“Torture by the Grand Knout” [a whip used to inflict punishment in Siberia, often causing death], Library of Congress, (PD)
“A Russian Army captain came to a minister in Hungary and asked to see him alone. The young captain was very brash, and very conscious of his role as a conqueror. When he had been led to a small conference room and the door was closed, he nodded toward the cross that hung on the wall.
‘You know that thing is a lie,’ he said to the minister. ‘It’s just a piece of trickery you ministers use to delude the poor people to make it easier for the rich to keep them ignorant. Come now, we are alone. Admit to me that you never really believed that Jesus Christ was the Son of God!’
The minister smiled. ‘But, my poor young man, of course I believe it. It is true.’
‘I won’t have you play these tricks on me!’ cried the captain. ‘This is serious. Don’t laugh at me!’
He drew out his revolver and held it close to the body of the minister.
‘Unless you admit to me that it is a lie, I’ll fire!’
‘I cannot admit that, for it is not true. Our Lord is really and truly the Son of God,’ said the minister.
The captain flung his revolver on the floor and embraced the man of God. Tears sprang from his eyes.
‘It is true!’ he cried. ‘It is true. I believe so, too, but I could not be sure men would die for this belief until I found it out for myself. Oh, thank you! You have strengthened my faith. Now I too can die for Christ. You have shown me how.'”
The above is a true account, recorded by Richard Wurmbrand in Tortured for Christ. Wurbrand, himself, was imprisoned by the Communists for 14 years. During that time, he was repeatedly tortured and brainwashed. He spent nearly three years in solitary confinement. Read more…
Shroud of Turin (PD)
Venerated by many as the burial shroud of Christ, the Shroud of Turin is a length of linen cloth bearing the faint image of a man who was scourged and crucified [1A][2][3][4].
What appear to be blood stains are present on the front and back of the cloth. However, the image is not merely the result of having been draped over a bloody body or it would appear distorted.
History
The Shroud is thought to have been brought initially from Jerusalem to Constantinople, then to Western Europe during the Crusades. It was first exhibited in 1354 AD in Lirey, France.
The Shroud was acquired by the House of Savoy in 1453 AD. It was damaged in a fire at the Chapel of Chambery in 1532 AD. The Shroud has been kept in the Chapel of the Holy Shroud in Turin, Italy since 1683 AD. Ownership of the Shroud did not pass to the Catholic Church until 1983.
Photography
The image on the Shroud of Turin is, for all intents and purposes, a photonegative on a linen cloth which is not photosensitive, centuries before photography was developed. This was discovered when the Shroud was first photographed in 1898 by Secondo Pia.
Scientific Testing
Controversies surround the Shroud of Turin.
A. Anatomy
Most agree that the image on the Shroud is anatomically correct. It depicts a man between 5’7” and 6’2” in height. The body is naked, which is consistent with Roman crucifixion practices intended to humiliate the victim.
The body has the following characteristics:
- A broken nose;
- A swollen face, and bruised right eye;
- Part of the beard plucked out;
- Wounds on the head from a crown of thorns;
- Some 120 tearing wounds on the back and legs produced by scourging;
- Bruises on the shoulder due to carrying a cross;
- Knee injuries from repeated falls;
- Nail wounds on the hands and feet from crucifixion;
- An oval wound between the fifth and sixth ribs on the right side (serosanguineous fluid on the cloth demonstrating that this injury occurred after death).
Blood flow is at an angle consistent with the arms held at a 70 degree angle on the cross.
The wrists are crossed. The thumbs are turned under which is consistent with median nerve contraction as the result of nails through the wrists (today considered more likely than nails through the palms).
B. Place of Origin
Pollen grains have been found on the Shroud consistent with an origin in the Holy Land. There are, also, pollen grains which reflect its travel across Europe. Read more…
“But the angel answered and said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay’…So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy…And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, ‘Rejoice!’ So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him” (Matt. 28: 5-6, 8-9).
Wishing you all a blessed Easter!
READERS CAN FIND MY VIEWS ON ABUSE AND ABUSE-RELATED ISSUES AT ANNA WALDHERR A Voice Reclaimed, Surviving Child Abuse
https://avoicereclaimed.com
Statue of Greek Titan Atlas by Lee Lawrie at Rockefeller Center, New York City, Author Another Believer (CC BY-SA 4.0 International)
“Opposite St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York is a giant statue of Atlas, bending and grunting under the weight of the world. That is modern man! “The world is too much with him, late and soon.” The world is too heavy for him and man is breaking under it, trying like a silly child to carry it alone, without any help or grace or faith from God.
