Every good Christian is familiar with the story of Jesus Christ's Passion. If you are not a Christian, but have seen the movie, The Passion of the Christ, it's difficult to forget the gruesome parts - His brutal chastisement, the arduous way to the cross, and the horrifying crucifixion. Most forms of media from early medieval paintings to modern movies show a fatigued, hunched over Jesus carrying the wooden cross to Golgatha (the place of the skull) where He was crucified. Yet, many scholars believe Christ only carried the crossbeam on which his wrists were nailed. Many others are traditionalists who agree that art confirms the "whole" cross view. Naperville churches Incredibly, the Bible never states that Jesus carried His own cross, except in the Book of John: Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha) (John 19:17, NIV). All of the other Gospels include Simon of Cyrene as the reluctant man who helps Jesus on the way to Golgatha. However, I believe Christ bore the partial or full weight of the cross.
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In my opinion, the Shroud of Turin is the famous, large cloth is the true linen in which the temporarily dead body of Christ lay for three days. It bears the imprint of the body of Jesus. By careful analysis of the biological and forensic evidence, we can learn about how Jesus suffered.
Jesus was in such weakened condition from the scourging he could barely carry the crossbeam itself. On the backside of the Shroud two large straight diagonal abrasions are marked from the right shoulder blade down to the left. Jesus arms and hands were tied to the crossbeam. It would have to have been heavy for a person who had not been severely beaten, like Simon of Cyrene, to carry Jesus' crossbeam. According to Dr. Pierre Barbet, early groundbreaking author of A Doctor at Calvary: The Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ As Described by a Surgeon, the crossbeam called the pitabulum would have weighed about 125 pounds and the large vertical pole-the stipes would have weighed 250 pounds. (Location 861, Kindle)
To make matters worse, Jesus' arms and hands were tied to the crossbeam. So, he could not have walked a half mile to Golgatha without falling due to navigating the uneven, rough terrain with bare feet. The Shroud reveals evidence that Christ's nose appears to be broken and his right cheek swollen - injuries consistent with one or several falls while bearing the crossbeam as long as he did. Under microscopic analysis, the Shroud shows dirt and lime particles on His face.
When Jesus and Simon arrived at the crucifixion site, the pitabulum and Jesus were set down on the ground. Then, Roman soldiers drove nails through his wrists. Afterwards, they hoisted the pitabulum and Jesus up on a wedge situated in the middle of the stipes (pole) which had already been set into the ground. Then a nail was driven through his feet. This type of cross is known as a "tau"cross in the shape of a "T".
On the other hand, many of today's Shroud scholars believe that Christ carried the entire cross. According to Andrè Marion & Gerard Lucotte, French authors of the 2006 groundbreaking book, The Shroud of Turin and the Argenteuil Tunic, Jesus bore the whole cross. Using computer modeling, which analyzed the back of the Shroud, they discovered that there were more than two abrasion marks on the Shroud; there were nine blood marks which correspond to the tunic Jesus was wearing (John 19:23-24). Marks on the tunic indicate a cross pattern, created by the pressure of the whole cross- the pitabulum and the stipes - on his back, despite the tunic which buffered the bruises.
What about the two diagonal bruise marks across his back? The new computerized data clearly shows more bruises that form a perpendicular cross pattern from his bruised shoulders to where the stipes met the pitabulum between and under both shoulder blades. Marion's analysis of the Shroud and the Tunic of Argenteuil suggest that the upper part of the vertical beam was carried on the left shoulder, while the horizontal beam's full weight fell on the right shoulder. This might have dislocated His shoulder.
But Jesus could not have carried a cross weighing 350 pounds. However, for Jesus to have carried the entire cross-the stipes (vertical pole) and the pitabulum (cross beam) -would have weighed much less. According to legend, in 326 AD, Helena, the mother of Emperor Constantine of Rome made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem to find the location of Christ's cross. Witnesses remarked that not only did she find Jesus cross in an area below Golgatha, but the crosses of the criminals. She couldn't determine which cross belonging to Jesus, so a terminally ill woman touched each cross until she laid her hand on the one which miraculously made her sickness vanish.
