Text 25787, 53 rader
Skriven 2006-12-11 10:43:12 av John Hull (1:123/789.0)
  Kommentar till text 25785 av Mimi Gallandt (1:123/789.0)
Ärende: Muslems
===============
Mimi Gallandt -> VERN HUMPHREY wrote:
 MG> VERN HUMPHREY -> MIMI GALLANDT wrote:
 JH>>>> I meant the Spear dates from around 600, as you said.  The
 VH>> pilum, which
 JH>>>> is not actually a true spear, has a throw-away head, so it likely
 JH>>>> wouldn't have survived in any case.

 JH>>>> Did you ever read any of the series of fiction books based on
 VH>> the real
 JH>>>> life character of Casca Longinus?  He was cursed by God to live
 VH>> forever
 JH>>>> (or until Christ returned on Judgement Day) and cannot die as
 VH>> punishmen
 JH>>>> for sticking him with the spear.  There was about 20 of them,
 VH>> all very
 JH>>>> well done.  The first one was called "Casca" but I don't recall the
 JH>>>> author's name.

 MG>>> Understand my lack of real knowledge of Christianity sometimes
 VH>> confuses me,
 MG>>> didn't the soldier who did that do it to shorten Jesus' suffering?

 VH>> By Jewish law, the corpses had to be buried by sundown, so in respect
 VH>> for this the soldiers hastened the death of those hanging on the
 VH>> crosses.  Crucifixion kills by suffocation (you can't breathe when
 VH>> hanging like that) but the victims either had the feet nailed to the
 VH>> cross or a small step, so they could stand on it a while, then sag
 MG> down,
 VH>> then stand on it, and so on -- very cruel.

 VH>> To hasten death, they simply broke the victim's legs, and they
 VH>> suffocated fairly quickly.  Jesus, however, was apparently already
 MG> dead,
 VH>> so Longinus made sure by thrusting the lance into his side.

 VH>> The Romans NEVER allowed victims to live -- those thrown to the beasts
 VH>> in the arena often survived the attacks, but were dragged out and had
 VH>> their throats cut.

 MG> So, other than roads and water works the Romans had no good points?


Nope, can't say that at all.  You're letting your modern point of view cloud
your perception of Rome.  They were the product of their times, and as empires
went, not the worst.  Had they not been overrun by the Goths and other Germanic
tribes, there is a good chance that the Dark Ages would never have occurred, or
at least not been anywhere near as 'dark.'  Much of the reason for the Dark
Ages was the loss of knowledge in nearly every area when Roman law collapsed
and anarchy ruled.  Of course, the early church did much to destroy a lot of
it, and keep the peasant class ignorant and dependent.

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