this post was submitted on 29 Mar 2024
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A Filipino villager has been nailed to a wooden cross for the 35th time to reenact Jesus Christ’s suffering in a brutal Good Friday tradition he said he would devote to pray for peace in Ukraine, Gaza and the disputed South China Sea.

On Friday, over a hundred people watched on as 10 devotees were nailed to wooden crosses, among them Ruben Enaje, a 63-year-old carpenter and sign painter. The real-life crucifixions have become an annual religious spectacle that draws tourists in three rural communities in Pampanga province, north of Manila.

The gory ritual resumed last year after a three-year pause due to the coronavirus pandemic. It has turned Enaje into a village celebrity for his role as the “Christ” in the Lenten reenactment of the Way of the Cross.

Ahead of the crucifixions, Enaje told The Associated Press by telephone Thursday night that he has considered ending his annual religious penitence due to his age, but said he could not turn down requests from villagers for him to pray for sick relatives and all other kinds of maladies.

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[–] Twinklebreeze@lemmy.world 104 points 7 months ago (3 children)

Maybe I'm alone, but this seems fine to me. I think evangelicals should take a page out of his book. Spend less time being horrible, and crucify themselves instead.

[–] otp@sh.itjust.works 31 points 7 months ago

As much as I don't condone needless violence, even against oneself...

You have a great point. They should be putting their money where their mouths are.

[–] ReiRose@lemmy.world 9 points 7 months ago

They can't even wash people's feet, despite all the superbowl commercials.

[–] rottingleaf@lemmy.zip 5 points 7 months ago

This is definitely closer to the spirit of the Christian religion than most other extreme manifestations.

Dunno why I remembered Frisians bricking people alive into dams in the Middle Ages.

[–] poo@lemmy.world 88 points 7 months ago (5 children)

Really sad people are hurting themselves over nothing.

[–] HobbitFoot@thelemmy.club 61 points 7 months ago

Better themselves than others.

[–] OutlierBlue@lemmy.ca 10 points 7 months ago

That's a large portion of the history of humanity.

[–] A_Very_Big_Fan@lemmy.world 4 points 7 months ago

Not over nothing, just for no results and under false pretenses

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[–] kromem@lemmy.world 74 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (5 children)

To everyone saying "it isn't working" - you're reading an article spreading the message of a Filipino villager in US media.

It's not like that happens all that often.

So yes, it is working pretty well actually.

Not my choice for PR stunt, but to each their own.

[–] spujb@lemmy.cafe 12 points 7 months ago

absolutely the correct take

[–] almar_quigley@lemmy.world 4 points 7 months ago

But to what end? 5 minutes of fame and then back to exactly how it was before?

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[–] Zip2@feddit.uk 47 points 7 months ago (4 children)

It’s what Jesus would have wanted, I’m sure.

[–] givesomefucks@lemmy.world 69 points 7 months ago (16 children)

How else would he want to be remembered?

Feeding the poor?

Loving the different?

Starting a damn riot because someone charged interest on a loan?

Surely his favorite part of life was being tortured to death for those messages, so let's all wear a tiny gold version of what killed him and forgot all that commie crap he constantly talked about

/s

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[–] JimVanDeventer@lemmy.world 7 points 7 months ago

I think you hit the nail on the hand with this comment.

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[–] Visstix@lemmy.world 38 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Well geez how much good has all that praying done so far?

[–] snooggums@midwest.social 9 points 7 months ago

Thoughts and prayers!

[–] Noodle07@lemmy.world 23 points 7 months ago (1 children)

It's not working too well but maybe we should just try to crucify rich people

[–] harrys_balzac@lemmy.dbzer0.com 12 points 7 months ago

Yeah, they're definitely crucifying the wrong people.

[–] ivanafterall@kbin.social 17 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Wouldn't world peace involve not nailing people to crosses?

[–] catloaf@lemm.ee 20 points 7 months ago

Yeah, but this guy doesn't have a magical world peace wand so he's doing this as a form of protest instead. Same principle as a hunger strike, or chaining yourself to a fence.

