Lyrics for the rap song, B.I.B.L.E. (Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth), include the following line: “The white image, of Christ, is really Cesare Borgia.” The idea that our modern image of Jesus could be based on a ruthless power-hungry illegitimate son of a 15th century Pope (and star of the bloody mini-series Borgia)) is startling and farfetched. But it is no more bizarre or fanciful than many other ideas about who Jesus was or what he looked like. And it does have an interesting tale behind it. To understand the Borgia story requires a bit of context. It’s All Guesswork In contrast t…
