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ABSTRACT: Jesus of Nazareth underwent Jewish and Roman trials, was flogged, and was sentenced to death by crucifixion. The scourging produced deep stripelike lacerations and appreciable blood loss, and it probably set the stage for hypovolemic shock as evidenced by the fact that Jesus was too weakened to carry the crossbar (patibulum) to Golgotha. At the site of crucifixion his wrists were nailed to the patibulum, and after the patibulum was lifted onto the upright post, (stipes) his feet were nailed to the stipes. The major pathophysiologic effect of crucifixion was an interference with normal respirations. Accordingly, death resulted primarily...

A few years ago, people exploring caves outside Jerusalem came across the find of a lifetime: an ancient burial cave containing the remains of a crucified man. This find is only one in a series of finds that overturns a century-old scholarly consensus. That consensus held that the Gospels are almost entirely proclamation and contain little, if any, real history. The remains belonged to a man who had been executed in the first century A.D., that is, from the time of Jesus. As Jeffrey Sheler writes in his book Is the Bible True? the skeleton confirms what the evangelists wrote...

Geologists say Jesus, as described in the New Testament, was most likely crucified on Friday, April 3, in the year 33. The latest investigation, reported in International Geology Review, focused on earthquake activity at the Dead Sea, located 13 miles from Jerusalem. The Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 27, mentions that an earthquake coincided with the crucifixion: “And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split and the tombs broke open.”

Journalist Simcha Jacobovici believes that the nails discovered in a Jerusalem cave are revolutionary in their implications regarding the birth of Christianity. The Peace Forest is a small grove of pines sandwiched between the Abu Tor neighborhood and main promenade in Jerusalem. Anyone walking along the road that snakes through the grove can see a green pipe rising from the ground and reaching a height of several meters. This pipe, if journalist Simcha Jacobovici is to be believed, this is the physical tip of an archaeological detective story in the style of the Da Vinci Code. And this pipe is...

People don't write letters much anymore. Too bad. A personal letter from a friend is one of the good things in life. In the last few days I've received hundreds of letters that were not from friends and weren't so good. In response to a statement I read about Pat Robertson saying he'd heard from God, I said on "60 Minutes" that God had called me, too. According to Pat, God told him that President Bush was going to be re-elected "in a walk." I quoted what God had said to me about both Pat Robertson and Mel Gibson. For...

'I'm not going to spend $9 just for a few laughs' -- CBS's Andy Rooney to Don Imus on why he won't see PASSION OF CHRIST....

I"m not going to spend $9 just for a few laughs"-Andy Rooney on why he won't see The Passion Of The Christ. Andy Rooney on Imus Thursday morning to deal with controversial statements about Mel Gibson being nuts may have made things worse. When asked by host Don Imus whether he was going to see The Passion Of The Christ, Roonet replied, "I"m not going to spend $9 just for a few laughs. Rooney had already been talking about the hate mail he had recieved for claiming God had talked to him and told him that Pat Robertson and Mel...

Andy Rooney lashed out Sunday night, using his 60 Minutes platform to do some name-calling, in the name of God, against Pat Robertson and Mel Gibson. Claiming to be relaying what God wanted him to say after Rooney had a conversation with him, Rooney passed along how God delivered insults as he said that “I wish you'd tell your viewers that both Pat Robertson and Mel Gibson strike me as wackos. I believe that's one of your current words. They're crazy as bedbugs” and “Mel is a real nut case. What in the world was I thinking when I created...

<p>NEW YORK (AP) -- Andy Rooney set the phone and e-mail lines at CBS buzzing over his commentary -- in which he said God was speaking through him -- calling Mel Gibson and the Rev. Pat Robertson "wackos."</p> <p>CBS said Monday it received its heaviest audience response to a "60 Minutes" report since Rooney's commentaries on the Iraq war last spring.</p>

Admirers of Mel Gibson will be happy to know that the New York Times has sunk to snotty new lows in its attacks on him. And Andy Rooney has one-upped it. The Old Gray Lady whines that "Gibson is viewed not as an artist flouting convention and mainstream Hollywood orthodoxies, but as a lobbyist for the fundamentalist religious movement in the United States at a time when its clout is unmistakably on the rise." Viewed so by whom? The Times fails to say. The answer: viewed so by the Times and its ilk. The Times frets: "Critics worry that Mr....

