METHODS OF CRUCIFIXION ORIGINS OF CRUCIFIXION Crucifixion was the common mode of eliminating political prisoners, murderers and insurgents. Long before the birth of Jesus, the Phoenecians had experimented with various methods to get rid of their anti-social characters. They had tried hanging, impaling, stoning, drowning, etc. But all these were too quick in their effects; the culprits expired too soon for their liking. So they invented the crucifixion, a system which produced a slow L-I-N-G-E-R-IN- G death. TWO METHODS OF CRUCIFIXION The Romans borrowed and perfected the system. They developed a crucifixion for fast death and disposal, and another for a slow death and disposal. The Christian Masters1 are confused in their paintings of the gruesome scene. They portray the two robbers2 who were simultaneously crucified with Jesus, his crossmates, one on his right hand and the other on his left hand, as undergoing the FAST method, whereas Jesus himself is painted as undergoing a S-L-O-W process. The Romans never combined these two different methods. They were never confused, as the Christian artists were, with the fast and the slow methods. The Old Masters have painted hybrid crosses (mixture) of the fast and slow methods in their drawings of Jesus bodily supports on the cross - i.e. with Sadile or without sadile1; either nails or leather thongs to bind the arms to the crossbar; and, either platforms to support the feet, or spikes.
Posted on: Wed, 26 Nov 2014 22:46:10 +0000
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