Why did the Romans kill Jesus? When I was a Christian, I was taught that the Jews were primarily responsible for the death of Jesus. The Romans may have carried it out, but it was ultimately motivated by Jesus’s conflict with Jewish authorities over his transgressions of Jewish law (calling himself god, blasphemy, etc.). Crucifixion, however, was a Roman punishment carried out by the Roman government for violating Roman laws — not a Jewish punishment carried out by Jewish authorities for violating Jewish laws. If Jesus was crucified, it was because he ran afoul of the Romans, not the Jews. So why did the Roman authorities want to execute Jesus?

We also discuss the historical Jesus, Joseph of Arimathea, human sacrifice, and the bad faith of William Lane Craig.

This week I’ll also be appearing on Embrace the Void with Aaron Rabinowitz and The Right to Reason with Robert Stanley.

Past Easter episodes:

CA48 William Lane Craig’s Four Facts about the Resurrection

CA26 The Spread of Christianity

CA25 “Who would die for a lie?”

CA24 The Resurrection of Jesus

Is there historical evidence for the resurrection of Jesus? (This is where Craig repeatedly lies about Joseph of Arimathea) [Reasonable Faith]

Why Was Jesus Killed? [Bart Ehrman Blog]

Anti-Judaism in the Gospels [Ehrman Blog]

Jesus Smuggling – Rationality Rules [YouTube]

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Music by Whalers (theme) and ichika Nito (transitions) and was used with permission.

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