The other image I see is that of the God-Man on Good Friday, carrying a Cross, taking upon Himself the burden of others and proving that sacrifice for sin, selflessness and love of God and neighbor alone can remake the world.
No no will get out of this world without carrying some burden. Atlas will never get out from under that world; the Man Who carried the Cross will get out from under it, for it leads to Resurrection and a crown in Life Eternal. This is the choice before us: either try to revolutionize the world and break under it or revolutionize ourselves and remake the world.”
–Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen [1]
—
[1] Our Grounds for Hope by Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, Resurrection Press, published February 2000.
READERS CAN FIND MY VIEWS ON ABUSE AND ABUSE-RELATED ISSUES AT ANNA WALDHERR A Voice Reclaimed, Surviving Child Abuse
https://avoicereclaimed.com
“Crowning with Thorns” (1880) by Carl Bloch, Ordrup Church, Denmark, Source https://www.carlbloch.com/, (PD)
“They asked Him to identify Himself when they arrested Him.
Jesus refused to answer. They questioned Him further. They asked Him why He was there and where He had come from.
Jesus said little.
I tried to imagine why Jesus was so silent when so much was at stake. Why didn’t He make a sermon or tell them a parable? Why didn’t He explain his life to them? Why didn’t He convince them of His innocence. I have no doubt He could have.
Still, Jesus said nothing.
All His friends had deserted Him. He was accused of crimes He didn’t commit. He had no reason to trust the people who interrogated Him. He had no reason to trust anyone.
Even His Father in heaven had rejected His pleas for help.
Jesus must have been scared, angry, frustrated and deeply hurt. Zack [the young homeless man sitting in my office] wasn’t the first person to be struck dumb by heartbreak.
He wasn’t the first person who felt he didn’t have a friend in the world, and who didn’t trust those who said they were trying to help him.
‘We’re really glad you’re here,’ I told Zack. ‘I hope you and I can talk at some point, but it doesn’t have to be now. I just want you to know you are safe here.’
I started to stand up, but Zack shifted his weight and shook his head slowly. Something told me he want to talk. I sat back down. I waited. A long time.
‘I don’t talk so good,’ he said. ‘I guess I’m not too smart,’ he said. ‘My teacher said I got a problem learning,’ he said, struggling mightily to say the words. ‘My dad says I’m just stupid.’
It was only a couple of sentences, but I suspected Zack was telling me an enormous amount about himself.
I asked him to say more.
He told me his mother died of cirrhosis. He said, ‘I loved my Mom. I mean, she used to hit me, but only when she was drunk. I wish she didn’t die. I really wish she was here.’
He said his father and stepmother didn’t want him…When his mother died and no one would take him in, he lived in the park. He stole food to eat. He didn’t eat much.”
The excerpt above is from Sometimes God Has A Kid’s Face by Sister Mary Rose McGeady of Covenant House https://www.covenanthouse.org/, a shelter for homeless youth.
During Lent, Christians contemplate the suffering of Christ, and rightly so. But suffering is all around us. He would have us recognize that.
Contemplating the suffering of Christ is not a sterile exercise. It is meant to change us, to motivate us to action out of love, as He was motivated. After all, what we do for the least of these, we do for Him (Matt. 25: 40). Surely, we can see His face in theirs.
READERS CAN FIND MY VIEWS ON ABUSE AND ABUSE-RELATED ISSUES AT ANNA WALDHERR A Voice Reclaimed, Surviving Child Abuse
https://avoicereclaimed.com
“The Temptation of Christ” (1854) by Ary Scheffer, Walker Art Gallery (Accession No. WAG 6584), Liverpool, England, (PD)
The Bible records in detail Christ’s temptation in the desert before He began His ministry. Since Christ was fully human, as well as fully divine, we can be sure this was not the only time He was tempted (Heb. 4: 15).
We can learn much from the temptation of Christ, not only about Him but ourselves.
Satan, we know, sought to tempt Christ in an effort to undermine the plan of Salvation, formulated before the foundations of the world were laid (Eph. 1: 4; 1 Peter 1: 19-20). Redemption required a sinless Savior.
But the temptations in the desert can, also, be applied to the ages of man. Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen explored that in his book A Brief Life of Christ [1].
