Jesus Christ May Not Have Died on a
Cross? By RUSSELL
GOLDMAN
(@GoldmanRussell) Jul 1, 2010, 2:55 PM For 2,000 years the crucifix has been a
potent symbol of both Jesus Christ's death and Christianity. Now one Swedish
theologian says that despite the crucifix's
proliferation in art and literature, there is
scant evidence in the Bible or other
ancient sources to indicate that Christ
was killed on a cross. Gunnar Samuelsson, an evangelical preacher and theologian, says he spent
three years combing thousands of ancient
texts to research his recently completed
400-page doctoral thesis "Crucifixion in
Antiquity." What he discovered, he said, "came as a
shock." While there were numerous
references to "suspension devices" used
for executions at the time of Christ's
death, he could find no explicit references
to the classic T-shaped cross. "There is no distinct punishment called
'crucifixion,' no distinct punishment
device called a 'crucifix' anywhere
mentioned in any of the ancient texts
including the Gospels," he told
ABCNews.com. Samuelsson devoutly believes the story
of Jesus' death and resurrection, but says
for generations people have
misinterpreted and mistranslated the
Greek word "stauros" to mean crucifix,
when really the term just means a suspension device, which might have
been anything such as a "pole or a tree
trunk." The earliest versions of the New
Testament were written in Greek. "If you chose to just read the text and
ignore the art and theology, there is quite
a small amount of information about the
crucifixion. Jesus, the Bible says, carried
something called a stauros out to Calvary.
Everyone thought it meant cross, but it does not only mean cross. We cannot say
every instance of this noun, stauros
refers to a cross," Samuelsson said. Suspension devices, basically tall polls or
pikes, were routinely used in the ancient
world, by the Romans and their
contemporaries, both as execution
devices and for displaying the bodies of
executed criminals and enemies as a public warning. Part of what tipped Samuelson off to the
apparent mistranslation, were routine
references to things like fruits and dead
animals being "crucified" in ancient texts,
when translating the word as
"suspended" makes more sense. For Samuelsson, a 44-year-old pastor
who is completing his research at the
University of Gothenburg, his faith leads
him to believe in the tradition that Jesus
was suspended on a cross. However, he says, "We don't know how
those wicked people next to him on the
right and on the left, were executed. Or
what the devices looked like for people
the day before or the day after." "I am not saying no 'crucifixions' took
place I the ancient world. But we cannot
find evidence of them in the ancient
texts," he added. Given that the Romans were careful
record keepers who wrote detailed and
gruesome histories about their military
conquests and lengthy legal treatises, it is
strange that they would not have written
plainly about their execution methods, he explained. Samuelson says the idea of suspension
devices would have been understood in
the ancient world and by the
contemporaries of Jesus. "If you were walking around Galilee and
heard Jesus say he will be suspended in
days. People would have an
understanding of the kind of torture
involved." While the Gospels mention Jesus'
suspension, none specify a cross,
according to Samuelson. Furthermore, the
passion is described differently in
different Gospels and has been depicted
in various ways throughout history. "In the movie the 'Passion of Christ,'
Jesus carries the whole cross on his back.
In some scholarly works, he just carries
the cross beam. Nails are not mentioned
before the passion and only mentioned in
one book after he is executed," he said. Samuelson said he never expected the
international reaction his thesis has
already received. He originally printed
just 200 copies that he thought would be
read by family and friends. He said he
hoped scholars would be intrigued by his work, but has been surprised by the
worldwide attention. "I'm just another boring pastor. I think
Jesus is the son of God. I read the New
Testament every day. I'm filled with the
Holy Spirit. I keep telling people, this
does not mean we have to tear down the
crosses in all the churches."

Question for the gods

Why don't you ask Jesus?

Yes He Died On The Cross And His Body Was Eaten By Dogs Don't Mind All This Christians With Their Lies!! We All Know What Is involved When Someone Gets Crucified Their Body Are Left To Rot!

I watched a documentary on discovery world where I was made to understand that there was no profession as 'capentery' at that time.So,it implies that joseph must have been a stonemason then.It is either that there was no jesus or the language translators did a horrible job.But its none of my business.I don't believe the hebrew myth.

Lilbrown007:
Yes He Died On The Cross And His Body Was Eaten By Dogs Don't Mind All This Christians With Their Lies!! We All Know What Is involved When Someone Gets Crucified Their Body Are Left To Rot!

He actually never existed

hopefulLandlord:


He actually never existed

He Did O But That Doesn't Mean All The Stories Told About Him Was True