Death of the Swoon Theory

Theme of Matthew: “Behold your King is coming to you” (Zech.9:9; Mt.21:4-5)

CHARTING THE COURSE OF THIS STUDY

Ø The Swoon Theory

Ø I Don’t Believe In A Hill Called Mount Calvary

DEATH OF THE SWOON THEORY

What is the swoon theory? Who believes it today?

Ahmadiyya – sect of Islam that says Jesus swooned on the cross (their website claims 200 million followers but others estimate 12 million).

In 1965, Hugh J. Schonfield published The Passover Plot. The book was based on the premise that Jesus prearranged to be given a drug that would render Him unconscious, and that His accomplices later nursed Him back to health and staged a “resurrection.” According to the Jewish scholar Schonfield, his book was the result of forty years of research.

The book received many notable reviews from the likes of Time magazine, The London Sunday Times, and Publisher’s Weekly.

Now, the book today is out of print and out of stock. Bernard Geis Associates, the original publisher is now out of business. The Commonwealth of World Citizens, an organization Schonfield once founded, is now kaput. (Daryl Witmer, “Schonfield Vs. Easter and the Invincibility of Scripture” Bible and Spade Volume 7, p.16).

“My views on Christianity are directly influenced by a book, The Passover Plot by Hugh J. Schonfield. The premise in it is that Jesus' message had been garbled by his disciples and twisted for a variety of self-serving reasons by those who followed, to the point where it has lost validity for many in the modern age."
- John Lennon, statement in a 1966 press conference

THE SWOON THEORY IN LIGHT OF THE BIBLE AND OTHER HISTORICAL RECORDS

1. Jesus was struck by members of the Sanhedrin (Matthew 27:67).

2. Jesus was flogged, similar to a “cat’s o nine tails.” At the end of the thongs was metal/bone. Men sometimes died from scourging (Matthew 27:26; cf. Isaiah 53:5; Matthew 20:19; 1 Peter 2:24).

hypovolemic shock –“Hypo means ‘low,’ vol refers to volume, and emic means ‘blood,’ so hypovolemic shock means the person is suffering the effects of losing a large amount of blood,” the doctor explained. “This does four things. First, the heart races to try to pump blood that isn’t there; second, the blood pressure drops, causing fainting or collapse; third, the kidneys stop producing urine to maintain what volume is left; and fourth, the person becomes very thirsty as the body craves fluids to replace the lost blood volume.” (Interview of Alexander Metherell, M.D.; Ph.D; “The Medical Evidence: Was Jesus’ Death a Sham and His Resurrection a Hoax?” in The Case for Easter)

1. Jesus is beaten by a cohort/band of soldiers (cohort=600 soldiers but the number could vary) Roman soldiers (Matthew 27:27-31) (cf. the practice of “caning”).

2. Jesus is tied to the crossbeam that will be attached to the vertical post. Crossbeams typically weighed about 40 pounds.

3. Jesus has to walk to the crucifixion site. He falls several times and the soldiers have to force a bypasser, Simon of Cyrene, to carry the beam (Matthew 27:32).

4. Jesus is nailed to the Cross. The nails (five to seven inches long) are put through His hands/wrists. A nail is driven through his feet (John 20:20,25,27; cf. Luke 24:39).

5. Jesus is on the Cross for about 6 hours.

6. Jesus said while He was dying on the cross, “Father, into your hands I commit My spirit” (Luke 23:46). Luke records “He had said this, he breathed His last” (vs. 46). John writes, “He gave up his spirit” (John 19:30).

7. The soldiers determine Jesus to be dead and pierce His side with a spear (John 19:32-35).

“In 1968 archaeologists in Jerusalem found the remains of about three dozen Jews who had died during the uprising against Rome around AD 70. One victim, whose name was apparently Yohanan, had been crucified. And sure enough, they found a seven-inch nail still driven into his feet, with small pieces of olive wood from the cross still attached.” (Interview of Alexander Metherell, M.D.; Ph.D; “The Medical Evidence: Was Jesus’ Death a Sham and His Resurrection a Hoax?” in The Case for Easter)

Clearly, the weight of historical and medical evidence indicates that Jesus was dead before the wound to his side was inflicted and supports the traditional view that the spear, thrust between his right rib, probably perforated not only the right lung but also the pericardium and heart and thereby ensured his death. Accordingly, interpretations based on the assumption that Jesus did not die on the cross appear to be at odds with modern medical knowledge. [William D. Edwards, MD; Wesley J. Gabel, MDiv; Floyd E. Hosmer, MS, AMI; “On the Physical Death of Jesus Christ”; Journal of the American Medical Association 21 March 1986; Volume 255, 1463]

The 19th century rationalist theologian David Strauss, wrote:

It is impossible that a being who had stolen half-dead out of the sepulchre, who crept about weak and ill, wanting medical treatment, who required bandaging, strengthening and indulgence, and who still at last yielded to his sufferings, could have given to his disciples the impression that he was a Conqueror over death and the grave, the Prince of Life, an impression which lay at the bottom of their future ministry. . . . Such a resuscitation could only have weakened the impression which he had made upon them in life and in death, at the most could only have given it an elegiac voice, but could by no possibility have changed their sorrow into enthusiasm, have elevated their reverence into worship. (Strauss, A New Life of Jesus [1879] 1.412)

I Don’t Believe In A Hill Called Mount Calvary

What two things are wrong with the following line found in hymns, “I believe in a hill called mount calvary”?

Why does Calvary have a positive connotation? Did it in the Scriptures?

References:

Ayoub, M. M. (1980), "Toward an Islamic Christology, II: The death of Jesus, Reality or Delusion?" The Muslim World, 70: 91–121.