History Shorts: The Crucifixion (c 29 B.C.)

Christ’s crucifixion is a key moment in world history. The Romans used crucifixion to punish treason. Since Christ played the messiah role during Passover, and many believed the messiah would be a military figure like Spartacus, the Romans believed Christ planned a revolt. The key moment was Jesus’ attack on the moneychangers, which demonstrated his potential for violence.

After the execution, Christ’s followers claimed he rose from the dead. The belief in the resurrection is the key concept in Christianity. Whether the Apostles meant Christ physically rose from the dead or that his ideas lived on through them is debatable. Either way, it served as a resistance toward the Romans. To the early Jesus movement, the resurrection, whether physical or otherwise, meant Christ defeated the Romans.

There have been many on screen depictions of the crucifixion. The following is a bit over-the-top, but is probably the most famous.

From The Passion of the Christ:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LILfRem4Q4I

History Bracketology: The Final 4

I just tabulated the votes...

Final 4

Confucius over Ramses

Jesus over Newton

Final

Jesus over Confucius

History Bracketology Elite 8

Elite 8

Confucius over Peter the Great

Ramses the Great over Hammurabi

Jesus over Augustus

Newton over Einstein

Exodus

Did the Exodus occur? Let's take a look at the evidence...

The traditional date for Exodus used to be around 1450 BC or so. There is no evidence for this other than the Bible. Since that has to be taken with a grain of salt, 1450 BC is not a likely date.

There is some archaeological evidence for a migration of people around 1250 BC. However, history is full of mass migrations of people for various reasons. There is some evidence of the destruction of ancient cities around this time as well. That would fit. However, some cities, Jericho in particular, do not seem to have been destroyed during the correct time frame based on a 1250 BC Exodus.

The best case for Exodus as described in the Bible is about 1600 BC. The Thera Volcanic Eruption on Santorini could create conditions that could cause the plagues described in the Bible. However, the date of the eruption is debated. There is also an Egyptian Stele that describes a plague from an unknown god.

So, did Exodus happen?

Considering history is full of mass migrations, there is probably some truth in the Bible story. However, this is probably how it went down: A group of slaves left Egypt led by Moses. They were monotheistic. They ran into a group of nomads from Canaan. The two groups merged and became rather large. They eventually wandered into the promised land.

Why is this important? Modern Israel claims descent from the Ancient Israelites. A 5000 year claim legitimizes Modern Israel's claims to Palestine. So, what happened 4000 years ago matters!!!