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Guy Gives Mormon Parents Obi-Wan Kenobi Portrait, Mom Hangs It, Thinking It’s Jesus Christ
Star Wars is such a big deal around the globe, having built up an impressively large and dedicated fandom, that one could even say that it has become a bit of a religion.
Well, okay, it’s technically not a religion, and even the subsequent Jediism movement can’t be called a religion—rather a philosophy—but you can’t say that people haven’t tried putting a religious spin on it.
Like this one guy who, come Christmas, gifted his very Mormon parents a very artistic interpretation of Jesus Christ… well, by artistic interpretation, we mean a portrait of Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Ever grew up in a religious family who loved to have portraits of Jesus Christ around the house?
Image credits: Ryan Buchanan
Meet Ryan Buchanan, a guy from Utah who had a very mischievous, yet brilliant idea back in Christmas of 2018.
You see, his parents are religious folk, active members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, or more commonly known as Mormons. So, he thought it would be very appropriate to get them something that’s within the actual theme of Christmas.
Since there have always been paintings of Jesus Christ in the home he grew up in, it was only natural he’d get his parents a portrait of Jesus Christ.
Well, that ain’t no Jesus, that’s Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi, but someone did actually hang it as a painting on their wall thinking it’s Jesus
Image credits: ihavenoideahowtopickausername
Well, come Christmas day, and he hands his parents a rectangular gift. They tear off the polka-dot wrapping to see… well, a very artistic rendition of who they think is Jesus Christ.
As soon as they turn the picture towards Ryan, saying how well done it is and how they haven’t seen this one before, Ryan’s camera that was set up to film their reaction actually captures a different face.
The portrait is actually of Ewan Gordon McGregor, the actor who portrayed Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars franchise, wearing the iconic Jedi attire.
Ryan Buchanan gifted the portrait of Obi Wan to his religious Mormon parents for Christmas
Image credits: Ryan Buchanan
The parents bought it and were very happy with the portrait—so much in fact that it ended up on their wall
Image credits: Ryan Buchanan
Ryan ended up posting the picture, hung on the wall of his parents’ place, on Reddit with the caption “I’ve made a huge mistake. Mom loves her Jesus Christmas present and I’m not sure how to get out of this thing alive when she figures out.”
He got the idea to do this from another Redditor who, some time before that, cracked a joke that Obi Wan Kenobi looks oddly reminiscent of Jesus Christ.
And since Ryan admitted that he was always a bit of a prankster, this was the perfect idea. If you watch the video, you will hear how his mother even says “why are you smiling” as if she’s onto him, but never suspects a thing, and that made the internet laugh out loud.
Despite his mischievous smile, Ryan is now thinking what will happen to him once his parents find out the truth!
Image credits: Ryan Buchanan
Now, this isn’t the first time Ewan McGregor has been mistaken for Jesus Christ because of his role in Star Wars as there was another Redditor whose brother swapped a picture of Jesus at their parents’ house with a picture of Obi-Wan Kenobi as portrayed by Ewan McGregor. They didn’t notice it.
And, of course, the Mormon Church themselves have even featured Ewan McGregor on the cover of one of their Sunday programs. The designer of the program claimed that they were well aware who that was, but I guess it was just too tempting not to use it at this point.
Believe it or not, this is actually a thing as another person swapped their Jesus picture for Obi-Wan too
Image credits: u/A-ladder-named-chaos
There was even one time when a Mormon Sunday program was also designed to include Obi-Wan
Image credits: Mandy McConnell Wright
Ryan’s Reddit post of his prank went viral, garnering nearly 110,000 upvotes on r/PrequelMemes. He also supplemented it with a video on YouTube, which got over 385,000 views.
Take a look at the video Ryan posted of his parents unwrapping the gift
Image credits: Ryan Buchanan
What are your thoughts on this? Did you pull any pranks on anyone—or had pranks pulled on you—during Christmas? Let us know in the comment section below!
What do you think ?
