Did Jesus die on a cross?

Question

I thought this war very interesting. I would like your comments on this Thanks

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.
People carry a crucifix while taking part in the Christ the Savior procession on the beach of Valencia, in this March 21, 2008 file photo during Easter celebrations. For 2,000 years the crucifix has been a potent symbol of both Jesus Christ?s death and the 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.

godless · Accepted Answer

There's no reliable evidence that Jesus even existed.  The story of Jesus is just a myth bolted together out of previous myths and stories from the Old Testament -- created by Paul of Tarsus (who exhibited evidence of epilepsy and had delusions of Christ talking to him), the other apostles, the unknown authors of the gospels, and many other people. The reliable evidence for this is overwhelming.

Paul and the other epistle writers don't seem to have known any biographical details of Jesus' life, or even the time of his earthly existence.  They don't refer to Bethlehem, Nazareth, Galilee, Calvary or Golgotha — or any pilgrimages to what should have been holy sites of Jesus' life.  They also don't mention any miracles that Jesus was supposed to have worked, his virgin birth, his trial, the empty tomb, his moral teachings, his disciples, or even when he existed. To them Jesus was largely a sky-god, who existed in the spiritual past.

If Jesus had actually existed, Paul would have written about his life, disciples, and teachings.  Paul, who wrote in the late 40's and 50's, did not write about his any of this.  Therefore Jesus didn't exist.

If Jesus had actually existed, the gospels would have been written in first person format.  Instead, they were written (by unknown authors in the 70's or much later) in third person format like a Harry Potter story, with Matthew and Luke extensively plagiarizing from Mark.  Therefore Jesus didn't exist.

If Jesus had actually existed, at least one of the approximately 30 local historians of the first century would have written about him.  No historian of the first century wrote about him.  Therefore Jesus didn't exist.
--

Shawn Jack · Answer

Hello, this may help you.   I believe that Jesus carried the cross-piece (stauros) only and was crucified on a tree.  The New Testament says several times that Jesus was crucified on a tree (Acts 5:30; 10:39; 13:29; Galatians 3:13; 1 Peter 2:24).   He was probably taken outside the city and crucified on an olive tree on the Mount of Olives.  One compelling reason is that you can see into the Temple from the Mount of Olives and see the veil being rent.  Luke 23:44-47 indicates that the centurion did see this event, which means he would have to have been standing on the slope of the Mount of Olives and looking westward into the Temple.  For a more complete explanation of this, please read this brief article...

http://www.biblicalhorizons.com/biblical-horizons/no-84-christ-in-the-holy-of-holies-the-meaning-of-the-mount-of-olives/

The traditional shape of the cross is symbolic and serves to remind us of the kind of death Jesus died.  The traditional T-shaped cross is an artistic tree with a stauros attached.

I hope this helps!

Shawn

sjack@jackconstruction.com

? · Answer

Crucifixion did happen in rome at the time of jesus, but not how it is portrayed in the bible and not under the name of "Crucifixion". First, jesus would not have carried the cross to his Crucifixion.  The main vertical bar in the "cross" would have been buried up to 3 days before the execution to allow the dirt to settle so it could hold the wight of a body.  The only part brought the actual day of the execution was the vertical part. Second, no one was nailed to the "cross by their hands, the nails were put through the wrist to be able to hold the body weight. And finally, it is very unlikely jesus said anything after he was crucified as it is stated in the bible.  The cause of death from a roman "Crucifixion" was suffocation from lack of space for the lungs to expand, so speaking would have been extremely difficult if not impossible.

Adrian · Answer

Yhoo you don't know anything about jesus death it is a ture story explain about the birth of jesus  why do we have Christmass every year if there was no jesus  they be no Christmass at all so yahoo you are lier no  body knows what  happens after we die I believe in your lord jesus Christ Amen

? · Answer

Though the Bible said' in plural Nails. Meaning two nails in his hands, if it were a stake, than wouldn't it be just one stake or large nail in his hands tied together, and not two nails?
A few Religions such as Jehovah's Witnesses argue over this question.
Though, If someone I loved, say' They were gun down. Would I wear a small gun around my neck?
No. I think Jesus, would rather us love one another and freely forgive each other as he did, and forget the cross, though keep him in our hearts. Carry our own cross for others. As Jesus told us to do.
Though,this article could and may be correct. Though, there are many evil people such as serial killers whom wear a cross around their neck,. I love Jesus, for what he did for us, but I would rather forget the death, and remember the Resurrection he had promised us.And that soon he will be our King again, and save our earth from man.

Emma · Answer

The Greek word rendered cross in many modern bible versions is stauros. In classical Greek this word meant an upright pole or stake. Later it also came to be used for an execution stake having a crosspiece. Even among the romans the crux from which the cross is derived appears to have originally been an upright pole.

The Bible also uses the word xylon to identify this device and this meant a piece of wod. log ready for use, firewood,timber etc ....piece of wood stake, on which criminals were impaled.

In his book The Non-Christian Cross J.D Parson says " There is not a single sentence in any of the numerous writings forming the New Testament, which in the original Greek bears even indirect evidence to the effect that the Stauros used in the case of Jesus was  anything other than an ordinary stauros, much less to the effect that it consisted, not of one piece of timber but of two.

Te origins of the Cross can be traced back to pagan tmes. The tau, and ankh are early forms of the cross.

Think about this

How would you feel if one of your dear friends was executed on false charges? Would you make a replica of the instrument used in the execution and then hang it around your neck? Would you cherish this instrument?

The cross is unchristian.

Drew · Answer

I wish they cut his head off with a battle axe. That would be cool to wear around my neck.

specialsaintmonkey · Answer

If you wanna get crazy with it, some people actually believe that Jesus was crucified but didn't die.  Who knows?

Allegory · Answer

Be ye reconciled (thru J-->C)-->to God can't die,
not to two Sons Jesus nor false/true Christs rise.

Two Sons Jesus --> One Son Christ --> that God

1Cor 13: these THREE, but only ONE never fails
Faith --> Hope --> Charity never fails nor ever forsakes
Fail-u-are --> Still Fail-u-are --> NEVER FAIL, NOT EVER

1Cor 13:1-3: 2/3 = 0.666... to infinity of NOTHING (0) yet;
Without Charity, your Faith + Hope stuff profits NOTHING

Mr Answer · Answer

Yes.

⌡Machine Head⌠ · Answer

That wall of text becomes totally meaningless if nobody has ever discovered any word besides 'stauros' used in Koine Greek for the instrument used in the Roman act of Crucifixion.

The Romans used crosses, Jesus died on a cross.

Trending News

Did Jesus die on a cross?

13 Answers