The virgin birth of Christ and his crucifixion and resurrection constitutes the core of Christian doctrine and its acceptance is mandatory for all Christians. Seventy-three percent of all Americans claim to be Christians and accept Christian doctrine without question. There is however considerable historical evidence indicating that key elements of the story including the crucifixion are not true.
Hugh J. Schonfield, a distinguished and respected biblical scholar presented the following historical facts concerning Roman crucifixion laws, customs, and procedures in his 1965 book, The Passover Plot:
1. It had to be for a crime against Rome and was normally political in nature.
2. It was conducted publicly with large crowds of people in attendance.
3. It was against the law to remove a crucifixion victim from the cross for burial.
4. It was not the Romans’ custom to spare any prisoner’s life on the Passover.
5. It takes two to seven days for to die by crucifixion.
6. When vinegar is given to a weakened and dehydrated person such as someone being crucified, it “revives” them or gives them a short increase in energy or vitality.
7. The final step in the crucifixion procedure was to break the legs of the condemned person.
How does the New Testament’s story of the crucifixion of Christ compare to the above stated procedure? First, there is not any indication that Jesus violated any Roman law that could result in a sentence of crucifixion. And if the Jews wanted him dead, they could have charged him with heresy and he would have been stoned to death. Second, most scholars believe that he was crucified at Gethsemane, a private garden owned by Joseph of Arimathea, a secret disciple. Third, Pontius Pilate released Jesus’s body to Joseph of Arimathea. Fourth, as stated, the Romans never had a custom of sparing anyone’s life on the Passover. Fifth, Jesus was only on the cross two hours. Sixth, when asked for something to drink and was allegedly given vinegar and after he drank it, he “gave up the ghost,” instead of experiencing the normal and expected temporary revival or burst of energy. Seventh, they did not break Jesus’s legs at the end as was the Roman custom at that time.
The conclusion is obvious that Jesus was not crucified in the normal manner. Many Bible scholars and historians believe that his crucifixion was a hoax. Instead of giving Christ vinegar on the cross he was given belladonna which knocked him out making him appear dead. Afterwards, Joseph of Arimathea persuaded Pilate to release Jesus’ body to him for internment in his private tomb. Later it was an easy matter to stage his resurrection.
According to Michael Baigent in his book Holy Blood, Holy Grail, Father Berenger Saunier discovered an ancient parchment document in 1891 at Rennes-le-Chateau, France hidden in the altar at his church. It indicated that Christ did not die on the cross but in fact lived to be at least 80 years of age, married, and fathered children thus leaving behind descendants. In 2012 Karen Leigh King, Professor of Ecclesiastical History at the Harvard Divinity School deciphered a papyrus fragment written in Coptic which reads “Jesus said to them, 'My wife...” Her finding was taken seriously enough by the Vatican to declare it a fake.
In 1947, a Bedouin shepherd discovered ancient writings in what was then Jordan (the Dead Sea Scrolls) causing Christian apologists and defenders even more problems concerning the historical veracity of the King James’ version of the New Testament. In 1958, the “missing” fragment of the Gospel of Mark was found which contradicted John’s version of the raising of Lazarus from the dead essentially saying that it did not happen. Mark also failed to make any reference to the death and resurrection of Jesus. Apparently the resurrection was added to Mark’s Gospel by editors back in the fourth century. It should be noted that the Vatican has controlled the excavation, interpretation, and publishing of any resulting work concerning the Dead Sea Scrolls.
In 1960, Pope John XXIII issued an apostolic letter titled “the precious blood of Jesus” that altered the basic tenet of Catholicism concerning the redemption and salvation of man. In this letter, Pope John XXIII stated that redemption is the result of the shedding of Jesus’s blood and is not dependent on his death and resurrection. If the Pope had proof that Jesus did not die on the cross, then he could use his authority as the final arbitrator of theological issues relating to faith and morals to simply change the doctrine to adapt to any historical record threatening church doctrine. This is the concept of the “infallibility” which claims that the Pope has divine guidance concerning matters of faith and morals and cannot be in error. One does not need to accept this notion to realize that Pope John XXIII did not change basic Catholic doctrine casually. At the very least it suggests that he had good reason to believe that Jesus did not die on the cross.
In light of all of this plus variously contradictions and differences in the four Gospels’ accounts of the resurrection, the conclusion is inevitable and that is the crucifixion of Jesus was a hoax. The Vatican obliviously knows this, otherwise Pope John XXIII would not have published his apostolic letter “the precious blood of Jesus.”
There is also considerable evidence available that Christ was not “crucified” on a cross. According to the Anglican theologian Bullinger, the word “cross” was translated from the Greek word “stauros” which never implied two pieces of wood placed across each other at any angle. The word “stauros” is best translated as a stake or pole. Many years ago my next-door neighbors, a Jewish family of five including three children nearing their teenage years vacationed to Russia where they spend one month taking in many historical sites including a number of old Russian Orthodox Churches such as the one located in St. Petersburg. The father related the reaction of his young children when they first witnessed the large depictions of Jesus on the Cross that adorned the church walls. They were shocked and horrified at the brutality and ugliness being portrayed. George Carlin asked the question, “If Christ had been killed in an electric chair, would Christians wear a replica of an electric chair around their neck today?”
Sources:
1. The Passover Plot (1965) by Hugh J. Schonfield
2. Holy Blood, Holy Grail (1982) by Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh, and Henry Lincoln
3. The Dead Sea Scrolls Deception (1991) by Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh
4. The Crucifixion Hoax (Blog) by Abdullah Smith
5. The Gospel Truth (Blog) by Needlefish Chronicles
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