Latifa Shabnaz 3 years ago
Parents that night -Should we tell him that not jesus? -Leave him dear! It would break his heart.
François Carré 3 years ago
Well, why not ? As far as we know, all these familiar pictures of a blond, blue-eyed Jesus are as fictional as the whole Obi-Wan character.
Jim Ellington 3 years ago
Strangely enough, I have seen and met many blonde, blue-eyed Jews.
Load More Replies...
Raine Soo 3 years ago
I had tears from laughing so hard when I read the heading and saw the portrait of Obi Wan. Merry Christmas!
Caitlyn Williams 3 years ago
It's funny, I wouldn't be able to pull that off cause my folks watch star wars. I find it hilarious though that they don't know what the guy they worship looks like
Load More Replies...
Darth Kittius 3 years ago
I am a member of this church. We are Christian, as we believe in Christ. We do not believe that anyone with dark skin is beneath us. We are not a cult. Please be respectful.
Xandra, The Little Hufflepuff 3 years ago
If you guys want accurate info on what we believe instead of the false stuff people are saying go to https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/?lang=eng I'm not trying to convert you or anything. Just saying that before you make assumptions that are WRONG about us, get information about what we ACTUALLY believe. NOT the false stuff you are hearing.
Keegan Pearson 3 years ago
The best way to get to know someone is to learn from the source! If people believed half the stories they read on the internet, you'd think we were Illuminati but with missionaries!
Load More Replies...
Sheena Ferr 3 years ago
I have to do a bit of defending here. As a non-active Mormon, who grew up in the Deep South. We believe Jesus, the son of God, was born to a Virgin Mary. He fulfilled the law of Moses. And died for everyone's sins so they may return to God . We believe in showing our commitment to this belief by being baptized with water making us ready to be baptized by "fire" to receive the Holy Spirit. So, which part of this that we believe is not being a Christian?
Sheena Ferr 3 years ago
Also, Mormons are known ( inside our community) to be pretty good at poking a bit of fun at ourselves. We can't wallow in depression about people not believing we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior. We have to have a bit of fun about it or we'd go nuts. Heck, there's a whole Broadway play poking fun at Mormons. Do you see us crying? No, we're laughing along with you.
Load More Replies...
Russell Ellwardt 3 years ago
Yeah right. He wonders what is going to happen to him if they find out, and then has this published on the internet taking for granted that neither his parents nor anyone who knows the family will ever use the web? Come on.
E Menendez 3 years ago (edited)
I understand the joke and the premise, but I don't think it is right to ridicule anyone for their ignorance or their religious views.
jevais 3 years ago
E Menendez if you have read the Bible one should not have statues or pictures of Jesus. There are no paintings of Jesus in his time. As Christians we shouldn't have portraits or statues to which we pray to. It's written in the Bible. Jesus was probably not blonde, white skin or had blue eyes. People from the middle east have dark eyes, skin and hair in the times of Jesus. In fact they looked the same as their Arabic cousins.
Load More Replies...
Keegan Pearson 3 years ago
We prefer to be called Latter-Day Saints, not Mormons, even if it is a little shorter. Good article though!
Jayne Kyra 3 years ago
The blonder the Jesus, the happier some people are. https://www.history.com/news/what-did-jesus-look-like
Monika Soffronow 3 years ago (edited)
Well yes, people always like a god made to look just like them!
Load More Replies...
Judy Windham Saunders 3 years ago
If I had disrespected my parents' religion like that (I'm not Mormon) I'd have been in so much trouble I'd be afraid to ever go home again! I understand why he's worried about how to tell them. I understand more fully now, why Islam doesn't allow pictures. We don't know what He looked like.
Eulalie Grace 3 years ago
As far as philosophies go, The Force isn't too far way from what I believe is the truth. Obi-Wan may be fictional, but he works for me!
Lynda Britz 3 years ago
That’s as accurate a pic of Jesus as we are likely to get before he comes again, so what’s the problem? Probably Jesus had darker skin and hair but it’s a symbol not a portrait.
