Some deny Jesus is God and the cross, claiming it's a stake. What about the new archaeological find at the...

Question

Mount Olive cemetary, with an ancient white cross and Greek inscription "To the God Jesus Christos"?

The first time the same inscription was found, it was in the news papers and was found adjacent to an Israeli Megiddo prison. I read about that a few years ago.

http://www.breakingchristiannews.com/articles/display_art_pf.html?ID=3516

The cross is a Christian type headstone. Stone, not wood.

Answer 1

people will deny Christ even with so much evidence , because they have close their hearts and spirits to God. EVen people who witnessed Jesus 2000 years ago denied his miracles!!

Answer 2

Did you read the whole thing? The scholars seem to think this might be the place where Mary buried the Prepuce (the Remains of Jesus' Circumcism).

And there are graves in Egypt that mark the God Osiris' final resting place (when he was mortal... before becoming God) with markings that state he is God. Does this mean Osiris is real or that any person named Osiris was/is a God?

Taking for granted that it's not something that was left there much later (like ruins next to the Prison)... I would be more impressed if they listed the names of the Researchers and Archeologists who had something to do with it. Come on, would you believe me if I posted an article that stated they found proof that Osiris really did live, as a man and later became a God if I showed you reports of them finding his gravesite with inscriptions without providing any means of looking into it further thru the people who actually found it?

I've noticed a lot of people do this type of thing to give proof for their beliefs. But it just doesn't work this way. It may be enough for you, since you already believe that... but I doubt this is going to convince many others without support.

*Addition* After searching some, I can't even find this in Biblical Archeology - who follows all of this stuff. The only place this is even news is in Africa's news reports. You're going to have a hard time convincing people about this one.

Answer 3

Not sure where you are going with this. Are you trying to say because they found a "ancient" white cross with an inscription on it, that proves Christ is real and God? You are grasping at straws. Because they found a old cross with that inscription on it means that someone back then, just like you, believed that Jesus Christ was God. It does not mean that Jesus lived or is/was a God. Who do you think started Christianity? People did, and they gained followers. A follower of the religion would have put that inscription onto the cross, since that is a huge symbol for Christianity and Christianity was invented in Israel, then you would expect to find that sort of thing.

Answer 4

Michelangelo and the Cross

Italian government art experts are said to be “90 percent sure” that a sculpture recently found in a monastery in Lebanon is the work of the famous Italian artist Michelangelo. The small wooden carving is said to be worth $2.5 million (U.S.) if it actually is Michelangelo’s work. According to an Associated Press report, “the figure is unusual because it represents Christ with his hands stretched out above his head instead of to the side, as he usually is depicted on the cross.”
Whether the wooden sculpture is the work of the 16th-century artist Michelangelo or not, it illustrates that the impalement of Christ on a cross frame has not always been so certain as Christendom’s leaders today would have people believe. For example, the 16th-century Roman Catholic scholar Justus Lipsius illustrated impalement on an upright stake in his book “De Cruce Liber Primus.” This fits the meaning of the Greek word used in the Bible to describe the impalement of Christ, “stauros”, which “denotes, primarily, an upright pale or stake.”

The King James Bible says Jesus was put to death on a tree.

Acts 5:30 The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree.

Acts 10:39 And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom they slew and hanged on a tree:

Acts 13:29 And when they had fulfilled all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree, and laid him in a sepulchre.

Galatians 3:13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:

Jesus Christ did not die on a cross. The Greek word generally translated “cross” is stau·ros'. It basically means “an upright pale or stake.” The Companion Bible points out: “[Stau·ros'] never means two pieces of timber placed across one another at any angle, There is nothing in the Greek of the [New Testament] even to imply two pieces of timber.”

In several texts, Bible writers use another word for the instrument of Jesus’ death. It is the Greek word xy'lon. This word simply means “timber” or “a stick, club, or tree.”

Explaining why a simple stake was often used for executions, the book (The Cross and the Crucifixion), by Hermann Fulda, states: “Trees were not everywhere available at the places chosen for public execution. So a simple beam was sunk into the ground. On this the outlaws, with hands raised upward and often also with their feet, were bound or nailed.”

The most convincing proof of all, however, comes from God’s Word. The apostle Paul says: “Christ by purchase released us from the curse of the Law by becoming a curse instead of us, because it is written: ‘Accursed is every man hanged upon a stake [“a tree,” King James Version].’” (Galatians 3:13) Here Paul quotes Deuteronomy 21:22, 23, which clearly refers to a stake, not a cross. Since such a means of execution made the person “a curse,” it would not be proper for Christians to decorate their homes with images of Christ impaled.

There is no evidence that for the first 300 years after Christ’s death, those claiming to be Christians used the cross in worship. In the fourth century, however, pagan Emperor Constantine became a convert to apostate Christianity and promoted the cross as its symbol. Whatever Constantine’s motives, the cross had nothing to do with Jesus Christ. The cross is, in fact, pagan in origin. The New Catholic Encyclopedia admits: “The cross is found in both pre-Christian and non-Christian cultures.” Various other authorities have linked the cross with nature worship and pagan sex rites.
Did Jesus ever say that he was God? No, he never did. Rather, in the Bible he is called “God’s Son.” And he said: “The Father is greater than I am.” Also, Jesus explained that there were some things that neither he nor the angels knew but that only God knew. (Mark 13:32) Further, on one occasion Jesus prayed to God, saying: “Let, not my will, but yours take place.” (Luke 22:42) If Jesus were the Almighty God, he would not have prayed to himself, would he? In fact, following Jesus’ death, the Scripture says: “This Jesus God resurrected.” (Acts 2:32) Thus the Almighty God and Jesus are clearly two separate persons. Even after his death and resurrection and ascension to heaven, Jesus was still not equal to his Father.

Answer 5

Um....if that's the actual site of Jesus' death, why would the inscription on the cross be in Greek? Wouldn't it be in Hebrew or Aramaic, if it was the actual cross, or at least a cross marking the site of his burial? Yes, the New Testament is thought to have originally been written in Greek, but the New Testament was not written until well after Jesus' death. Wouldn't it make more sense that the cross would have the inscription in Greek if the authors of the New Testament were trying to give their stories - which they were writing in Greek - authenticity? To me that is the far more logical conclusion to draw from this discovery than thinking people who spoke Hebrew and Aramaic decided to inscribe their messiah's cross in Greek.

Oh sorry - I used "logical" in that argument.

)O(

Answer 6

Those that you refer to are Jehovah's Witnesses. They make lots of strange claims. First of all would the shape of a piece of wood change anything? Probably only if you are a JW. Secondly there is a lot of historical evidence that the Romans practiced crucifixion as a form of execution and that they used wooden crosses for this.

Answer 7

THe idea that a white cross with an inscription would still be there after 2,000 years is pretty funny.

Answer 8

This is really the sort of thing that persuades you that your beliefs are grounded on verifiable evidence? Supposing I 'fessed up to putting that cross there? I meant to scratch "Jesus was here" but there was a policeman coming and I didn't have time.

Answer 9

Biblical archaeologists say the Roman cross was shaped like a T.

Answer 10

In all likelihood the cross was erected long after the crucifixion, and was meant as a commemoration.

Answer 11

The word the J.W's jump, and the word "stake", mentioned in this context is/was SLANG of the time - and correctly translated means " WOOD".

WOOD!