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Impaled on a stake — a result of sectarian bias?

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<str<strong>on</strong>g>Impaled</str<strong>on</strong>g> <strong>on</strong> a <strong>stake</strong> - a <strong>result</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>sectarian</strong> <strong>bias</strong>? 7<br />

victims were crucified was not fixed by law but appears dependent <strong>on</strong> the number <strong>of</strong><br />

individuals involved, the sadistic ingenuity <strong>of</strong> those carrying out the executi<strong>on</strong> and<br />

the time needed for this spectacle to have its maximum deterrent effect.” 20<br />

Not <strong>on</strong>ly were there various forms <strong>of</strong> hanging and nailing, but also the instrument<br />

could vary:<br />

“Originally the ‘cross’ was an upright <strong>stake</strong> to which the corpse <strong>of</strong> an executed<br />

criminal was bound for public display or <strong>on</strong> which the living body <strong>of</strong> a<br />

c<strong>on</strong>demned pers<strong>on</strong> was affixed to await death. During Roman times a crossbar<br />

was sometimes added across the top <strong>of</strong> the <strong>stake</strong> forming a T (later known as St.<br />

Anth<strong>on</strong>y’s cross) or intersecting it to form the familiar Christian shape.” 21<br />

We also note these: “Under the Roman Empire, crucifixi<strong>on</strong> normally included a<br />

flogging beforehand. At times the cross was <strong>on</strong>ly <strong>on</strong>e vertical <strong>stake</strong>.”. 22 “Use <strong>of</strong> an<br />

upright <strong>stake</strong> as an instrument <strong>of</strong> torture and executi<strong>on</strong> attained particular<br />

significance as the culminati<strong>on</strong> <strong>of</strong> Christ’s persecuti<strong>on</strong> and thus as a symbol <strong>of</strong><br />

at<strong>on</strong>ement for mankind.” ,2324<br />

M. Hengel is <strong>on</strong>e <strong>of</strong> the modern scholars who have studied this form <strong>of</strong> executi<strong>on</strong><br />

most thoroughly. His c<strong>on</strong>clusi<strong>on</strong> was that:<br />

“Even in the Roman empire, where there might be said to be some kind <strong>of</strong><br />

‘norm’ for the course <strong>of</strong> executi<strong>on</strong>, the form <strong>of</strong> executi<strong>on</strong> could vary<br />

c<strong>on</strong>siderably: crucifixi<strong>on</strong> was a punishment in which the caprice and sadism <strong>of</strong><br />

the executi<strong>on</strong>ers were given full rein. All attempts to give a perfect descripti<strong>on</strong><br />

<strong>of</strong> the crucifixi<strong>on</strong> in archaeological terms are therefore in vain; there were too<br />

many different possibilities for the executi<strong>on</strong>er.” 25<br />

another, to the crosses, by way <strong>of</strong> jest; when their multitude was so great, that room was wanting for<br />

the crosses [Gr. stauros, plural], and crosses [Gr. stauros, plural], wanting for the bodies.”(Jewish<br />

War 5 §449–51)<br />

20 Zias, "Crucifixi<strong>on</strong> in Antiquity: the evidence,".<br />

21 Harper's Bible Dicti<strong>on</strong>ary (Logos Library System electr<strong>on</strong>ic editi<strong>on</strong>; ed. P. J. Achtemeier; San<br />

Francisco: Harper & Row, 1996) “cross”.<br />

22 The Anchor Bible Dicti<strong>on</strong>ary (Logos Library System electr<strong>on</strong>ic editi<strong>on</strong>; ed. D. N. Freedman; New<br />

York: Doubleday, 1997) Crucifixi<strong>on</strong>.<br />

23 The Eerdmans Bible Dicti<strong>on</strong>ary (Reprint; ed. A. Myers; Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B.<br />

Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1989) “Cross, Crucifixi<strong>on</strong>”.<br />

24 See also J. B. Green, "Death <strong>of</strong> Jesus," Dicti<strong>on</strong>ary <strong>of</strong> Jesus and the Gospels (ed. J. B. Green,<br />

McKnight Scot and I. H. Marshall; Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 1992) 147. and The<br />

Interpreter's Dicti<strong>on</strong>ary <strong>of</strong> the Bible (Nashville: Abingd<strong>on</strong> Press, 1981) I:745.<br />

25 M. Hengel, Crucifixi<strong>on</strong> in the Ancient World and the Folly <strong>of</strong> the Message <strong>of</strong> the Cross<br />

(Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1977) 25.

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