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| The Death of Jesus (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
For many Christians, Good Friday is a celebration of the brutal death of Jesus. Even if we assume for a moment that there is clear historical evidence that this Jesus actually lived, it may still seem odd to celebrate his death. After all, this was someone whom Christians are supposed to revere, even worship.
While many American Christians barely acknowledge the Good Friday holiday, "real Christians" in the Philippines show how much they love Jesus by crucifying themselves. No, we're not talking about symbolic crucifixion here. These believers are actually being nailed to crosses and whipped. Talk about S&M gone wrong!
As much as this has to hurt, I suppose that these extreme measures help the participants to "get right" with their god. Maybe their god is so impressed with their acts of devotion that they are protected from harm.
I guess American Christians will just have to look on in envy. Except for the few "real Christians" who handle poisonous snakes, it would seem that most American Christians do not believe strongly enough to actually put their faith to the test.