Helena took the relics related to the crucifixion back to Rome. In the Basilica of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem, the pitabulum of the good thief is displayed. It measures 180 cm long x 13 cm width x 13 cm high. Its weight is 20 kg or 45 pounds. It's estimated that the stipes measured 250 cm long x 11.5 cm width x 11.5 cm high. Its weight is 25 kg or 55 pounds. So, the total weight of Jesus' cross would be about 90 pounds. (From an anonymous article, Why Jesus Carried the Whole Cross and Not Only the Patibulum.) Interestingly enough, this evidence supports the fact that the bruise marks were the same size-between 11 to 13 cm long.
Jesus would have had severe trouble walking, restricted to a 45-pound patibulum mounted on just his shoulders with his hands and arms tied to it. By bearing the entire 90-pound cross, He would have had his hands free, while dragging some of its weight behind him. So, if Jesus bore a much lighter complete cross, it would have been the traditional "Latin" cross- a "t".
It has also been speculated that Jesus had to carry the entire cross, because the filthy, used stipes, covered in blood and feces were pulled out of their holes in the ground and stored. This was probably done because in and around a holy site like Jerusalem, the religious law forbid anyone touching anything unclean. So, Jesus and the two thieves crucified with him had to carry both stipes and pitabulum. In more secular places around the Roman Empire, the filthy stipes stood in the ground waiting for its next victim. So, the tau cross was traditionally used and not the Latin cross, unique to Jesus.
Early experts who analyzed the Shroud of Turin believed that the condemned Messiah only carried the pitabulum because only two abrasion marks from his right upper back and the lower left back were visible. Today, using the latest computer technology, more evidence has surfaced that Jesus bore the entire cross by reexamining the Shroud of Turin, the tunic of Argenteuil and the good thief's cross. The tunic Jesus wore to the crucifixion overlapped the marks on the Shroud. The measurements of the good thief's crossbeam indicate that it weighed much less than previously thought, as probably did the stipes. With this evidence, it is more likely Jesus carried the whole cross, with the help of Simon de Cyrene, to the crucifixion site, validating the traditional artistic view of Jesus bearing the entire cross.
The following are basic human, religious and spiritual rights any person has as a member of any and all religious organizations or church congregations.
You have the right to expect the church to keep your personal contributions private and should be able to expect that any who deal with such things for accounting purposes will do the same.
You have the right to expect that your membership in any church or congregation is not contingent on how much you give or do not give. You should also expect that jobs, positions, opportunities or offices are not given based on the amount anyone gives to the church.
You have the right to say I can only give this even if it is not a tithe of your income gross or net.
You have the right not to be spiritually judged or have your loyalty or sincerity questioned based on what you are able or unable to give financially to the church.
You have the right to ask a Pastor if he checks tithes and offerings for any of the above reasons before giving to a church.
You have the right to say "I'm tired and won't be there, " to any and all activities, plays, fundraisers, studies, seminars, prayer groups, rehearsals, practices and sermons.
You have the right to say "I don't care about that."
You have the right to question the advice, counsel or sermon of any minister, elder, deacon or any other person in authority. You have the right to question authority and to still expect to be allowed to attend your church. You have the right to question a minister who declares himself one or both of the Two Witnesses of Revelation, a Prophet, the Supreme Watcher of Mankind for God, The Only True Apostle in this Age and any other title or position he can come up with to impress you as to why you need to support him.
You have the right to suggest a pastor get spiritual or psychological help should the need arise. You have the right tell him that the congregation is noticing a trend here.
You have the right to ask why the church believes what it does when the Bible might say otherwise, or why the Bible says something that the church practices that seems scary, weird, inappropriate for this time, out of date or controlling. You have the right to notice that ministers often quote scriptures out of context or fail to enforce or address the rest of the story that does not agree with the point they are trying to make.
