300 Changes In The Bible :: Corruption of Bible

300 Changes In The NIV & Other Modern Bible Versions

Character of Prophet Muhammad [pbuh]

Virgin Mary in Holy Bible and Holy Quran

Virgin Mary in Bible and Holy Quran

Virgin Mary is as seen in Christianity and Islam; the sources are mainly the Bible and Quran. They are both mostly similar considering Mary.

“Is ‘King James’ Version the Actual Bible

Note: The word “Bible” comes from the Koine Greek word “biblios” and it simply means the same as the word “book” in English. Nowhere in the Bible do we find the word “Bible.” However, it is interesting to note the word “kitab” (Bible in Arabic) appears many times in the Quran, referring to the Bible and the People of the Book (Jews and Christians).

Let me begin by saying that the King James “version” of the Bible is in English. There was no English language until the year 1066 AD when the Normans invaded the Saxons. Therefore the English Bible cannot be anything like what any of the prophets spoke or understood, as it did not exist in their times.

Next, my grandfather, who was a devout and wonderful Christian man gave a gift of the Holy Bible to my sisters and I almost fifty years ago. It was an authorized version of the Bible, being The Revised Standard Version of the Bible which was a revised version of the American Standard Version, published in 1901, which was a version of the King James Version, published in 1611, which was revised and corrected for the first time in 1612, etc. I was very much impressed with the easier to read text and clarification of some of the wording which was presented in this version and began to read the Bible on a daily basis for hours at a time. The removal of the Elizabethton English terms, phrases and expressions made the Bible a more accessible and understandable and intimate Book for me. But that is not all the RSV did for me and many others, as well.

My love and respect for the Word of God increased the more that I spent time reading and understanding the message. The Bible became my most prized and respected book in my life. I often turned to it throughout the rest of my life in times of joy, happiness, sadness, troubles and pain. It was my compass, my road map, my weather vane and my friend. However, there were still some problems with this IMPROVED VERSION of the Holy Bible. It began to disturb and concern me to the extent that I made consultation with my father, who was also an ordained minister and student of the Bible since childhood. Based on his research and background in the origin and sources for modern day Christianity, I began to go deeper into the problems which had plagued my thinking and faith since childhood.

I prayed to Almighty God and then found the answers to some of the problems were spelled out very clearly in the very beginning of the exact same book. I have that book lying in front of me on my desk as I write this article and would like to quote to you from some of the PREFACE page iii and iv:

“The King James Version has with good reason been termed ‘the noblest monument of English prose.’ Its revisers in 1881 expressed admiration of ‘its simplicity, its dignity, its power, its happy turns of express… the music of its cadences, and the felicities of its rhythm.’ It entered, as no other book has, into the making of the personal character and the public institutions of the English-speaking peoples. We owe to it an incalculable debt.”

“Yet the King James Version has grave defects. By the middle of the nineteenth century, the development of Biblical studies and the discovery of many manuscripts more ancient than those upon which the King James Version was based, made it manifest that these defects are so many and so serious as to call for a revision of the English translation. The task was undertaken, by authority of the Church of England, in 1870. The English Revised Version of the Bibles was published in 1881-1885; and the American Standard Version, its variant embodying the preferences of the American scholars associated in the work, was published in 1901.”

“Because of the unhappy experience with unauthorized publications in the two decades between 1881 and 1901, which tampered with the text of the English Revised Version in the supposed interest of the American public, the American Standard Version was copyrighted, to protect the text from unauthorized changes. In 1928 this copyright was acquired by the International Council of Religious Education, and thus passed into the ownership of the churches of the United States and Canada which were associated in this Council through their boards of education and publication.”

“…. decision was reached that there is need for a thorough revision of the version of 1901..””In 1937 the revision was authorized by vote of the Council.”

“Thirty-two scholars have served as members of the Committee charged with making the revision, and they have secured the review and counsel of an Advisory Board of fifty representatives of the co-operating denominations.”