Olof T 3 years ago
And the master said unto the people of Tatooine "May the force be with you."
Lynda Schwemmer 2 years ago
I am sad for the parents that they have a son who would mock their beliefs in this way and then post to the internet as some kind of a clever coup.
Lyone Fein 3 years ago
Spoiler alert: Jesus was JEWISH and Middle Eastern folks. He probable looked more like this fellow: MV5BNTMwND...f3ba75.jpg 
P Douglas Innes 3 years ago
I've got an old soft toy of Qui-Gon Jinn that around here we jokingly nick-named 'Stuffed Jesus'... 61bDvFtVp5...09cea9.jpg 
Luis Mourão Gonçalves 3 years ago
Actually, I think Ewan McGregor played Jesus in a movie. That's your way out!
Patricia Brown 3 years ago
I don't think it's very kind to mess with people's religion. It's cruel, esp to do this to such trusting, loving parents like these. One's belief system is part of one's personality and this "prank" is a cruel betrayal of the parents' trust in their son.
Kay Cog 3 years ago
How embarrassed they must be to be made fun of on social media by their son. He set out with a goal to make his parents look like idiots. He must really hate them deep down
Xandra, The Little Hufflepuff 3 years ago
we do, it's probably just his parents
Load More Replies...
Italianinha Vendedora 1 year ago
alphamaxgummies is a dietary supplement that helps enhance blood flow it is a Formula that has been created for enhancing male sexual health now it is a supplement different from others as it eliminates one of the root causes of poor sexual performance which is oxidative stress so when men are stressed out they simply cannot perform as normal or as well as they do when they are not stressed so red boost is a 100 natural supplement and the best natural extracts have been added to the supplement so practically that means that this supplement has no side effects
s. vitkovitsky 3 years ago
Clearly you know them personally and are superior to them. Merry Christmas.
Load More Replies...
Latifa Shabnaz 3 years ago
Parents that night -Should we tell him that not jesus? -Leave him dear! It would break his heart.
François Carré 3 years ago
Well, why not ? As far as we know, all these familiar pictures of a blond, blue-eyed Jesus are as fictional as the whole Obi-Wan character.
Jim Ellington 3 years ago
Strangely enough, I have seen and met many blonde, blue-eyed Jews.
Load More Replies... Raine Soo 3 years ago
I had tears from laughing so hard when I read the heading and saw the portrait of Obi Wan. Merry Christmas!
Caitlyn Williams 3 years ago
It's funny, I wouldn't be able to pull that off cause my folks watch star wars. I find it hilarious though that they don't know what the guy they worship looks like
Load More Replies... Darth Kittius 3 years ago
I am a member of this church. We are Christian, as we believe in Christ. We do not believe that anyone with dark skin is beneath us. We are not a cult. Please be respectful.
Xandra, The Little Hufflepuff 3 years ago
If you guys want accurate info on what we believe instead of the false stuff people are saying go to https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/?lang=eng I'm not trying to convert you or anything. Just saying that before you make assumptions that are WRONG about us, get information about what we ACTUALLY believe. NOT the false stuff you are hearing.
Keegan Pearson 3 years ago
The best way to get to know someone is to learn from the source! If people believed half the stories they read on the internet, you'd think we were Illuminati but with missionaries!
Load More Replies... Sheena Ferr 3 years ago
I have to do a bit of defending here. As a non-active Mormon, who grew up in the Deep South. We believe Jesus, the son of God, was born to a Virgin Mary. He fulfilled the law of Moses. And died for everyone's sins so they may return to God . We believe in showing our commitment to this belief by being baptized with water making us ready to be baptized by "fire" to receive the Holy Spirit. So, which part of this that we believe is not being a Christian?
Sheena Ferr 3 years ago
Also, Mormons are known ( inside our community) to be pretty good at poking a bit of fun at ourselves. We can't wallow in depression about people not believing we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior. We have to have a bit of fun about it or we'd go nuts. Heck, there's a whole Broadway play poking fun at Mormons. Do you see us crying? No, we're laughing along with you.
