The issues you relate in your article are one reason I'm glad I'm in the Church of Christ - not the protestant church often seen in America, but the Iglesia ni Cristo, currently based in the Philippines, but found in 150 nations (see incmedia.org).

You see, we take the Bible seriously when it says, "no graven images". We don't agree with any graven representation of God or Jesus, for the Bible warns us against such.

In other words, we cannot pretend to know what Jesus looked like, or what His skin color was. We only know he is our Savior, and our only Mediator between God and man.

And that makes things much, much simpler. If we follow the Bible, there's no need for such controversies such as Jesus' race or skin color.