“Each section has submitted its work to the scrutiny of the members of the charter of the Committee requires that all changes be agreed upon by a two-thirds vote of the total membership of the Committee.”

“The problem of establishing the correct Hebrew and Aramaic text of the Old testament is very different from the corresponding problem in the New Testament.”

“For the New Testament we have a large number of Greek manuscripts, preserving many variant forms of the text. Some of them were made only two or three centuries later than the original composition of the books.”

“For the Old Testament only late manuscripts survive, all (with the exception of the Dead Sea Texts of Isaiah and Habakkuk and some fragments of other books) based on a standardized form of the text established many centuries after the books were written.”

“The present revision is based on the consonantal Hebrew and Aramaic text as fixed early in the Christian era and revised by Jewish scholars (the ‘Masoretes’) of the sixth to ninth centuries. The vowel signs, which were added by the Masoretes, are accepted also in the main, but where a more probable and convincing reading can be obtained by assuming different vowels, this has been done.”

“… vowel points are less ancient and [less] reliable than the consonants.”

“Departures from the consonantal text of the best manuscripts have been made only where it seems clear that errors in copying had been made before the text was standardized.”

“Most of the corrections adopted are based on the ancient versions [translations into Greek Aramaic, Syriac, and Latin], which were made before the time of the Masoretic revision and therefore reflect earlier forms of the text.”

“Sometimes it is evident that the text has suffered in transmission, but none of the versions provides a satisfactory restoration. Here we can only follow the best judgment of competent scholars as to the most probable reconstruction of the original text.”

“Many difficulties and obscurities, of course, remain.”

“Where the choice between two meanings is particularly difficult or doubtful, we have given an alternative rendering in a footnote.”

“If in the judgment of the Committee the meaning of a passage is quite uncertain or obscure, either because of corruption in the text or because of the inadequacy of our present knowledge of the language, that fact is indicated by a note.”

“It should not be assumed, however, that the Committee was entirely sure or unanimous concerning every rendering not so indicated.”

“To record all minority views was obviously out of the question.”

“The King James Version of the New Testament was based upon a Greek text that was marred by mistakes, containing the accumulated errors of fourteen centuries of manuscript copying.”

“It was essentially the Greek text of the New Testament as edited by Beza, 1589, who closely followed that published by Erasmus, 1516-1535, which was based upon a few medieval manuscripts.”

“The earliest and best of the eight manuscripts which Erasmus consulted was from the tenth century, and [yet] he made the least use of it because it differed most from the commonly received text; Beza had access to two manuscripts of great value, dating from the fifth and sixth centuries, but he made very little use of them because they differed from the text published by Erasmus.”

“We now possess many more ancient manuscripts of the new Testament, and are far better equipped to seek to recover the original wording of the Greek text. The evidence for the text of the books of the New Testament is better that for any other ancient book, both in the number of extant manuscripts and in the nearness of the date of some of these manuscripts to the date when the book was originally written.”

The words are in plain English. The second paragraph says it all, “Yet, the King James Version has grave defects.

Therefore, we must conclude the “King James Version” is NOT the Actual Bible sent by God to mankind.

 

Verses deleted from Bible :: Proof Bible Edited by humans

Copyright © By Dr. Adel Elsaie, Book Title: “History of Truth, The Truth about God and Religions“

Verses deleted from bible :: Proof Bible Edited by Human

Dr. Adel Elsaie

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was reading the Holy Bible, Easy-To-Read Version – Matthew 18:10-14. I found that the number of verse 11 existed with no text! The footnote for this verse states that some Greek copies add verse 11: “The Son of Man came to save lost people.” I could not believe it. Some Greek copies add a verse and some don’t. So the Easy-To-Read Version decided against including this verse. Why? Isn’t the Bible the “inspired Word” of God that no verse should be added, removed, or changed?

I started investigating this problem by looking at footnotes! I was shocked that this is a common problem in the Word of God. Many of the following verses also do not exist in American Standard Version, Revised Standard Version, and New Revised Standard. These verses exist mainly in King James Version. The Text that is added or deleted is italicized.

