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“The Pathophysiology of the Death of Jesus the Christ”

“The Pathophysiology of the Death of Jesus the Christ”

Last updated on: October 4, 2024 at 1:25 pm by Dan Peterson

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“The Pathophysiology of the Death of Jesus the Christ” 2024-10-04T13:25:36-06:00 Dan Peterson

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Brigham Young (facing the camera) and the other apostles prepare to depart on their mission to England, in a scene from “Six Days in August.” Heber C. Kimball is on the left; George A. Smith has his back toward the camera on the right. (Photo supplied by James G. Jordan.)

Although I’m not identified as its author, I wrote this article that has now appeared on the KSL.com website: “‘Six Days in August’ movie about Brigham Young will inspire and captivate audience.” (I did not write the headline.)

And — surprise! — a new article has just appeared in Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship: “The Pathophysiology of the Death of Jesus the Christ,” written by C. Thomas Black:

Abstract: Centuries-long speculation continues regarding the circumstances surrounding the death of the Savior. Over the past century, the Savior’s tribulations between the Last Supper and his death on the cross have been scrupulously examined from a medical viewpoint. In this article I review many of these studies and, using current medical acumen, propose additional inferences and explanations based on scriptural, medical, and historical accounts. The evidence suggests that at some point between Gethsemane and his last moments on the cross, the Lord’s body was pushed beyond the limit that a normal mortal could endure. The Lord did, however, endure and completed the Atonement. He left this mortal life and “yielded up the ghost” (Matthew 27:50) on his own terms and timeframe, not as the result of any action inflicted upon him. He always acted and was never acted upon unwillingly. His persecutors, although permitted to inflict horrific injury and pain, were powerless either to take his life or to accelerate his death.

See, too, “Interpreting Interpreter: The Death of Christ,” written by Kyler Rasmussen:

This post is a summary of the article “The Pathophysiology of the Death of Jesus the Christ” by C. Thomas Black in Volume 62 of Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship. All of the Interpreting Interpreter articles may be seen at https://interpreterfoundation.org/category/summaries/. An introduction to the Interpreting Interpreterseries is available at https://interpreterfoundation.org/interpreting-interpreter-on-abstracting-thought/.

The Takeaway: Black views the death of Christ from a medical perspective, summarizing previous studies and proposing additional inferences. He concludes that the injuries sustained by Jesus should have killed him long before the moment stated in the text, implying that Christ instead made a conscious choice to lay down his own life.

Also new on the (clearly pretty much comatose) website of the (equally comatose) Interpreter Foundation: The Temple: Symbols, Sermons, and Settings: “On Earth When It Was in Heaven: Sacred Time and its Protection in Egyptian Temples,” written by Kerry Muhlestein:

Part of our book chapter reprint series, this article originally appeared in The Temple: Symbols, Sermons, and Settings, edited by Stephen D. Ricks and Jeffrey M. Bradshaw. For more information, go to https://interpreterfoundation.org/books/the-temple-symbols-sermons-and-settings/.

“The splendorous ruins of hundreds of Egyptian temples, along with dozens of surviving texts that describe the function and rituals of those temples, afford a unique and exciting opportunity to understand ancient temples and what they teach about modern temple systems. There is so much to learn from ancient Egyptian temples, but this chapter will specifically examine the concept that temples can transcend time, and in doing so, they transform participants and their cosmos.”

Brigham Young (he/him, played by John Donovan Wilson) and Mary Ann Angell (she/her, portrayed by Twyla Wilson) walk home after their wedding. (Photo provided by James G. Jordan)

Our gravely ill society’s attack on women continues. But, happily, resistance to it may be coalescing:

“Our society devalues children and mothers, a new book says. How did we get here? Historian Nadya Williams examines how we lost the culture that values life and how we can bring it back”

“Boise State Women’s Volleyball Forfeits Match over Transgender Opponent”

“A closer look at Utah State volleyball’s decision to forfeit to SJSU: On Thursday, the school announced that it would not be participating in a scheduled match against SJSU, joining 3 other programs who likewise forfeited matches to the Spartans”

“Why the suit against the NCAA should be a slam dunk for female athletes: The Biden administration’s ‘guidance’ on transgender athletes is not yet law, but Title IX is”

“Perspective: College volleyball, Blaire Fleming and the flex of the forfeit: The NCAA refuses to hear the concerns of women athletes. Will it pay attention to entire teams?”

“JK Rowling among devotees of Scotland’s fastest growing religion – ‘Believers in Biology’: The Harry Potter author was among almost 3,000 people who used the national census to protest at SNP gender ID legislation”

The assistant director of “Six Days in August,” James G. Jordan, speaks with head wrangler Ron Neal on the movie set.

Come on. You didn’t seriously expect that I would fail to remind you of the early “sneak peek” screenings of Six Days in August that will occur in several theaters along the Wasatch Front this coming Monday evening. Did you? Really? Well, even if you did, the showings will happen in the following nine Cinemark theaters: Salt Lake City, West Jordan, Sandy/Midvale, Provo, Orem, Ogden, Farmington, Draper, and American Fork: Six Days in August – Early Access

Nor, I think, did you actually think that I wouldn’t remind you that the 2021 Interpreter Foundation film, Witnesses, is available right now for viewing at no charge. This will last only until next Thursday, 10 October. Watch it yourself. And please recommend it to family members, friends, and neighbors. Go directly to this link: https://vimeo.com/824199556/ecefc622ed.

And you can find out where you’ll be able to see Six Days in August this next week — and to request it for your area — at the official Six Days in August website.

Please don’t miss these opportunities. They won’t last forever. Heck, they won’t even last very long.

Filming a scene in which Brigham Young addresses a congregation of the Saints in Nauvoo, Illinois, on 8 August 1844. (Photo supplied by James G. Jordan)

If you’re needing to refuel your outrage against theism and your righteous indignation against theists, there are several very helpful abominations to be found in this forty-five-minute video from the ever-helpful Christopher Hitchens Memorial “How Religion Poisons Everything” File™. The video is available not only in English, Spanish, Portuguese, and French at the main link but, additionally, in Cantonese, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin and Russian: “The October 2024 Edition of the World Report”

And then, as if all that isn’t enough to have you howling, there are these separate additional horrors that have recently appeared in the Hitchens File:

“Church of Jesus Christ Supports Fiji School Community: Elder Wakolo shares why the Church refurbished dormitories damaged by fire and donated sporting equipment”

“Empowering Women Through Self-Reliance Initiatives in Ivory Coast: The Church supports Helen Keller Intl’s ‘Enhanced Homestead Food Production’ work in the western Africa nation”

“Gardening Training for Latter-day Saints Promotes Self-Reliance Projects in Colombia: With a focus on teamwork, the “Productive Garden Project” seeks to improve the self-sufficiency skills of Church members in the La Guajira community of Riohacha”

“5 Ways to Help Someone Going Through a Mental Health Challenge: Church resources offer guidance for ministering to someone struggling with their mental health”

“The Chinese Christian Who Helped Overcome Illiteracy in Asia: Yan Yangchu taught thousands of peasants to read and write in the early 20th century.”

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