Penitents retrace Jesus' last steps, relive his crucifixion

CUTUD, Philippines - Filipinos marked Good Friday by retracing Jesus Christ’s last steps and reliving his crucifixion with nails, whips and blood.

On a dusty hill, with the crowd pressing round, 11 men had themselves nailed to crosses in imitation of Christ’s suffering. The nails hammered into their hands and feet were as thick as pencils.

“I feel lighter after I have been nailed to the cross. But my cross was really heavy,” said Ruben Enage, who started 19 years ago after his mother was cured of tuberculosis.

“It takes a lot of courage to get up there,” said Matthew James, an American in the Philippines on business. “A lot of faith there.”

In the nearby town of San Simon, about 100 men -- old and young -- whipped their backs with bundles of sticks as relatives helped keep the blood flowing with razor blades and water.

“This is just a little pain compared to my sins,” said Ruben Arriola, a house painter.

Elsewhere, Filipinos marked Good Friday more quietly with prayers and pilgrimages.

Most local television and radio stations were off the air, while others broadcast religious shows. Major newspapers did not publish on Thursday or Friday.


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This is pretty amazing, but I've heard of this type of practice before. I personally don't see why it's necessary though. According to the scriptures, Jesus died on the cross for our sins, and that is all that needed to be done for our salvation. I doubt that he'd want a literal re-inactment of the crusifixion. It seems serves no purpose other than gratify a selfish need of the re-inacter to seem to get closer to God thru self mutilation.

If salvation is attained thru works, then this makes sense. But if it is through faith then this is just an excuse to multilate yourself in the name of God

sad

Even if salvation is thru works, I still don't see how driving nails thru your hands and feet, wipping yourself, and cutting yourself with razor blades qualifies as "works" towards salvation. Couldn't you just spend more time tending to the needs of others? This just sounds like a "look at how holy and dedicated I am" kind of act.

it would seem that if someone were going to go through this mutilation in the name of experiencing what Jesus went through that they would bother to get the crucifixion part right - the nails don't go through the hands! or the feet. they go through the forearms and the ankles (or the heels.

Ugh! All that pain and they did it wrong!

When religious believe turn into fanatism this the result of it, and with that you can imagine what else they will be driven to do in the name of these beliefs.

That is the scary thing.

Originally posted by Al Davison
it would seem that if someone were going to go through this mutilation in the name of experiencing what Jesus went through that they would bother to get the crucifixion part right - the nails don't go through the hands! or the feet. they go through the forearms and the ankles (or the heels.

Ugh! All that pain and they did it wrong!

Very true...and I doubt they subjected themselves to the beatings by the soldiers, or the smashing of the crown of thorns into their heads, or the spear being run thru them either. But, hey, whatever floats their boats

www.belowtopsecret.com...

this is also a good piece of info...

Originally posted by marg6043
When religious believe turn into fanatism this the result of it, and with that you can imagine what else they will be driven to do in the name of these beliefs.

That is the scary thing.

I'm one of those fanatics, and wouldn't do that.

See, Christ died for our sins on the cross so we wouldn't have to. Driving nails into yourself is almost as prideful as that preacher who had said, were they in the same situation as Christ, he could have done the same thing Jesus did.

Originally posted by junglejake

Originally posted by marg6043
When religious believe turn into fanatism this the result of it, and with that you can imagine what else they will be driven to do in the name of these beliefs.

That is the scary thing.

I'm one of those fanatics, and wouldn't do that.

See, Christ died for our sins on the cross so we wouldn't have to. Driving nails into yourself is almost as prideful as that preacher who had said, were they in the same situation as Christ, he could have done the same thing Jesus did.

Exactly my point

Originally posted by junglejake

I'm one of those fanatics, and wouldn't do that.

See, Christ died for our sins on the cross so we wouldn't have to. Driving nails into yourself is almost as prideful as that preacher who had said, were they in the same situation as Christ, he could have done the same thing Jesus did.

That is your opinion, in my case I am not a religious Christian believer, I do believe in the Christ of history but not in the divine god send.

So you practice crucifixion on yourself? To be like the divine Christ.? We have one back home when I was a teen he will crucify himself every year on Good Friday, but he did it in the capital main arena and he charged people for the show. He had a large crowd of believers too..........I wonder what happen to him.

[edit on 25-3-2005 by marg6043]

What really gets me is that they are almost trivializing one o the more greusome forms of captial punishment. In fact it was concidered merciful to break the legs of the people being crucified so they would die quicker

you know...

they call people like this extremists...

religious extremists do not just blow themselves up

this is why every "stigmata" is a fake and a sham!

if you have "nail wounds" in your hands and feet then you put them there yourself because Jesus' wounds were not there - or he was not crucified by Romans. Take your pick - you can't have it both ways.