• Matthew 17:21 No Text Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting
• Matthew 18:11 No Text For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost
• Matthew 23:14 No Text Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation
• Mark 7:16 No Text If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.
• Mark 9:44 No Text Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched
• Mark 9:46 No Text Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched
• Mark 11:26 No Text But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses
• Mark 15:28 No Text And the scripture was fulfilled, which saith, And he was numbered with the transgressors.
• Mark 16:9-20, The short Gospel according to Mark does not include the resurrection and ascension of Jesus, 12 verses. The long Gospel according to Mark includes these 12 verses!!
• Luke 9:54 Text Addition And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?
• Luke 9:55 Text Addition But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.
• Luke 10:1. “After these things the Lord appointed other seventy” Some Geek versions have the number 70, others have 72
• Luke 17:36 No Text Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
• Luke 22:19-20 Some Greek versions do not have the last part of verse 19 and all of 20. This is the part when Jesus said: The bread is my body, and the wine is my blood.
• Luke 23:17 No Text (For of necessity he must release one unto them at the feast.)
• John 3: 16-21 Some scholars think these are Jesus’ words. Others think John added these verses start with “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
• John 5:3 Text Addition In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water.
• John 5:4 No Text For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had
• John 7:53 to 8:11. The story of the woman that was caught in Adultery does not exist. Old and best Greek copies do not have these verses?!
• Acts 8:37 No Text And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
• Acts 15:34 No Text Notwithstanding it pleased Silas to abide there still.
• Acts 24:6-8 Some Greek copies add last part of verse 6, verse 7, and first part of verse 8.
• Acts 28:29 No Text And when he had said these words, the Jews departed, and had great reasoning among themselves.

Check http://bible.crosswalk.com/

Check http://www.biblegateway.com/cgi-bin/bible

The serious question about the above deleted verses is: Who added them in the beginning? And why? There are big sections that added in Mark 16:9-20 and John 7:53 to 8:11. These are clear evidence that the Church has tampered with the New Testament. Are the above verses “inspired corrections,” “inspired additions,” or “inspired deletions.”? You decide!

Israel renewed violence on Palestinians – 63 anniversary of occupation

Ramallah – PNN – Nakba protests commemoration is expected to take place all over the West Bank, Jerusalem, Gaza and worldwide countries.

In the West Bank at 12 midday sirens will be herd and people will stand one minute of silence, then protest will march from late Palestinian President Araft memorial to al-Manara square in Ramallah city center. 

Calls for people to gather at the Qalindyia checkpoint, separating Ramallah from Jerusalem was issued. Also protests are organized in East Jerusalem.

On Friday Israeli troops attacked a number of protests organized in several parts of east Jerusalem commemorating the 63 anniversary of the Nakba, the day Israel was created after killing hundreds of Palestinians and expelling 700,000 people from their homes.
Milad Ayiash, 16, was injured during Friday clashes, according to doctors at Makased hospital in Jerusalem the boy was shot in his abdomen and died on Saturday morning when two operations by doctors failed to save his life.

In Gaza two protests will be organized one central Gaza strip and the other in the south close to the Egyptian borders sources reported.

Israeli announced implemented a total siege on the West Bank and looked down Jerusalem. Sources talked about protests being organized by Palestinians inside Israel.

Palestinians protest on the 63rd anniversary of “Nakba” in Qalandiya, West Bank

A Palestinian holds up a symbolic key for refugees during clashes with Israeli soldiers, not seen, on the 63rd anniversary of “Nakba”, Arabic for “Catastrophe”, the term used to mark events leading to the founding of Israel, May 15, 2011. Nakba Day is the annual day of protests by Palestinians marking the creation of the State of Israel in 1948. UPI/Debbie Hill 

Palestinians clash with Israeli soldiers on the 63rd anniversary of “Nakba” in Qalandiya, West Bank

