"Hanging him on a tree" is a biblical phrase for crucifixion. The cross is understood by Christian theologians, hymnwriters, and others as the Tree of Life because by his death he was raised. Rich imagery. Impenetrable imagery, to be sure.
Peter is saying to the "high priests" that they killed Jesus by crucifixion. What continues to be a …
"Hanging him on a tree" is a biblical phrase for crucifixion. The cross is understood by Christian theologians, hymnwriters, and others as the Tree of Life because by his death he was raised. Rich imagery. Impenetrable imagery, to be sure.
Peter is saying to the "high priests" that they killed Jesus by crucifixion. What continues to be a topic of import to scholars is whether and how we are to understand who is to blame for Jesus' death. Was it mostly the religious leaders who found him threatening or the Roman government for whom he was a dangerous leader. (Judas hoped Jesus would lead a revolution and was disappointed enough to betray him when it became clear he wasn't a zealot.) Pilate, the governor of the region, oversaw Jesus' "trial," traded Barabbas, a known criminal, for Jesus as the one to be killed, and washed his hands of the whole thing.
Who "kills" the protesters in our time? Is it the cultural climate, the values of those who wield religious power (Christian Nationalism today) or the political culture that wields the power of status and greed?
"Hanging him on a tree" is a biblical phrase for crucifixion. The cross is understood by Christian theologians, hymnwriters, and others as the Tree of Life because by his death he was raised. Rich imagery. Impenetrable imagery, to be sure.
Peter is saying to the "high priests" that they killed Jesus by crucifixion. What continues to be a topic of import to scholars is whether and how we are to understand who is to blame for Jesus' death. Was it mostly the religious leaders who found him threatening or the Roman government for whom he was a dangerous leader. (Judas hoped Jesus would lead a revolution and was disappointed enough to betray him when it became clear he wasn't a zealot.) Pilate, the governor of the region, oversaw Jesus' "trial," traded Barabbas, a known criminal, for Jesus as the one to be killed, and washed his hands of the whole thing.
Who "kills" the protesters in our time? Is it the cultural climate, the values of those who wield religious power (Christian Nationalism today) or the political culture that wields the power of status and greed?