This piece seems riddled with questionable conclusions. For instance, the writer says
"A fifth feature commanding archaeological interest in the Gospel of John is the 1968 discovery of a spike driven through the heel or anklebone of a crucifixion victim in Jerusalem ... First, it reflects the use of nails in Jerusalem crucifixions, even if the use of ropes was less costly. The Fourth Gospel alone references the use of nails in relation to the crucifixion of Jesus (20:25), and this discovery shows that John’s presentation is not simply an expansion upon a biblical text."
One historical example of nails being used in a crucifixion proves John's account of Jesus being impaled is not simply an expansion on biblical text?
The author has made a severe leap of faith concluding from a lot of mundane details that the the writer(s) of the fourth gospel had a wealth of mundane historical source material, while an alternate theory could simply be the author(s) of the fourth gospel simply had a writing style of creating detailed historical fiction, like author Jack Whyte for instance.
This piece seems riddled with questionable conclusions. For instance, the writer says
"A fifth feature commanding archaeological interest in the Gospel of John is the 1968 discovery of a spike driven through the heel or anklebone of a crucifixion victim in Jerusalem ... First, it reflects the use of nails in Jerusalem crucifixions, even if the use of ropes was less costly. The Fourth Gospel alone references the use of nails in relation to the crucifixion of Jesus (20:25), and this discovery shows that John’s presentation is not simply an expansion upon a biblical text."
One historical example of nails being used in a crucifixion proves John's account of Jesus being impaled is not simply an expansion on biblical text?
The author has made a severe leap of faith concluding from a lot of mundane details that the the writer(s) of the fourth gospel had a wealth of mundane historical source material, while an alternate theory could simply be the author(s) of the fourth gospel simply had a writing style of creating detailed historical fiction, like author Jack Whyte for instance.