Palestinians throw stones at Israeli soldiers, not seen, during clashes on the 63rd anniversary of “Nakba”, Arabic for “Catastrophe”, the term used to mark events leading to the founding of Israel, May 15, 2011. Nakba Day is the annual day of protests by Palestinians marking the creation of the State of Israel in 1948. UPI/Debbie Hill 

3 of 12

Israeli soldiers fire tear gas at stone throwing Palestinians during clashes on the 63rd anniversary of “Nakba” in Qalandiya, West Bank

Israeli soldiers fire tear gas during clashes stone throwing Palestinians, not seen, on the 63rd anniversary of “Nakba”, Arabic for “Catastrophe”, the term used to mark events leading to the founding of Israel, May 15, 2011. Nakba Day is the annual day of protests by Palestinians marking the creation of the State of Israel in 1948. UPI/Debbie Hill | License Photo | Permalink

Israeli soldiers prepare for clashes with Palestinian protesters on Nakba Day in Qalandiya, West Bank

Israeli soldiers take position beside the Israeli separation wall at the Qalandiya Checkpoint, West Bank, as Palestinians protesters, not seen, march on “Nakba”, Arabic for “Catastrophe”, the term used to mark events leading to the founding of Israel, May 15, 2011. Nakba Day is the annual day of protests by Palestinians marking the creation of the State of Israel in 1948. UPI/Debbie Hill |

Palestinians commemorate the 63th anniversary of Catastrophe Day in Gaza

A Palestinian boy looks at past a mural depicting “Nakba” in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip May 14, 2011. Palestinians will mark “Nakba” (Catastrophe) on May 15 to commemorate the expulsion or fleeing of some 700, 000 Palestinians from their homes in the war that led to the founding of Israel in 1948. UPI/Ismael Mohamad. 

An Israeli soldier approaches Palestinian protesters on Nakba Day in Qalandiya, West Bank

An Israeli soldier approaches Palestinians protesters, not seen, during demonstrations on “Nakba”, Arabic for “Catastrophe”, the term used to mark events leading to the founding of Israel, May 15, 2011. Nakba Day is the annual day of protests by Palestinians marking the creation of the State of Israel in 1948. UPI/Debbie Hill 

Palestinians protest on the 63rd anniversary of “Nakba” in Qalandiya, West Bank

Palestinians march during clashes with Israeli soldiers, not seen, on the 63rd anniversary of “Nakba”, Arabic for “Catastrophe”, the term used to mark events leading to the founding of Israel, May 15, 2011. Nakba Day is the annual day of protests by Palestinians marking the creation of the State of Israel in 1948. UPI/Debbie Hill 

An Israeli soldier points his gun at Palestinian protesters during clashes on the 63rd anniversary of “Nakba” in Qalandiya, West Bank

An Israeli soldier takes aim at Palestinian protesters during clashes on the 63rd anniversary of “Nakba”, Arabic for “Catastrophe”, the term used to mark events leading to the founding of Israel, May 15, 2011. Nakba Day is the annual day of protests by Palestinians marking the creation of the State of Israel in 1948. UPI/Debbie Hill 

Israeli soldiers look at Palestinian protesters on the 63rd anniversary of “Nakba” in Qalandiya, West Bank

Israeli soldiers look at Palestinian protesters, not seen, during clashes on the 63rd anniversary of “Nakba”, Arabic for “Catastrophe”, the term used to mark events leading to the founding of Israel, May 15, 2011. Nakba Day is the annual day of protests by Palestinians marking the creation of the State of Israel in 1948. UPI/Debbie Hill 

Clashes Between Israelis and Palestinians Mark “Nakba” Day

Palestinian youth carry photographer Mohammed Othman, wounded when Israeli troops opened fire during on a march heading towards the Erez border crossing in the northern Gaza Strip, Sunday, May 15, 2011, Palestinian medics say one person was killed and 70 others were wounded in the demonstration in the Gaza Strip, commemorating the mass displacement of Palestinians during the war surrounding Israel’s establishment in 1948. as a result of which more than 760,000 Palestinians , estimated today to number 4.7 million with their descendants , were pushed into exile or driven out of their homes. UPI/Ismael Mohamad. 

