Why did Jesus have to die? Why did it have to be such a violent death? And what on earth does the death of Jesus on a cross such a long time ago have to do with us today?
Meet our guests
Reverend Fleming Rutledge is an American Episcopal priest and author. She was one of the first women to be ordained to the priesthood in the Episcopal Church and authored the mammoth The Crucifixion: Understanding the Death of Jesus Christ.
David Ingham is the Archaeological Project Manager at Albion Archaeology. He holds an MA in Classics and an MSt in Professional Archaeology from Oxford University. He also works as the editor of Bedfordshire Archaeology, as well as (somehow) finding time to serve as Secretary for the Council for British Archaeology, overseeing the South and East Midlands.
Links
This season of Undeceptions is sponsored by Zondervan Academic. Get discounts on MasterLectures video courses and exclusive samples of their books at zondervanacademic.com/undeceptions
A transcript of this episode is available here
Check out these helpful links below for more info on what was discussed in this episode.
To watch
- This brief video gives a simple overview of the Via Dolorosa and its history.
- Our guest Fleming Rutledge has plenty of interviews online speaking about the crucifixion of Jesus – we’ll go with this marvellous presentation, delivered at Wheaton College in 2019.
- Check out Mel Gibson’s full interview with Diane Sawyer on the making of The Passion of the Christ here.
- He’s also hinted at a sequel called The Resurrection – check out his interview about it with Colbert.
- This presentation by the late, great Nabeel Qureshi gives a great overview of the historical sources for the crucifixion of Jesus.
To read
- Australian theologian Michael Bird wrote this fantastic article on his substack “busting the myth” around Penal Substitutionary Atonement.
- Check out this great interview that David Ingham gave to British Archaeology Magazine discussing his incredible find.
- New York Times contributor (and former White House advisor) Peter Wehner wrote this great article for the paper in 2019, reflecting on what it means to worship a crucified God.
- David Edelstein was certainly no fan of The Passion of the Christ – but his review for Slate Magazine is very entertaining. Check it out here.
- Check out what medical professionals have to say about the crucifixion of Jesus in this paper.
To listen
- Our easter special Easter Myths from several seasons back covers some of the nitty gritty about the crucifixion, as well as some more historicity about the event. Check it out here.
- Friend of the pod Tom Holland – the award-winning historian who guested on our Christian Revolution episode – has done a wonderful deep dive on the crucifixion on his podcast The Rest is History. Stream here.
- World-famous pastor and theologian Tim Keller also delivered this wonderful sermon on the crucifixion several years ago – it’s well worth your time.
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