THEIST_WATCH
  Msg  : 84                                         Written : 08/23/94 04:55pm
  From : ROBIN MURRAY-O'HAIR                        Status  :                 
  To   : ALL                                                                  
  Subj : Stoning Jesus                                                        

                  Was it really a crucifiction?

     England is in an uproar over religion again. It seems that
Enoch Powell, an 82-year-old, British politician and classics
expert, had the temerity to suggest that Jesus did not die from
crucifixion. Instead, he says, J.C. died by stoning.

     Powell's claims are made in a forthcoming book on the Bible,
titled "The Evolution of the Gospel" and to be published by Yale
University Press. Apparently, he feels that an early Greek translation
of the Gospel of Matthew indicate that J.C. was stoned by Jews on the
charge of blasphemy.

     The leaks of this portion of the book have created a controversy
in England, with other bible scholars calling his conclusions
"outrageous" and "impossible."

     We have to agree. Power should know that J.C. wasn't stoned
-- because he was a fictional character.


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