Clashes Between Israelis and Palestinians Mark “Nakba” Day

Palestinian carry a wounded man after Israeli troops opened fire during on a massive march heading towards the Erez border crossing in Beit Hanoun northern Gaza , on May 15, 2011, Palestinian medics say one person was killed and 70 others were wounded in the demonstration in the Gaza Strip, commemorating the mass displacement of Palestinians during the war surrounding Israel’s establishment in 1948. as a result of which more than 760,000 Palestinians , estimated today to number 4.7 million with their descendants , were pushed into exile or driven out of their homes. UPI/Ismael Mohamad.

Clashes Between Israelis and Palestinians Mark “Nakba” Day

Palestinian youth carry a wounded man after Israeli troops opened fire during on a massive march heading towards the Erez border crossing in Beit Hanoun northern Gaza , on May 15, 2011, Palestinian medics say one person was killed and 70 others were wounded in the demonstration in the Gaza Strip, commemorating the mass displacement of Palestinians during the war surrounding Israel’s establishment in 1948. as a result of which more than 760,000 Palestinians , estimated today to number 4.7 million with their descendants , were pushed into exile or driven out of their homes. UPI/Ismael Mohamad

ISLAM IS NOT A NEW RELIGION

ISLAM IS NOT A NEW RELIGION…ALL THE PROPHETS OF GOD WERE MUSLIMS!

Contradictions in Gospel of John

The gospel of John has some contradictions between the King James version and New International Version. Why? 100 or 75 King James Version New International Version “And there came also Nic-o-de’mus, which at the first came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, aboutan hundred pound weight.” John 19:39 “He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds.” John 19:39 God or Man “Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had found him, he said unto him, dost thou believe on the Son of God?” John 9:35 “Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” John 9:35 Hebrew or Aramaic “This title then read many of the Jews: for the place where Jesus was crucified was nigh to the city: and it was written inHebrew, and Greek, and Latin.” John 19:20 “Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written inAramaic, Latin and Greek.” John 19:20 8 or 7 days “And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.” John 20:26 “A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” John 20:26 Meat or Fish “Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They answered him, No.” John 21:5 “He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?” John 21:5 Vinegar or Wine vinegar “Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar : and they filled a spunge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth.” John 19:29 “A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips.” John 19:29 Jonas or John “So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas ….” John 21:15 “When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John , …” John 21:15 Dear Woman or just Woman “Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come.” John 2:4 “Dear woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My time has not yet come.” John 2:4 Begotten or Only “No man hath seen God at any time; theonly begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.” John 1:18 No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only , who is at the Father’s side, has made him known.” John 1:18 Jew or Jews “Then there arose a question between some of John’s disciples and the Jewsabout purifying.” John 3:25 “An argument developed between some of John’s disciples and a certain Jew over the matter of ceremonial washing.” John 3:25 Holy One or Son of the Living “And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.” John 6:69 “We believe and know that you are theHoly One of God.” John 6:69

Jesus on trial: What would a modern jury do?

After Quran , Jesus on Trial …

Richmond, Virginia (CNN) – If Jesus were tried in Richmond, Virginia, today, would he have been sentenced to death? Or would he have faced life behind bars with no chance for parole?

That’s the choice given to jurors here recently.

During Lent, the Church of the Holy Comforter used Virginia law to retry the sentencing phase of the blasphemy case against Jesus of Nazareth. Church members and guests played the role of the jury.

The trial was the brainchild of Mark Osler, a former U.S. Attorney in Detroit who teaches at the University of St. Thomas Law School in Minneapolis and is friends with a member of the Richmond church.

Osler wanted to hold the trial in part to call attention to the state’s use of capital punishment. Virginia is second only to Texas in the number of executions per state since the mid-1970s, when the U.S. Supreme Court reinstituted the death penalty, according to federal statistics. He held a similar event in Texas a few years ago.

