Crucifixion a hoax?

Question

Not that I am at all unaware of this theory, but an answer to one of my last questions has shown me that there is a lot more to it than I knew about. Exploring and learning about all religious paths is kind of a strange hobby of mine, so I'm asking you guys to tell me something I haven't heard before--serious christians, please keep in mind that I'm only asking because I'm curious, not demon possessed (this time)

My next question is going to be "is selective reading a purely christian trait?"

just asked it

some of the theories I have heard are that people got buried alive quite often back then, because people mistook deep comas for death. One of the things that the roman soldiers did to christ was feed him poison--this could have been hemlock, nightshade, or even castup!(tomatoes were believed to be poisonous) It is theoretically possible that he lapsed into a deep coma from his injuries and a natural sedative, was mistaken for dead, rescued from his tomb by his followers, revived and nursed back to health

At last! an answer to the actual question! God bless you coolbythepool! Hallelujah!

Answer 1

The inspired writers of the Christian Greek Scriptures wrote in the common (koi·ne´) Greek and used the word stau·ros´ to mean the same thing as in the classical Greek, namely, a simple stake, or pale, without a crossbeam of any kind at any angle. There is no proof to the contrary. The apostles Peter and Paul also use the word xy´lon to refer to the torture instrument upon which Jesus was nailed, and this shows that it was an upright stake without a crossbeam, for that is what xy´lon in this special sense means. Also “The shape of the [two-beamed cross] had its origin in ancient Chaldea, and was used as the symbol of the god Tammuz (being in the shape of the mystic Tau, the initial of his name) in that country and in adjacent lands, including Egypt. By the middle of the 3rd cent. A.D. the churches had either departed from, or had travestied, certain doctrines of the Christian faith. In order to increase the prestige of the apostate ecclesiastical system pagans were received into the churches apart from regeneration by faith, and were permitted largely to retain their pagan signs and symbols. Hence the Tau or T, in its most frequent form, with the cross-piece lowered, was adopted to stand for the cross of Christ.”—An Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words (London, 1962), W. E. Vine, p. 256.

Answer 2

As with any religion, you will not have any definitive proof one way or another. Centuries have passed since the time the Crucifixion was meant to have happened therefore if there were any loopholes, they would certainly have been found by now. Christianity depends on faith - if you had a definitive answer to questions such as: does God exist?; does Jesus exist; was Jesus crucified; you would remove faith from the equation. Some people would say that's a good thing because then you would have no doubt whether you're wasting you're time or not. On the other hand if you have a God who makes his existence known, this would not only have an impact on Free Will - because if we all knew for certain that God exists, the vast majority of us would act very differently, owing to the fact that we'd know for certain that Hell exists! - but we would also be reduced to virtual robots, put on this Earth merely to serve what you could call an almighty slavemaster. With faith, the choice is ours; we are not forced to worship and believe, but we know the consequences if we don't. Some people will also say that faith is the get-out clause religions use, which means they don't have to prove the existence of a being who doesn't exist in the first place. We all have a choice to make.

Answer 3

This is a funny controversry that was resolved long ago. Romans guarded the tomb. Read about how serious Roman soldiers were. Sucide on an order was a common thing. They were well disciplined and REMEMBER that these soldiers were under Tiberius, not the later day Romans.

Anyway all the Romans and Jews had to do was produce a body. They couldn't. It is unlikely that the followers "stole it" as one they virtually died to a man saying the same story. Others around at the time didn't protest it and they died later in persecution. WHO DIES FOR A LIE???

It is unlikely that the followers ATTACKED the Roman guard, as they would have been in HUGE trouble. The whole area would have been. Rome would literaly go to war if ONE of their citizens was accosted in a foriegn land...


Wizard 810 - People were crucified in any number of ways. There was no "usually people were..." That is crap. Sparticus and his followers were crucified on both sides of the road all the way to Rome.

Answer 4

Jesus was supposedly cut down from the cross earlier than was usual, the sponge of "vinagar" could have been a painkilling potion (read Bloodline of the Holy Grail by Laurence Gardner). After reading this book, it is easy to summise that he did not in fact die. This, like many theories is just another school of thought, and IF in fact unshakable proof of the true facts were to come to light, the Roman Catholic Church and fundamental Christians in general, would still not accept it. Theologians will discuss and argue 'til kingdom come, but this debate will always be ongoing!

Answer 5

The Romans crucified thousands of people it was a common form of penalty back then so as Jesus was considered to be a trouble maker by the roman authorities it would not have been anything unusual . In fact if he had been spared it would have been more unusual , their were no last minute reprieves . The hoax idea is a red herring , and I think you know it . Read past the Crucifixion story to the descriptions of Jesus appearing to his disciples , they found it just as hard as you to accept it so you are in very good company !

Answer 6

Not likely--that part of the story is probably true. That the Romans crucified a perceived troublemaking Rabbi in the province of Judea around 2000 years ago would be historically consistent. They crucified a lot of troublemakers back then...

Now, if you want to talk about the Son of God part, now we may have a hoax involved...

Answer 7

One of the interesting theories that I heard stems from the fact that most crucifixions at the time were done outside the walls of the city against the wall, not on a hill on a cross. That would have been a very unusual way to have a crucifixion, and there fore would have been noted in numerous tomes of record keeping of the day. Since there are no official records of someone being crucified in that manner during the time frame in question, it begs the question of it being a hoax.

Answer 8

Even the enemies of Jesus who had crucified Him had no doubt that He was dead, and the Roman governor put armed guards on His tomb to ensure no one could steal His body.
Throughout the centuries, however, people who deny that Jesus rose from the dead have come up with all kinds of theories to "explain" His resurrection. They know that if He did rise from the dead (as the Bible says), then Jesus was indeed who He said He was: the divine Son of God, sent from heaven to save us from our sins. They also know that if Jesus rose from the dead, then His words are true: "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6).

But because they refuse to believe in Jesus or submit their lives to His authority, they try to explain away His resurrection—in spite of the evidence. Don't be misled by their inventions! The Bible is clear: Jesus Christ died on the cross, was buried and on the third day rose from the dead. Hundreds saw Him after the resurrection—and their lives were changed as a result.

Why is Jesus' resurrection so important? For one thing, it confirms that Jesus was the Son of God, our Savior. More than that, by His resurrection Jesus conquered death, and this gives us hope for life beyond the grave. Is your hope in Him?

Answer 9

I don't doubt the possibility of some guy named Jesus getting nailed up, it happened to thousands of innocent men back then. It was a tool of terror to keep zealots in check and the Romans didn't hesitate letting the Jews know who's in charge. They did this in all the cultures they conquered, it was nothing special.

I don't doubt the fact that many of the cults back then who had their leaders crucified had stories of their leaders appearing again, that's nothing new either. Babylonian cultures had stories just like the Jesus story a thousand years before Jesus.

What I do doubt is an actual resurrection by any of them

Answer 10

I've heard all sorts of "conspiracy theories" surrounding the crucifixion. Heck, the first one started just hours after the resurrection - the Roman authorities tried to spread a story of Jesus' followers stealing his body.

It's all very interesting, but at the end of the day, you have to decide what you choose to believe. Faith is believing what can't be proven by human means.