Swedish theologian Gunnar Samuelsson of Gothenburg University is making waves with his argument that Jesus was probably never nailed to a cross. In a 400-page paper, Samuelsson makes the case that original Latin, Greek, and Hebrew texts from the time of Homer until after Jesus' death offer no evidence that Romans used crosses, or nails, in their "suspension punishments." How convincing is Samuelsson? (Listen to Samuelsson's claims)
This is just a theory: Samuelsson has "caused something of an unheavenly row" with his thesis, says Theunis Bates in AOL News, and no wonder. If he's right that Jesus was executed by some other "gruesome execution device," that scuttles "the defining symbol of Christianity." But while the New Testament really is somewhat "ambiguous about the exact method" of Christ's death, so too is his evidence that "the Roman Empire was a crucifix-free zone."
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