“For many of us our faith, as it relates to policy especially, is often unexamined,” Osler said “We’re surrounded by people who feel the same way, and what we need to do is have it be troubled at least and see if that takes us someplace different.”

The mock sentencing phase was held the night before Palm Sunday.

Osler played the part of Caiaphas, the Jewish high priest in the biblical narrative of the trial. In that account, Jesus had no defense council. But on this night, Osler faced off against Jeanne Bishop, a real-life public defender from Chicago.

“Jesus was indigent,” Bishop said. “And so I think [Osler] wanted a public defender to underscore the point that this is a man with no money, no resources, no position in society.

“Most of the people that I represent fit that description.”

“He also wanted to have a young African-American man play Jesus, and that’s what we have tonight. Most of clients look exactly like this young man who will be sitting beside me,” she said.

The night was bittersweet for Bishop. “My younger sister, her husband and their unborn baby were murdered 21 years ago today, the day before palm Sunday.”

In 1990, Nancy Bishop Langert was killed during a home invasion in Winnetka, Illinois. Her death was part of the reason Jeanne Bishop became a defense attorney and an outspoken opponent of the death penalty.

Even before her sister’s murder, Bishop said, she was against the death penalty. “When my sister and her husband and their baby were killed, my immediate response was, ‘No more killing, no more bloodshed, please let it stop right here.’”

Jeanne Bishop questions a witness at the trial of Jesus in Richmond, Virginia

Osler is also against the death penalty. It was a decision he said he reached as a prosecutor while sitting in church one Sunday.

“They read John 8, about stoning the adulteress, and I’m like everyone else – when I hear a story like that, I put myself in the role of Jesus. A lot of prosecutors who are Christians who talk about that will say, ‘Jesus said go and sin no more.’ And what I came to eventually is, ‘I’m not Jesus. I’m part of the mob. I’m somebody with a stone in my hand.’

“I think that story is very direct that we don’t have the moral authority” to execute prisoners, Osler said.

Playing the role of prosecutor and asking jurors to condemn Jesus to death was difficult for Osler.

“It’s very dark to have the prosecutor in me go to war with the faith [in me]. There’s a cynicism you need to be a good prosecutor,” he said. “It’s been in some ways a troubling enterprise, and I didn’t see that coming.”

“We don’t have a script,” Osler said shortly before taking the stage at the Church of the Holy Comforter. “We’re approaching this the way trial lawyers would. I haven’t known what her theory of the case is or what her arguments will be, and she doesn’t know mine. That’s the way it really works. It’s not a play. It really is a trial in that sense.”

Mark Osler waits to take the stage at the trial of Jesus

As the audience took their seats, Bishop leaned over and whispered to her client, a teenager from the church who sat beside her in a dark blazer and khaki pants.

William G. Broaddus played the role of the judge. He was Virginia’s attorney general for six months after his predecessor stepped down to run for governor. During that time, five defendants were executed in Virginia.

“We will now call the case of the Commonwealth of Virginia versus Jesus of Nazareth,” Broaddus bellowed from the pulpit. “I will remind you this man has already been found guilty of the criminal charge of blasphemy.

“Tonight it is your duty to determine the proper punishment,” he told the jurors.

The attorneys each called two witnesses. The prosecution called Peter, one of Jesus closest disciples, and a rich young ruler whom Jesus urged to sell all of his possessions and give the money to the poor, here though the witness was played by a woman from the congregation. The defense called a centurion whose slave Jesus had healed, as well as Malchus, a high priest’s slave whose ear was cut off by Peter then reattached by Jesus.

The sentencing trial followed the rhythms of a standard criminal case. Bishop spoke gently yet firmly as she questioned the witnesses, her line of questioning seeking to emphasize Jesus’ acts of compassion and mercy.

Osler was forceful and tried to paint Jesus as a rebel who sought to rend the fabric of society. He also played heavily on the issue of slavery in his questioning.