You have the right to ask all the "how can that be," "how could that happen," "why does it say this here and that there," questions you can come up and expect an intelligent answer. If you are told that you are using human reasoning, ask the pastor what kind of reasoning he uses. If he says "God's," find another church.
You have the right to not want elders, deacons or your friends accompanying the minister on visits to your home to talk to you.
You have the right to discuss or not discuss your life with the minister as you see fit.
You have the right to expect absolute confidentiality and for your story not to show up in the sermon next week, even though "I won't say the name."
You have a right to be called ahead of time when the pastor wants to ask about stopping over.
You have the right, when he calls to say, "I'm tired," "I'm busy," "No, but I appreciate the call," without repercussions.
You have the right to keep a dirty home, grass not mowed perfectly, an older car, red in color and kids that don't say "yes sir, nice to see you sir," in just the right way.
You have the right to watch and read what you wish even if the pastor just got done bashing that particular program, movie or book from the pulpit in his sermon on "Demons in Your Home--Six Ways to Assure Your Eternal Death."
You have the right to ask the pastor not to call on you at work, even if you own the business.
You have the right to say, "I can't afford to take you to lunch." "I can't afford to give you free wood or brick." "I can't afford to fix your house up free," "I can't fix all your teeth," to your pastor should he expect professional courtesies, even if he offers to do your funeral free.
You have a right to expect free use of your church for weddings and funerals.
You have the right to expect these usages are not dependent on you, your parents or children living a sinless life six months prior to the date of the event.
You have the right not to answer questions your pastor may ask you or your children about your sexual practices. If he insists, then insist that you all share together.
You have the right to not let the pastor inform you as to who you can and cannot date or marry.
You have the right to enjoy your sexuality free of church or pastoral approval. Something that is wrong for the pastor is not necessarily wrong for you in how you express yourself to your partner. There is no Bible prohibition against....well you know. And if there were, you'd have the right to disagree with that too.
You have the right to not share which or if you are taking medications of any sort with the pastor.
You have the right to take such medication and not be judged as having a lack of faith or trust in God to heal you.
You have the right to seek professional help without informing your Pastor of the nature of the help and you have the right to not be helped solely by the pastor under threat of repercussions.
You have the right to insist the pastor get professional help should the need arise and the man is causing more harm than good. You have the right to remind him that God does not directly speak to him nor express His will only through the mind of the pastor and that makes you uncomfortable if he thinks that is so.
You have the right to be wrong about a many things.
You have the right to believe you are correct about many things without repercussions.
You have the right not to care about everything that others think you must care about to be a good Christian.
You have the right to tell the pastor he is wrong, mistaken or exaggerating.
You have the right to dress as you wish, wear the jewelry you wish and make up you wish or not wish without being labeled a whore or a goody goody.
You have the right to feel that dressing as if it was still 1957 and only watching Disney Movies or How the West Was Won as proof of your pureness is baloney. You have the right to not be told that the best times for entertainment, movies and TV was when the Pastor was a boy. You have the right to like the food he does not like and to not like the foods he does. You have the right to like the schools he doesn't and not like the ones he does.
You have the right not to bear your soul to the ministers wife.
You have the right to like or not like, agree or not agree with the ministers wife.
You have the right to not view the world through the pastor's eyes morally or politically. You have the right to hate the war while he believes the war in Iraq is God's will and thinks it's all in the Bible.
You have the right to expect him to speak clearly where he thinks the Bible speaks for us today and to walk slowly and drink cool water where it doesn't.
You have the right to tell the pastor that that is his opinion and not necessarily the only true opinion on earth.
You have the right for you, your children, your partner and your friends to be themselves.
These are but a few of the rights any member of any Church, congregation or religious organization has. In short, you have the right to not be required to check your brains, your insights, your perspectives and your free will at the door to be welcome and a member of any church.