First Temptation
“Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, ‘If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.’ But He answered and said, ‘It is written, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God”‘” (Matt. 4: 1-4).
Satan first urged Christ to become an economic savior, to offer the public wealth, prosperity, and the overthrow of the elite. This would have assured His popularity, as it later did for such pseudo-saviors as Joseph Stalin and Mao Tse-tung who made false economic promises.
Knowing His destiny, however, Christ declined this suggestion.
This first temptation, also, parallels the first stage of man’s life, i.e. his youth. Since cognitive reasoning skills take time to develop, temptations involving the flesh or physical gratification are difficult to resist at this stage. Think of an infant crying for a bottle or a small child longing for a toy.
“It is in our youth that we must learn that our passions are not necessarily wrong, but ‘eating bread’ without God will harm us, meaning that we should reject passions outside of God’s will, even if we must go ‘hungry’.”
–Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen [2A]
“Stu-mick-o-sucks (Buffalo Bull’s Back Fat, Head Chief, Blood Tribe) (1832) by George Catlin, Smithsonian American Art Museum, (PD)
Confronted with the human history of war, crime, corruption, and environmental destruction, some part of our hearts longs for a lost Eden.
The Noble Savage
The Greek poet Homer, as long ago as the 8th or 9th Century BC, idealized primitive societies like the Arcadians [1A]. The historian Tacitus in 98 AD attributed honesty and bravery to the German tribes Romans viewed as barbarians [1B].
The 18th Century philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau in his work Discourse on Inequality argued that human beings in their “natural” uncivilized state are inherently good, peaceful, and egalitarian [1C]. This popularized the idea of the “noble savage”, though Rousseau did not use the term.
The stereotype of the “noble savage” (essentially a fantasy) was applied to indigenous groups like Native Americans, though ultimately with negative consequences for them [1D][2]. While romanticizing such groups, Europeans could distance themselves, and legitimize colonization. Indigenous people were natural, but Europeans were considered culturally superior.
The Nobel Savage Today
The concept of the “noble savage” never reflected the real nature of indigenous people, or the complexity of relations with them. Nor did it describe the true nature of mankind.
Nonetheless, that concept has again been adopted by our own culture in the context of environmentalism and land stewardship. Indigenous groups from Australia to the Amazon are said to possess a concern for nature unmatched by the industrial West [3A]. Read more…
The Patriarch Abraham, detail of “Abraham Casting Out Hagar and Ishmael” (1657) by Guercino, Brera Art Gallery, Italy, Author Octave 444 (CC BY-SA 4.0 International)
“I will make you a great nation…And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Gen. 12: 2-3).
God promised the Hebrew patriarch, Abraham, that his descendants, the Jews, would be a blessing to all the earth [1]. That promise has been fulfilled many times over.
Medicine
Historically, Jews emphasized education and literacy, so that their children could study and understand the Torah.
As a result, about 14% of physicians in the United States are Jewish, although Jews make up only about 2.5% of the general population. In other words, Jews are greatly overrepresented in the medical field [2].
- The vaccine developed by Jewish physician, Dr. Jonas Salk, conquered polio – once a public health threat which paralyzed and killed thousands. Salk chose not to patent the vaccine, prioritizing public health over profit [3A]. Within ten years, polio cases in the United States dropped from 35,000 to 161. There was only 1 reported case in 2024 [3B].
- Research by Dr. Paul Zoll, a Jewish surgeon during World War II, led to the development of external defibrillators and pacemakers, now widely used in heart disease [3C].
Science
According to a Pew Research Center study, approximately 8% of scientists identify as Jewish [4]. This, too, is significantly higher than the percentage of Jews in the general population.
Between 1901 and 2023, around 22% of Nobel Prize winners – among them Albert Einstein – had at least one Jewish parent. This is 110 times the percentage of Jews in the world’s population [5]. Similarly, 37% of the recipients of the US National Medal of Science, and 27% of the recipients of the Kyoto Prize have been Jewish [6A].
- Stainless steel, a critical material in modern medicine, construction, and transportation, is credited to Hans Goldschmidt, a German chemist of Jewish descent [3D].
- Jewish American scientist, Paul Berg, discovered recombinant DNA molecules in 1972, revolutionizing both medicine and agriculture [7].
