crucifixion

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Real-Life Crucifixions Are Back After 3-Year COVID Pause

Church frowns on Good Friday reenactment of Jesus' suffering, but it's tradition in Philippines

(Newser) - Eight Filipinos were nailed to crosses to reenact Jesus Christ's suffering in a gory Good Friday tradition that draws thousands of devotees and tourists to the Philippines, despite the practice being rejected by the Catholic Church. The real-life crucifixions in the farming village of San Pedro Cutud in Pampanga...

ISIS Beheadings Hit a Terrifying New 'First'

First females beheaded by sword in Syria: Syrian Observatory

(Newser) - The Islamic State has beheaded two female civilians in Syria "by the use of sword in public" for the first time, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The women were killed alongside their husbands in Deir Ezzor and Mayadin over the past two days. All were accused...

Workers Crucify Themselves to Recoup Lost Wages

9K workers are owed about $40K for work on dam, they say

(Newser) - The Paraguayan government agreed yesterday to meet with former workers who have nailed themselves to wooden crosses over a wage dispute, an increasingly common form of protest in Paraguay that has been condemned by the Roman Catholic Church but has often been successful. Four men and one woman have been...

ISIS Crucifies 8 'Moderate' Militants

Meanwhile, Russia sends jets to Iraq

(Newser) - The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria—or as the group now apparently prefers to be called, just the Islamic State —sent a grisly message to other Islamist militants this weekend in Syria by crucifying eight rebel fighters it deemed too moderate, according to a report from the Syrian...

Men Crucify Themselves in Philippines

It's a Good Friday tradition

(Newser) - It's Good Friday, which means it's time for the Philippines' annual bloody ritual : Devotees in northern villages had themselves nailed to wooded crosses to re-enact the crucifixion of Jesus Christ as thousands of local and foreign spectators watched. Church leaders and health officials in Asia's largest Roman...

Ukrainian Activist: I Was Crucified

He's become the bloodied face of the opposition movement

(Newser) - US and Russian diplomats traded blame over the volatile situation in Ukraine today, but more attention continues to be paid to an anti-government protester who claims to have been tortured. Not just tortured, "crucified." Dmytro Bulatov says he got kidnapped and held for about a week before his...

Bus Drivers Crucify Themselves to Get Jobs Back

Paraguayan men, some wives refuse to budge until all jobs restored

(Newser) - A group of bus drivers in Paraguay is going to extreme measures to get back the jobs they lost: They crucified themselves—three weeks ago, reports the BBC . The men (some media reports say five, other say eight) used 15-inch nails to affix their hands to crosses that have been...

Faithful Crucify Themselves in Philippines

At least 24 nailed to crosses

(Newser) - At least 24 Filipinos celebrated Good Friday in an incredibly painful fashion today, by voluntarily having people dressed as Roman soldiers drive four-inch stainless-steal nails through their palms, and then hoist them into the midday sun. Such ritual crucifixions are a tradition in the country, and the largest of them...

We've Got Last Supper Date All Wrong: Prof

His explanation could provide a fixed date for Easter

(Newser) - Fascinating new information to keep in mind in the week leading up to Easter: Christians have been marking Jesus's Last Supper on the wrong day, according to a Cambridge professor. Rather than being held on Maundy Thursday, the day before Friday's crucifixion, the Last Supper actually occurred on...

Benedict Exonerates Jews for Jesus' Death

Says Jews, as a whole, were not responsible

(Newser) - Pope Benedict would like to be clear: the Jewish people as a whole were not responsible for the death of God's only son. The pope makes the sweeping exoneration in his new book, Jesus of Nazareth, excerpts of which were released today. In it, Benedict presents a biblical and theological...

Christ Wasn't Crucified: Scholar
 Christ Wasn't 
 Crucified: Scholar 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Christ Wasn't Crucified: Scholar

Ancient texts make no mention of crosses, crucifixion

(Newser) - Christ probably died tied to a pole instead of nailed to a cross, claims a theologian who has pored through ancient texts. There is no mention of nailing people to crosses as punishment in Greek, Roman, and Hebrew literature from the time of Homer to the first century AD, Gunnar...

Outrage Over Crucifix That Kinda Shows Jesus' Genitalia

Oklahoma priest defends the rendering

(Newser) - Churchgoers in tiny Warr Acres, Okla., are, um, at war over a crucifix that appears to depict Jesus' genitalia covering his abdomen. "I was horrified,” one parishioner says. "I was appalled at the sexualization of Christ," says another. Says a third: "If I hadn’t...

2M to Visit Shroud of Turin
 2M to Visit Shroud of Turin 

2M to Visit Shroud of Turin

Mysterious cloth will be on rare display in Turin

(Newser) - Some 2 million visitors are expected to view the mysterious Shroud of Turin when it goes on display in Turin this spring. The 14-foot-long piece of linen, which is believed by many to be the burial cloth of Jesus Christ and to miraculously bear his image, has only gone on...

Court Bans Crucifixes in Italian Classrooms

Government plans to appeal European decision

(Newser) - A European court has ruled that the presence of crucifixes in Italian classrooms violates religious freedom. In a decision denounced by Italian politicians, the court said the compulsory display of the crucifix prevents parents from raising kids with the religion of their choice and restricts the "right of children...

Italy's $4M 'Michelangelo' Triggers Furor

(Newser) - Did Michelangelo actually create a small (16-inch) wooden carving of a crucified Jesus or did the Italian government get taken for a $4 million ride? Some experts believe passionately that the piece, now on exhibit in Naples, is the work of the master. But as the BBC reports, others blast...

Playmobil Demands Pastor Stop Crucifying Toys

(Newser) - Playmobil has demanded that a German pastor stop using its toys to depict Bible scenes, reports the Telegraph. One plastic human figure has been given breasts to be a naked Eve, and another has been nailed to a cross. Photos of the altered figures have been posted on the internet....

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