Post by Teddy Bear on Feb 2, 2008 18:32:19 GMT
Below is an extract of the account according to Peter Connolly, a historian and author of 'Living In the Time of Jesus of Nazareth', and based on archaeological evidence, of how people were crucified at the time of Jesus, and likely how Christ too met his fate.
In 1968, the bones of an ancient crucified man were discovered just north of Jerusalem. The cross on which the man was hung was so hard and knotty, that one of the nails bent as it was hammered into the wood. The executioners found the nail impossible to pull out. As a result, they buried part of the cross with the bones of the man, who was still stuck to the wood. When discovered, the bones and the cross fragment gave us valuable clues to the nature of crucifixion. Writes historian Peter Connolly,
An examination showed that the nail had first been hammered … through both heel bones before entering the cross made of olive wood… Medical examination showed that the arms had been nailed above the wrist and the legs broken to hasten death… The weight of the body was … on his arms. The nails through the forearms tore up through the flesh until they lodged in the wrist. (Living In the Time of Jesus of Nazareth, Oxford University Press, 1983. P. 51)
About the scourging of Jesus, Connolly writes,
The severer forms [of flogging] were usually coupled with execution… A Roman scourge (flagrum or flagellum) [has been] reconstructed from a sculpture at Rome. It consisted of two or three thongs with pieces of bone or metal attached which ripped the skin. (Connolly, p. 51)
Here is a link to the actual page in his book where one can see the pictures of how truly crucifixion was carried out. Page 51 is the one you want, and I suggest you don't look at these images on a full stomach.
After that, read the article below written about an upcoming programme commissioned by the BBC and the theory of a Marxist professor of cultural theory that Jesus's fate "wasn't as bad as it's been painted".
With Easter approaching, it's part of how the BBC plan to further undermine Christianity.
In 1968, the bones of an ancient crucified man were discovered just north of Jerusalem. The cross on which the man was hung was so hard and knotty, that one of the nails bent as it was hammered into the wood. The executioners found the nail impossible to pull out. As a result, they buried part of the cross with the bones of the man, who was still stuck to the wood. When discovered, the bones and the cross fragment gave us valuable clues to the nature of crucifixion. Writes historian Peter Connolly,
An examination showed that the nail had first been hammered … through both heel bones before entering the cross made of olive wood… Medical examination showed that the arms had been nailed above the wrist and the legs broken to hasten death… The weight of the body was … on his arms. The nails through the forearms tore up through the flesh until they lodged in the wrist. (Living In the Time of Jesus of Nazareth, Oxford University Press, 1983. P. 51)
About the scourging of Jesus, Connolly writes,
The severer forms [of flogging] were usually coupled with execution… A Roman scourge (flagrum or flagellum) [has been] reconstructed from a sculpture at Rome. It consisted of two or three thongs with pieces of bone or metal attached which ripped the skin. (Connolly, p. 51)
Here is a link to the actual page in his book where one can see the pictures of how truly crucifixion was carried out. Page 51 is the one you want, and I suggest you don't look at these images on a full stomach.
After that, read the article below written about an upcoming programme commissioned by the BBC and the theory of a Marxist professor of cultural theory that Jesus's fate "wasn't as bad as it's been painted".
With Easter approaching, it's part of how the BBC plan to further undermine Christianity.
Crucifixion? It wasn't that bad, says professor
By Jonathan Petre, Religion Correspondent
Last Updated: 3:18am GMT 02/02/2008
The Crucifixion of Christ "wasn't as bad as it's been painted", an outspoken Marxist academic will claim on the BBC this month.
Christ on the Cross: ‘He got off pretty lightly’ says Professor Terry Eagleton
Terry Eagleton, Professor of Cultural Theory at the University of Manchester, will say on Radio 4's Lent Talks that Jesus "got off pretty lightly" because it only took him three hours to die, The Daily Telegraph has learned.
He adds that Jesus's scourging was a "blessing in disguise" because it hastened his death. He also attacks modern Christianity for siding with the rich and abandoning the poor.
Professor Eagleton's remarks in the run-up to Easter have enraged traditionalists, who also criticised the BBC for commissioning him.
But the corporation said that the talks, to be given by six well-known figures, including the Bishop of Durham, the Rt Rev Tom Wright, and Ann Widdecombe, the former Tory minister, would offer a range of perspectives.
