The argument that Jesus was not white is basically.... Jesus was a Jew, so look at the physical appearance of the jews to see what Jesus looked like. This argument is based on lack of historical and biblical knowledge. You can’t determine what an Israelite, or a Jew in the time of Christ looked like based on the word Jew. The majority of modern day Jewish people are not even racial Jews, but converts to Judaism.
The argument that Jesus was white is based on early paintings and written documents. Those written documents, fake or not, do not seem to be disputed in the scriptures. From the name that was translated as Adam to the physical descriptions of King David and the other Israelites I find no major contradiction.
Jesus was a decedent of David. The following scriptures give a description of David.
(I Samuel 16:12) KJV “And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the LORD said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he.”
Samuel 16:12 (Young's Literal Translation) “And he sendeth, and bringeth him in, and he [is] ruddy, with beauty of eyes, and of good appearance; and Jehovah saith, `Rise, anoint him, for this [is] he.'” 1Sa 17:42 KJV “And when the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he disdained him: for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and of a fair countenance.”
Acts 22:8 KJV “And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest.”
Lam 4:7 “Her Nazarites were purer than snow, they were whiter than milk, they were more ruddy in body than rubies, their polishing was of sapphire:”
I personally think the argument that Jesus was white is the stronger argument from a historical as well as a biblical standpoint.
Some Interesting Links:
http://www.serfes.org/spiritual/january2004.htm
http://www.shroudstory.com/art.htm
http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=42087
You might also want to do a word study on ruddy in Strong's.
