> This seems to be wishful thinking that does not take into account the
> "Barabas factor." In the biblical mythology, Barabas was a thug whom
> the throng preferred over the Jesus character when it came to saving one
> of them from a death sentence.
Woj, you're citing a religious myth as evidence against poll data? Turn in your sociologist membership card. Polls are our religion :o)
Beyond that, it seems that the notion that Jesus was hung between thieves was a myth about a myth according to current scholarly opinion. Peter J. Boyer, in his article, "The Jesus Wars", in the September 15, 2003 New Yorker, writes:
URL: http://www.wcnet.org/~bgcc/gibson.htm
Among the many errors that Gibson might have avoided had he followed
the ecumenist guidelines is his portrayal of the two men who were
crucified alongside Jesus as criminals. Although the men, described in
Matthew and Mark, are identified as "thieves" in the King James
Version of the Bible, as "robbers" in the International and American
Standard versions, and as "plunderers" in the original Greek, the
Bishops Conference prefers that they be identified as "insurgents."
It seems Barabas is now thought of not as a thug, but as a freedom fighter.
Michael