[–] GlassHalfHopeful@lemmy.ca 9 points 7 months ago
[–] Semi-Hemi-Demigod@kbin.social 8 points 7 months ago

Good luck next year, everybody. Maybe the 36th time is the charm

[–] Dadifer@lemmy.world 5 points 7 months ago

You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.

Matthew 24

Why pray for something that Jesus Himself said wasn't going to happen?

[–] tygerprints@kbin.social 5 points 7 months ago (2 children)

What a sick idea that we should celebrate a human being nailed to a cross, yuck. Another example of how religious beliefs are grotesque in the extreme and I'd rather believe in humanity instead of some supernatural shit like this.

There was no such person as Jesus and there never has been and there never as any such thing as "god" either. Stop being ignorant blind fools, people. Leave your shackles of religious nut-jobbery behind, go out and enjoy life and have some fun. Turn this "good Friday" into a GREAT Friday.

[–] HumanPerson@sh.itjust.works 6 points 7 months ago (3 children)

I think Jesus probably did exist, and he was probably a very successful cult leader who may have taken a lot of hallucinogens.

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[–] NOT_RICK@lemmy.world 5 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus, and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judæa, the first source of the evil, but even in Rome, where all things hideous and shameful from every part of the world find their centre and become popular.

-Tacitus

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[–] mr_sifl@lemmy.world 4 points 7 months ago

I thought this was an Onion article as I scrolled, wtf.

[–] spujb@lemmy.cafe 4 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (14 children)

fuck these spiteful and useless comments.

disturbing and violent self flagellating protest has been a tradition throughout most of recorded history. name calling and holier than thou attitudes are blatant ignorance of both history and ongoing attrocity and violence.

there’s also almost certainly a racial element at play, given the language being used. like the words “freaks” “whackos” “backwards” just happen to show up when it’s not a white guy doing the protest. i truly hope this comment can help with some self reflection on why our knee jerk reaction is the way it is here.

edit:

CW: very edgy meme showcasing the racist undertones going on here.

[–] ExcursionInversion@lemmy.world 10 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (6 children)

35 times and so much peace accomplishment

Also nothing to do with race, what he did was pointless as well.

[–] spiderman@ani.social 5 points 7 months ago (2 children)

and do you think it's his mistake for trying to send a message even though it still hasn't been achieved?

[–] ExcursionInversion@lemmy.world 4 points 7 months ago

Think he should take a different approach after all this time.

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[–] megane_kun@lemm.ee 3 points 7 months ago (4 children)

I agree with your sentiment, but I felt compelled to comment on one crucial element here: what he has been doing isn't a protest, but some form of a religious pledge. It just so happened that this year, he's praying for world peace. This is akin to some traditions in India and other parts where self-flagellation is part of religious ritual, but only for those who pledge themselves to it. It's touched upon in the article, but he's been doing it since the 1980's as thanksgiving for his survival in an accident. Some people just do it once, but some devote their lives to it, and it seems to me that he's one of the latter.

Whether or not his actions will lead to results doesn't matter, as far as I see it. He's already devoted to the bit, and only old age (and poor health) will likely stop him.

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[–] pop@lemmy.ml 2 points 7 months ago

Holier than thou is thinking your stupid act is somehow powerful enough to magically fix problems in the world you foot snot. just like this guy and people with thoughts and prayers.

Is any of the money raised in the spectacle going to help the victims in Ukraine or Gaza? No? Then who's here being "holier than thou"?

if you think it's anything more than self-agrandizing act of "holier than thou", I've got a bridge to sell you.

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[–] FartsWithAnAccent@lemmy.world 3 points 7 months ago

Surely it will work this time.

[–] thorbot@lemmy.world 3 points 7 months ago (1 children)

These whackos are so far gone they literally crucify themselves… talk about natural selection

[–] BaroqueInMind@lemmy.one 13 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (5 children)

They also got the crucifixion wrong because you're supposed to pin the victim to the cross through their wrist bones between the radius and ulna to ensure they don't fall down and actually properly starve them to death for everyone to see.

If you pin through the hands the victim can just fall over and escape.

The Romans were very efficient in low effort highly visible displays of punishment.

[–] spujb@lemmy.cafe 2 points 7 months ago

key difference is they aren’t trying to actually kill the person. they even sanitize the nails apparently and presumably get medical treatment after.

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