June 2010
1 post
Jesus and Mary Magdalene
Some recent books and films have put forward the idea that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene and had a daughter with her. They also claim that the bloodline from this marriage is still preserved in European royalty. I just came across an interesting article about all of this at Jesus and Mary Magdalene. It presents a detailed look at the evidence and concludes that Jesus was probably never...
May 2010
1 post
When Was Jesus Crucified?
I’ve just finished reading several articles on the subject of when Jesus was crucified. My main conclusion is that the exact date can’t be determined with absolute certainty. But apparently it is possible to identify the most likely dates.
First, we know that it happened during the rule of Pontius Pilate, which can be reliably dated to the years between 26 AD and 36 AD. Various...
April 2010
1 post
Why Jesus Was Crucified
I found another good explanation of why Jesus was crucified here. It says that the people of Palestine had been desperately hoping that the long-awaited Messiah would appear and free them from Roman oppression. And even though Jesus didn’t publicly call himself the Messiah, many people believed that he was. This caused the Jewish religious authorities to worry that he might take control of...
March 2010
1 post
1 tag
Relics
Here is an interesting article about Christian relics. These are personal items, or even body parts, of saints or other very holy people, which are sometimes claimed to have magical powers. The best-known relics include the Crown of Thorns, Veronica’s veil, the True Cross of Jesus, the Holy Grail, the Shroud of Turin, the Big Toe of Saint Cosmo, and the skull of Mary Magdalene.
To view...
February 2010
1 post
The Crucifixion of Jesus
Sometimes I have wondered why many people blame the Jews for Jesus’ death, since it was the Roman governor Pontius Pilate who gave the order for the crucifixion, and it was Roman soldiers who actually nailed Jesus to the cross. So today I read a couple of internet articles about this.
One article says that Pilate thought that Jesus was innocent, but that the Jewish religious authorities...
January 2009
1 post
Strange Magazine
This website is the online home for Strange Magazine, a periodical about strange and unexplained phenomena. At the time of my visit, the subjects featured on the home page included giant toads, crystal skulls, religious visions, time machines, sightings of strange-looking animals, the Loch Ness monster, and demonic possession.
On reading the article about giant toads, I learned that a a toad...
November 2008
1 post
Dark Bible
The website examines some of the darker aspects of the history of Christianity. These include various acts of violence committed by Christians against non-believers and even other Christians. It also discusses passages in the bible which describe atrocities perpetrated by God himself, such as sending the flood and killing all the first-born Egyptian children. Another section examines the biblical...
September 2008
1 post
Ancient Crucifixions
This site contains a series of articles about ancient crucifixions. One of the articles discusses the crucifixion of Jesus and the roles of Judas Iscariot and Pontius Pilate. Other articles discuss several mass crucifixions of thousands of victims. To read these articles, go to Ancient Crucifixions.