Load More Replies... Russell Ellwardt 3 years ago
Yeah right. He wonders what is going to happen to him if they find out, and then has this published on the internet taking for granted that neither his parents nor anyone who knows the family will ever use the web? Come on.
E Menendez 3 years ago (edited)
I understand the joke and the premise, but I don't think it is right to ridicule anyone for their ignorance or their religious views.
jevais 3 years ago
E Menendez if you have read the Bible one should not have statues or pictures of Jesus. There are no paintings of Jesus in his time. As Christians we shouldn't have portraits or statues to which we pray to. It's written in the Bible. Jesus was probably not blonde, white skin or had blue eyes. People from the middle east have dark eyes, skin and hair in the times of Jesus. In fact they looked the same as their Arabic cousins.
Load More Replies... Keegan Pearson 3 years ago
We prefer to be called Latter-Day Saints, not Mormons, even if it is a little shorter. Good article though!
Jayne Kyra 3 years ago
The blonder the Jesus, the happier some people are. https://www.history.com/news/what-did-jesus-look-like
Monika Soffronow 3 years ago (edited)
Well yes, people always like a god made to look just like them!
Load More Replies... Judy Windham Saunders 3 years ago
If I had disrespected my parents' religion like that (I'm not Mormon) I'd have been in so much trouble I'd be afraid to ever go home again! I understand why he's worried about how to tell them. I understand more fully now, why Islam doesn't allow pictures. We don't know what He looked like.
Eulalie Grace 3 years ago
As far as philosophies go, The Force isn't too far way from what I believe is the truth. Obi-Wan may be fictional, but he works for me!
Lynda Britz 3 years ago
That’s as accurate a pic of Jesus as we are likely to get before he comes again, so what’s the problem? Probably Jesus had darker skin and hair but it’s a symbol not a portrait.
Olof T 3 years ago
And the master said unto the people of Tatooine "May the force be with you."
Lynda Schwemmer 2 years ago
I am sad for the parents that they have a son who would mock their beliefs in this way and then post to the internet as some kind of a clever coup.
Lyone Fein 3 years ago
Spoiler alert: Jesus was JEWISH and Middle Eastern folks. He probable looked more like this fellow: MV5BNTMwND...f3ba75.jpg
P Douglas Innes 3 years ago
I've got an old soft toy of Qui-Gon Jinn that around here we jokingly nick-named 'Stuffed Jesus'... 61bDvFtVp5...09cea9.jpg
Luis Mourão Gonçalves 3 years ago
Actually, I think Ewan McGregor played Jesus in a movie. That's your way out!
Patricia Brown 3 years ago
I don't think it's very kind to mess with people's religion. It's cruel, esp to do this to such trusting, loving parents like these. One's belief system is part of one's personality and this "prank" is a cruel betrayal of the parents' trust in their son.
Kay Cog 3 years ago
How embarrassed they must be to be made fun of on social media by their son. He set out with a goal to make his parents look like idiots. He must really hate them deep down
Xandra, The Little Hufflepuff 3 years ago
we do, it's probably just his parents
Load More Replies... Italianinha Vendedora 1 year ago
alphamaxgummies is a dietary supplement that helps enhance blood flow it is a Formula that has been created for enhancing male sexual health now it is a supplement different from others as it eliminates one of the root causes of poor sexual performance which is oxidative stress so when men are stressed out they simply cannot perform as normal or as well as they do when they are not stressed so red boost is a 100 natural supplement and the best natural extracts have been added to the supplement so practically that means that this supplement has no side effects
s. vitkovitsky 3 years ago
Clearly you know them personally and are superior to them. Merry Christmas.
Load More Replies... You May Like 50 Famous Portraitists Whose Artworks Are Recognized All Around The Globe 50 Self Portrait Ideas To Step Up Your Insta Game 69 Famous Portrait Paintings That Bear Historical Importance
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