
Those who live in palaces
Bernardo Pérez Andreo. Jesus of Nazareth was killed by the Roman procurator, with an inscription which determined the reason for his condemnation: «Jesus of Nazareth, king of the Jews». With this inscription, it was evident that the crime of “laesa maiestas” (injured majesty) was committed against the Roman Empire, since it was the Empire alone that could enthrone or dethrone Kings, and Jesus was a pretender to the throne, accused of usurping the Roman power in Judea. The inscription did not say «Jesus of Nazareth, herald of universal love», or «Master of the Law», or «Son of God». These titles would not have merited the supreme punishment of death by the Romans, since the internal grievances of their subjects mattered little to them, as long as their sovereignty was not affected. For this reason, this fact is probably the most certain of the whole of Jesus’ life: that he was crucified, through the application of «mors agravata», which the Romans reserved for seditious citizens. We can use this fact to reconstruct the historically plausible elements of the Gospels. The interpretative criteria is this: everything that would be in keeping with a death by crucifixion is probably historical fact. (more…)

The blood of the innocent
Bernardo Pérez Andreo. Blood is a symbol of life in every culture, since it is the life-giving liquid that runs through our bodies, and without which the existence of most living beings on our planet would not be possible. Its composition gives it this marvellous ability to transport oxygen to our cells and remove CO2 from them, passing it into our lungs to be expelled. This sanguine interchange occurs because of the chemical composition of iron, which exhibits two valence states, which allows it to take on oxygen and deposit it, thus explaining how blood can transport oxygen, why it has its colour, and why it is always linked with life. (more…)