It is generally accepted that scientists are exceptionally busy people. However, we can assume that some of them, no, no, but find another minute to read the bestsellers. Such as Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code. Otherwise, how can we explain the desire to reveal biblical secrets with the help of science …
Not on water, but on ice
Jesus Christ did not walk on water, but on ice, decided Doron Nof of the University of Florida. In his opinion, the combination of the rarest climatic conditions could lead to the emergence of invisible ice on the surface of the Sea of Galilee, capable of withstanding the weight of a person. At the same time, the ice would be invisible from a distance, and outside observers would have the impression that Christ is really walking on water.
In the northern part of modern Israel, temperatures dropped to -4 degrees Celsius for two days during one of two cold periods 2500-1500 years ago, according to a climate study. This weather phenomenon coincided with the time of the life of Jesus Christ.
Due to the decrease in temperature, a floating section of ice could indeed form above the saline currents off the western shore of the lake near the town of Tabga. There have been many archaeological discoveries related to Jesus Christ.
Nof believes that over the past 120 centuries, the likelihood of a similar set of weather conditions in Lake Kinneret is 1 in 1000. But during the period of time when Jesus Christ lived, such floating ice could have formed once every 30-60 years. According to the scientist, this ice would be very difficult to see, especially if its surface was smoothed by rain.
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In the 1990s, Doron Nof already put forward a controversial interpretation of one of the episodes of the exodus of Jews from Egypt. The scientist argued that it is possible to give a rational explanation for the fact that the water in the Red Sea parted for a while, allowing the people, led by Moses, to escape the pursuit of the Egyptian army. According to the researcher, this unusual phenomenon was probably provoked by the peculiarities of winds and sea currents.
Crucifixion
Moreover, British researchers from the Royal Society of Medicine have concluded that one of the most significant symbols of Christianity may be wrong. It is about the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
Usually Christ is depicted nailed by the arms and legs to the Cross with outstretched arms and head pointing up.
Now, scholars argue that there is no evidence that Christ was crucified in this way. They argue that the image of the Crucifixion never had sufficient evidence of its existence. However, the authors do not dispute the very fact of the Crucifixion. In their opinion, Christ could be crucified in other ways that inevitably lead to death.
The methods of crucifixion have been established for millennia and depend on the social status of the victim and the crime they committed. The cross itself could be installed in a variety of options, the victims could be located not only with their heads up, but also down, as well as in other positions. Sometimes the victim could be nailed through the arms and legs, and even the genitals, with arms outstretched on the sides of the cross. Sometimes they were tied with ropes rather than nails.
Crucifixion as a form of execution was widespread among the Romans. This punishment was often applied to criminals and rebels. Roman soldiers carried out this execution, and no one survived after that.
The researchers note that detailed descriptions of the crucifixion of Christ, which would be believable to the modern realities of the life of Christ, are not in any of the Gospels - from Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
Only one archaeological find testifies to the Crucifixion. It is associated with the name of a young Jew. Inscriptions in a crypt with bones found near the site of Zhivat ha-Mitvar in Israel suggest that his name was Jerome Ben Agol. At the site of his "burial" was found an 11.5-centimeter iron nail, which was apparently hammered into the heel when it was attached to the cross. But there is no evidence that nails were driven into the bones of this person's wrist or forearm.
Stigmata
Purposeful researchers don't stop there. They have long been haunted by the phenomenon of stigmata, streams of blood arbitrarily appearing in a person on the palms, legs and forehead - in those places where Jesus was wounded during the crucifixion.
“Over two thousand years, more than 300 people have been marked with the wounds of Christ,” says Anastasia Shatskaya, a religious scholar, candidate of historical sciences. “And their stigmata had a wide variety of shapes and depths. Chronicles indicate that they are in the form of growths, deep, sometimes through bleeding wounds, as well as small red spots, like bruises. Stigmata are found in round, oblong, oval and even rectangular shapes. In addition, many stigmatists have a deformation of one shoulder, as if dropped under the weight of a huge cross.
Although it is mainly deeply religious people that are stigmatized, the wounds of Christ, oddly enough, appear in persons who are not at all religious. Modern science does not deny the existence of the phenomenon of stigmatism, believing that it is based on some incompletely studied properties of the human psyche.
Scientists believe that self-hypnosis, mental disorders and the emotional predisposition of some people to accept the pain of Christ are the cause of the wounds. A convincing explanation for this phenomenon has not yet been found.
The Church does not welcome miracles associated with the appearance of stigmata or mystical bleeding. Back in the 16th century at the Cathedral of Trent, the Catholic Church called this phenomenon "Satan's tricks." But for ordinary parishioners, stigmata have always been a sign of purity and impeccability.