Communication
We take for granted the internet and software now an integral part of modern life. However, the co-founder of Google, Sergey Brin, is Jewish. So were the cofounders of PayPal, Oracle, Lotus, EBay, and Facebook [6B]. Jewish Americans, also, pioneered the technology that led to WiFi, GPS, and Bluetooth [8]. Read more…
Altered image of God from Michelangelo’s “Creation of the Sun and Moon” for use by Template:User atheist2, Presumed Author CenozoicEra~commonswiki (CC BY-SA 3.0 Unported)
DEFINITION
Delusion – a persistent strong belief in the face of solid evidence to the contrary.
Christians are often accused of being under a delusion. God, we are told by Sigmund Freud and other atheists, is merely the imaginary product of our wishful thinking. We cannot cope with reality. We long for comfort and protection against harm, so create a fantasy figure. We devise a pie-in-the-sky life after death to offset current inequities.
Nothing, of course, could be further from the truth. But the accusation is worth examining, since it reveals a great deal about our accusers.
The One True God v. Pagan Gods
Atheists (some scientists among them) often conflate the Judeo-Christian God with pagan gods like Apollo and Zeus. This is an attempt to diminish God in importance.
While it is true that Apollo and Zeus have long since been shown powerless and relegated to the shelf, the triune God does not fall into the same category. God is not simply the label we apply to phenomena we cannot explain. Unlike pagan gods, He had no beginning and will have no end.
Science v. Religion
“Religion is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark.”
–Stephen Hawking, physicist, cosmologist, and professed atheist, when interviewed by “The Guardian”
“Atheism is a fairy story for people afraid of the light.”
–Dr. John Lennox, mathematician, philosopher of science, and Christian apologist, when interviewed by Grand Canyon University News Bureau
There is a widespread belief that one must choose between science and God. This reveals two things: a vast ignorance about the history of science, and the many Christian scientists who advanced it because of their belief in God; and a limited worldview grounded in materialism.
“Everyone who is seriously involved in the pursuit of science becomes convinced that a spirit is manifest in the laws of the Universe – a spirit vastly superior to that of man, and one in the face of which we with our modest powers must feel humble.”
–Albert Einstein, physicist who developed the Theory of Relativity, in “The World as I See It”
Modern science was an outgrowth of the Christian view that God is a rational deity who made the world comprehensible. Isaac Newton, not a traditional Christian, was inspired by the fact we can understand natural laws; Albert Einstein, a deist though not a Christian, was astonished by that fact.
CS Lewis put it this way:
“Men became scientific because they expected Law in Nature, and they expected Law in Nature because they believed in a Legislator.”
–CS Lewis in “Miracles”
There is no “scientific” reason the world should be comprehensible. That it is points us toward God, and is likely one of the reasons He made it so. Read more…
Sistine Chapel (1508 – 1512) by Michelangelo, Author Burkhard Mucke, (CC BY-SA 4.0 International)
“God…has in these last days spoken to us by His Son…who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person…when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Heb. 1: 1-3).
Sacred art raises the mind and heart to God; draws people to prayer and adoration; and attempts to express the mystery of God through artistic media [1]. Christians who approve such art consider it justified by the Incarnation, through which Christ took on human nature (along with His divine) and was seen in the flesh.
Famous examples of sacred art from the Renaissance and Baroque Periods include the Sistine Chapel by Michelangelo Buonarroti; “The “Annunciation” by Fra Angelico; the “Transfiguration” by Raffaello (“Raphael”) Sanzio da Urbino; “The Taking of Christ” by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio; and “Christ Crucified” by Diego Velazquez.
But artistic styles have varied greatly across the centuries.
During the early Middle Ages, perspective was largely unknown. However, painting played a vital role in educating the faithful [2]. Medieval art was rich in symbolism. Doves symbolized the Holy Spirit; lambs symbolized innocence and purity. Christ was represented by a lion, or by a lamb with an exposed heart, holding a cross. In Byzantine art, in particular, a gold background signified the glory of God and the heavenly realm [3].
Ornate altar screens a/k/a rood screens separated the domain of the clergy (chancel) from the area at church where lay people gathered to worship (nave), and were decorated with pictures of Christ, the Virgin Mary, and the saints [4].
Sacra Conversazione (“sacred conversation”) paintings featuring the Virgin Mary and Child surrounded by saints became popular in 16th century Italy. These were private devotional images, scenes which had no express basis in scripture or doctrine [5][6].
Fearing that such depictions could lead to idolatry, Protestants destroyed much sacred art during the Reformation [7]. Read more…
A Lawyer's Prayers 