictures add a lot, especially for younger ones, but they are not intended for deriving information that is not found in the scriptures themselves. The Mosaic law forbid artwork (we assume it was forbidding religious artwork based on the context). From this we know not to put too much emphasis on it as a source of truth. The Bible is the source of truth.

[Witness]

18 minutes ago, JW Insider said:

Pictures add a lot, especially for younger ones, but they are not intended for deriving information that is not found in the scriptures themselves.

And those pictures concerning Armageddon and how they are viewed in the eyes of a child? The book of Revelation is a symbolic book (Rev 1:1, Greek); Jesus destroys falsehoods with the "breath of his mouth"  2 Thess 2:8; Isa 11:4; Jer 5:14; Heb 1:7; 12:29 (Heb 4:12)

 “Is not My word like a fire?” says the Lord, “And like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?  Jer 23:29

I hope you had no part in creating these, JWI.

 

 

 

[JW Insider]

2 hours ago, Witness said:

I hope you had no part in creating these, JWI.

There are Bible passages that I would not read with my children until they were old enough to understand them.

But if it helps, all of my work was from 1976 to 1982, and in '76 it was still just handbills, booklets, brochures. In 1977-79 some of the art got more time-consuming, but it was still mostly one or two-color. I didn't get to work on the Bible Stories book which was full-color,  and I only got ONE full paradise scene, no Armageddon scenes, and no pictures of Jesus. Nothing very startling or striking like the scenes you showed. I wasn't very good with drawing expressions on faces back then, although I could draw or paint a fair landscape. It wasn't until '79 - '82 that more of my time was spent in research than in art.