He Tried to Kill Moses
Achilles achillesz@usa.net
Fri, 5 Mar 1999 07:29:22 -0500 (00920658562, 12280798522066@unifour.com)
On 5 Mar 99, at 2:44, JAlw@aol.com wrote:
> ===============
> Joe Alward:
>
> Perhaps they can help me put a stake through the heart of another argument
> I've pressed in recent weeks.
>
> In a debate which ended abruptly and with hard feelings on the other side,
> I had alleged that Tyler's ten references did not support his view that
> "Jesus would have been [virtually'] the only victim of crucifixion that
> was afforded burial by the Romans."
>
> Hengel said that crucifixion victims were "quite often not buried", which
> told me that they might "often" NOT have been buried. Tyler objected,
> saying that Hengel himself said that non-burial was the "norm", and this
> was the only quote, I believe, that he provided in defense of his
> assertion that Jesus would have been [virtually] the only crucifixion
> victim buried.
>
> So here's my question to Achilles and Crea: Do you think that there
> exists sufficient evidence that burial was so rare in the first century
> that Tyler's statement is justified? Specifically, do you believe that
> Hengel's statement that non-burial was "the norm" means that the vast
> majority of victims were not buried, or do you think it meant that more
> often than not they weren't buried?
>
> You've both been so helpful in past disputes, I'm hopeful that you can
> help me bring some kind of closure to the crucifixion dispute.
Achilles
I am sure you are aware that one cannot *prove* a negative. I should expect
that Hengel is aware of this as well, which explains the cautious wording of
his statement.
One cannot prove that the Romans *never* allowed burial of crucifixion victims,
however the evidence available shows clearly that, if this was *ever* allowed
(and I am not sure it ever was) it was *certainly* an extraordinarily rare
dispensation. I can think of only two items that indicate it *might* have been
allowed in extremely rare cases, both have been mentioned before, neither is
indisputable, and even if both cases were solid and indisputable the ratio of
burial/non burial would still be incredibly small, and thus that aspect of the
Gospel story should be viewed as one more extremely improbable claim among
many.
/Achilles achillesz@usa.net
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Random thought for the moment:
Faith strikes me as intellectual laziness.
-- Jubal Harshaw in Stranger in a Strange Land