Professor Eagleton, one of the world's leading literary theorists, is well known for his clashes with fellow intellectuals and was involved in a fierce spat with Martin Amis last year after accusing the novelist of "Islamaphobia".
In his talk, the 64-year-old professor recalls being taught at his Roman Catholic school that the Crucifixion was the most excruciating form of torment any human had ever endured, but he said this was "absurd".
"The Crucifixion of Jesus wasn't as bad as its been painted," he says. "All things considered, he got off pretty lightly.
"If the New Testament account is to be believed it took him only three hours to die whereas a lot of those killed by this hideous mode of execution thrashed around on their crosses for days." He concludes his talk with an attack on contemporary Christianity, which he says has abandoned the poor and dispossessed in favour of the "rich and aggressive".
He continues: "It's horrified by the sight of a female breast but nothing like as horrified by the obscene inequalities between rich and poor.
"By and large, it worships a god fashioned blasphemously in its own image and likeness."
Responding to the remarks last night, Bishop Wright said: "It is all a bit tired, this rhetoric. It is all a bit sad.
"Of course, caricatures of Christianity are all over the place, but they do not reflect reality. He should get out more."
The bishop, a leading theologian, added: "Perhaps the professor might also like to get his facts straight. Jesus took six hours to die on the cross, not three."
Tony Kilmister, a vice-president of the Prayer Book Society, said: "Terry Eagleton is totally belittling of Christianity. How would he like it if he was strung up and scourged, let alone nailed to a cross?
"You would think that the BBC would let Christianity have a free run in the run-up to Easter, rather than handing the microphone to a Marxist."
The programme will be broadcast on Radio Four on Feb 20.
By Jonathan Petre, Religion Correspondent
Last Updated: 3:18am GMT 02/02/2008
The Crucifixion of Christ "wasn't as bad as it's been painted", an outspoken Marxist academic will claim on the BBC this month.
Christ on the Cross: ‘He got off pretty lightly’ says Professor Terry Eagleton
Terry Eagleton, Professor of Cultural Theory at the University of Manchester, will say on Radio 4's Lent Talks that Jesus "got off pretty lightly" because it only took him three hours to die, The Daily Telegraph has learned.
He adds that Jesus's scourging was a "blessing in disguise" because it hastened his death. He also attacks modern Christianity for siding with the rich and abandoning the poor.
Professor Eagleton's remarks in the run-up to Easter have enraged traditionalists, who also criticised the BBC for commissioning him.
But the corporation said that the talks, to be given by six well-known figures, including the Bishop of Durham, the Rt Rev Tom Wright, and Ann Widdecombe, the former Tory minister, would offer a range of perspectives.
Professor Eagleton, one of the world's leading literary theorists, is well known for his clashes with fellow intellectuals and was involved in a fierce spat with Martin Amis last year after accusing the novelist of "Islamaphobia".
In his talk, the 64-year-old professor recalls being taught at his Roman Catholic school that the Crucifixion was the most excruciating form of torment any human had ever endured, but he said this was "absurd".
"The Crucifixion of Jesus wasn't as bad as its been painted," he says. "All things considered, he got off pretty lightly.
"If the New Testament account is to be believed it took him only three hours to die whereas a lot of those killed by this hideous mode of execution thrashed around on their crosses for days." He concludes his talk with an attack on contemporary Christianity, which he says has abandoned the poor and dispossessed in favour of the "rich and aggressive".
He continues: "It's horrified by the sight of a female breast but nothing like as horrified by the obscene inequalities between rich and poor.
"By and large, it worships a god fashioned blasphemously in its own image and likeness."
Responding to the remarks last night, Bishop Wright said: "It is all a bit tired, this rhetoric. It is all a bit sad.
"Of course, caricatures of Christianity are all over the place, but they do not reflect reality. He should get out more."
The bishop, a leading theologian, added: "Perhaps the professor might also like to get his facts straight. Jesus took six hours to die on the cross, not three."
Tony Kilmister, a vice-president of the Prayer Book Society, said: "Terry Eagleton is totally belittling of Christianity. How would he like it if he was strung up and scourged, let alone nailed to a cross?
"You would think that the BBC would let Christianity have a free run in the run-up to Easter, rather than handing the microphone to a Marxist."
The programme will be broadcast on Radio Four on Feb 20.