Richmond was an international slave port prior to the Civil War – a fact not lost on members of the audience, who quietly bristled or frowned when Osler brought it up. He repeatedly reminded them that while Jesus healed the centurion and high priest’s slaves, he did not set them free.

In her closing argument, Bishop told the jury that Jesus loved his enemies. “A man who showed such compassion is at least deserving of your compassion at this moment,” she said.

Osler rebutted that Jesus had “poked a hole in the fabric of society. Are you going to let it tear or are your going to keep it a small hole?” he asked as he tore a hole in his own pressed, white button-down shirt to gasps in the crowd.

After the closing arguments, the audience broke into several juries of 12. Following the Virginia state statutes, they had two votes to consider. First: “Do you find that there is a probability that, if not executed, the defendant would commit criminal acts that would constitute a continuing serious threat to society?”

If they answered yes to that question, they were instructed to move on to the second: “In the light of all mitigation, is a death sentence warranted?” Both questions required a unanimous vote.

In one of the juries, 11 members quickly agreed the answer to the first question was yes, but there was one holdout. The other jury members began to press her in favor of the prosecution. Eventually they were successful.

“I think he’s convincing,” an older woman on the panel said of Osler, adding, “I didn’t like myself for thinking that.”

As the judge told the crowd they had just five minutes left to deliberate, the noise in the sanctuary grew louder and more heated.

The votes were taken and the jury forms passed forward.

The judge stepped forward and read the verdict.

“Jesus please stand,” he said.

He read the first question aloud and said, “The majority of the juries have found that should be answered in the affirmative.”

It meant the juries thought Jesus would blaspheme again if not executed.

“Turning then to the next question,” he said. “The majority of the juries voting on that issue found that the death sentence is not warranted.”

There was applause from the audience.

“The defendant is remanded to the jailer for the rest of your natural life.”

And with that the trial ended.

Where is your god now? :: Crimes Against Muslims

A computer expert who is awaiting extradition to the United States to face terrorism charges, was beaten up by police officers during a dawn raid on his home, a London court was told on Wednesday.

Officers wearing helmets and protective clothing punched and violently assaulted Babar Ahmad, a Muslim, and mocked his religion after smashing their way into his south London house in December 2003, Southwark Crown Court heard.

Four of the officers from London’s Territorial Support Group (TSG) are accused of assaulting Ahmad during the arrest which was made on behalf of the counter-terrorism branch.

Prosecutor Jonathan Laidlaw said that before the raid, the officers were briefed that Ahmad had received terrorism training and had fought overseas in support of holy war, the Press Association reported.

Ahmad was never charged in relation to his arrest but is in custody awaiting extradition to America for alleged terrorism offences. British courts have granted the extradition but Ahmad appealed and the case has not yet been resolved.

Laidlaw said the police had feared Ahmad would resist during the raid on his home but in fact he had remained submissive. “Dressed only in his pyjamas and barefooted, Mr Ahmad raised his arms above his head to indicate that he was not going to fight or to present any sort of danger or threat to the police,” he told the court. However, one officer threw himself at Ahmad, knocking him against a bedroom window, which smashed. Shouting and swearing, the officers then punched and beat him to the floor.

He was handcuffed and, despite being restrained, the assaults continued, Laidlaw said, before Ahmad was taken downstairs to his prayer room and put in a Muslim prayer position. Officers then asked “Where is your god now?,” the court heard. Ahmad was then put in a police van where the assaults continued until he was driven to a police station.

“There was more punching, further pulling up and pressure being applied by the manhandling of the handcuffs and Mr Ahmad was held in headlocks. The taunting and verbal abuse also continued,” Laidlaw said. When the victim arrived, battered and bruised, at the station, the defendants pretended he had violently resisted. “It was a lie that all four defendants persist with to this day,” Laidlaw said.

The four accused are police constables Mark Jones, Roderick James-Bowen and Nigel Cowley, and Detective Constable John Donohue. They deny the charge and the trial continues.

S ource