Follow up regarding crucifixion: Do Christians suppose nobody has suffered like Jesus?

Question

Did you know that Christian torturers of the Spanish Inquisition studied how much skin they could tear off of a victim before they would die?
They also had a device that they would insert in any orifice and then slowly open/expand it via a screw.
These are just a few of many, many monstrous things that people have suffered, in this case at the hands of religion.
Often, this went on for days and days.
Do you honestly suppose that nobody has suffered like your mythos claims Jesus suffered?

Answer 1

If you ever checked out a doctor's statement on the suffering of Christ you would have no doubt that He suffered more than any living person ever did or ever will. Beyond physical suffering He endured extreme mental and spiritual anguish that no human could ever experience when He took sin upon Himself as a sinless being.

As far as mythos - if you can't prove it don't spout it! Any fool can make a claim that they can't back up! A wise man holds his opinion until he has something to say based in reality.

Answer 2

I can't say one way about whether there was torture. Most of us recognize that we've been told that the Spanish Inquisition was horrible. But that is the religion a few centuries ago and it was wrong. In fact, most Christians would say it is wrong. So, yes it happened, but to be honest, why do you and so many people bring this issue up. It happened 100s of years ago and you and I were not part of that. That's like blaming the people today who live in the former Confederate states about slavery!!

While I'm not discrediting that these people were tortured in the Spanish Inquisition, the key difference here is that no one tortured in that Inquisition did it to pay for your sins and mine.

Answer 3

Many have suffered things that could be argued to be at least as severe as what Christ suffered, at least as far as physical suffering is concerned; however, the bible does not claim that Jesus suffered more than any man, just that His face was "marred more than the sons of men," and what that means is up to interpretation. My take on that is that is a figure of speech to mean that He was mangled beyond recognition. As far as spiritual and emotional suffering is concerned, if He retained all of His knowlege of who would repent and who would not; if he felt the full weight of all man's sin, yet knew that He was guilty of none of it; if He felt the rejection of His Father for nothing other than carrying out His will, then it is well nigh impossible to comprehend the degree of this suffering.

That said, whether He suffered more or less than others is irrelevant since God's law demanded death for sin, not that He suffer more than anyone who has ever lived. In fact, death would have been sufficient without crucifixion if it were not for the prophecy that it would be so. Furthermore, the beatings were also unnecessary, and I believe this was satan's idea out of mere hatred and spite. After all, God accepted the sacrificial Jewish lambs without demanding that they first be bludgeoned beyond recognition.

Whether or not He suffered extremely is not relevant beyond the comfort that we can take from His willingly doing so; what really matters is if He suffered EFFECTIVELY.

Answer 4

I am a Christian and know for a FACT that the physical suffering Jesus endured was painful but brief. He died in a matter of hours, whereas, a typical crucifixion tooks DAYS.

The physical suffering He bore was nothing compared to the examples you give. Also, a cancer patient of today endures more physcial pain than my Lord did. But that is not the point.

His physical suffering is a minor part of what took place on the cross. The spiritual and emotional dimensions are the TRUE measures of suffering.

He was separated from God the Father, something He had not experienced before. He had only His mother and ONE friend that is mentioned in the account we have of what took place. He bore the sins of the world, mine yours and others. Think about how bad it feels to have hurt someone you love, to feel the guilt of having done something wrong...now multiply that to a degree that there is no number for. It wasn't His sin(s) that He felt, but the burden was laid on Him so we would not have to bear it.

If we choose not to accept His bearing it all, we will one day suffer for them on our own, only with us, there will be no resurrection.

Answer 5

No one has suffered like Jesus did. The whole world's sin was upon Him and He felt every disease ever known. Jesus died a horrible death which He did not deserve because He lived a pure and sinless life. He did not have to, but He chose to pay for our sins by dying in our place so that we could spend eternity with Him in Heaven. What a wonderful demonstration of God love towards us, that He died for us while we were yet sinners and that He laid down His life for us and paid the price that we deserve.

Answer 6

Doubtless, people have physically suffered as much, or even more, than Jesus. However, those individuals weren't dying for (and bearing the sins of) all mankind. It is not the method of death that makes His sacrifice unique, as crucifixion was rather common in those days, but rather, the theological concept behind it.

Answer 7

Yes I'm as a christian and I realise many people would have suffered worse than Jesus up there on the cross, but he went through it so we wouldn't have to. Think about that!

Answer 8

Many people have suffered horrible deaths.
Even at the hands of Christians.
The only difference is Jesus did not deserve it.
I'm not saying that people who are tortured deserve to be tortured, I am just saying he was the one sinless person in this whole world, that's why his suffering is so unnecessary.... and yet so very necessary for us to be saved.

Answer 9

Actually it was the Catholic church that "spear-headed" the Spanish Inqusition. That "church" was currupt even then. I do not want to get involved in a "my dad can beat up your dad " debate over the catholic church either. Jesus took on the sins of the entire world...that's you too...so, No, I do not believe that any have suffered like Jesus.

Answer 10

Agreed. What Christ "suffered" was a picnic compared to some of the torture methods used by the Japanese during WW2, and by Saddam's henchmen, who could keep someone alive and in agony indefinitely if they wanted to - and no doubt by all kinds of other regimes, friendly or foe, during the past 2,000 years. Should we worship an Iraqi dissident who suffered agony under Saddam? Should we worship some poor devil tortured by Hitler?

Whipping, carrying a hunk of timber, a "crown of thorns" and being mutilated through the hands and feet? Some of the people identified as torture victims by Amnesty International would have cried with gratitude at that.