NEW YORK (AP) — Andy Rooney set the phone and e-mail lines at CBS buzzing over his commentary — in which he said God was speaking through him — calling Mel Gibson and the Rev. Pat Robertson "wackos." CBS said Monday it received its heaviest audience response to a "60 Minutes" report since Rooney's commentaries on the Iraq war last spring. The network wouldn't specify how many calls or e-mails were received. "60 Minutes" spokesman Kevin Tedesco said it was "several times the normal feedback." On Sunday's broadcast, Rooney commented on Robertson's January statement that he believes God has told...

PETA targets actor's ranch Even dressed as Jesus, Bob Chorush knew he was taking on a challenging task. Chorush, a member of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), flew from Seattle Tuesday to spend an hour protesting at Mel Gibson's Beartooth Ranch south of Columbus. What he got for his efforts were a few "middle-finger salutes," one thumbs-up and a visit from a sheriff's deputy. The protest was one of several PETA protests taking place around the country targeting Mel Gibson's movie "The Passion of the Christ," which opens today. "Mel Gibson has the 'Passion of the Christ,'...

<p>OUTRAGED Catholics wanted comic-magicians Penn & Teller removed from ABC’s Super Bowl special over an act they performed featuring Jesus, a midget angel and a sex act. The duo - who are scheduled to perform on ABC’s pre- and post-game show from Times Square - acted out the controversial bit at the World Magic Seminar in Rio last week. When the Catholic League’s William A. Donohue got wind of it, he fired a letter to ABC saying that such "an incredibly anti-Christian statement" should not be "rewarded." A network rep told the Las Vegas Review Journal that Penn & Teller are still in the show.</p>

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. Las Vegans Al and Rita Cummins are not turning the other cheek to that risque crucifixion skit by local magicians Penn & Teller. "What they did is blaspheme the Lord," Al Cummins said. "I know there a lot of scenes in the casinos that we would not approve of. That's their business, but it became our business when they criticized our Lord." The Summerlin couple learned of the Jan. 13 routine at a magicians' convention after reading items in Norm Clarke's Review-Journal column. Penn & Teller have been publicly quiet about...

The magic-comedy team of Penn & Teller has performed a stunt parodying the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, offending some attendees of a major magicians' convention, reports columnist Norm Clarke of the Las Vegas Review. The skit, performed last week in Las Vegas, included Teller, dressed as Christ on a full-size cross, entering the room on a cart. According to the column, a midget dressed as an angel "performed a simulated sex act on the near-naked Teller." Penn, in a Roman gladiator costume, unveiled the scene by pulling away a "Shroud of Turin" that covered the cross. A group of people...

A sacrilegious stunt by Penn & Teller that offended some at a major magicians convention was defended Thursday by fellow local headliners. A group walked out of a roast of Amazing Johnathan on Monday after Teller, dressed as Christ on a full-sized cross, entered the room on a cart. A midget dressed as an angel performed a simulated sex act on the near-naked Teller. Penn Jillette, in a Roman gladiator costume, unveiled the scene by pulling away a "Shroud of Turin" that covered the cross. Rick Neiswonger, a longtime magician and local marketing executive, said "the majority" of the 400...

With the star spending 15 days on a cross getting right his scene at Calvary, there is a lot of suffering on the set of The Passion, a new account of the last 12 hours of Jesus Christ being filmed in Rome by Mel Gibson. Gibson, a devout Roman Catholic, insisted that meticulous attention was being given in the £18 million production to chronicling the violence of the Romans. "It's going to be hard to take," he said. "When the Romans scourged you, it wasn't a nice thing. Think about the Crucifixion - there's no way to sugarcoat that." Jesus...