A Doctor at Calvary

I've read the Bible and of course I've recited the Apostle's Creed but until I read this book I never fully understood what crucifixion was. Dr. Barbet described in forensic detail what the body of a condemned man went through. He explains from history what the Romans commonly did to prisoners. For example, scourging wasn't just a beating. Crucified victims died slowly, in agony from suffocation. I expected the book to be dry, it wasn't. I expected it to be interesting, it was fascinating. I read it once a year, usually during Lent and I am deeply moved by it each time.

Incredibly inspirational, this book examines, from a modern medical standpoint, the tortures that Our Lord Jesus Christ willingly endured at the time of his death by crucifixion. It helped me understand the incredible, passionate love that God has for each of us. I had long grasped, in an abstract intellectual way, that being crucified would not be pleasant. However, I had never realized the intense agony that this form of execution represented. The book describes it all, from the agony in the garden where Jesus sweat blood, through the scourging, the crowning with thorns and mocking by the soldiers, the carrying of the cross, and finally, the crucifixion. Reading the book was a deeply moving spiritual experience, but its not for everyone. It graphically describes Jesus' wounds, the probable ways in which they were inflicted, and their physiological effects. For some younger readers this may be too much, and just as bad, for others it may just seem like dramatized gore. Consequently, the readers who will benefit most from this book will be those who have experienced enough pain or serious injury to be able to grasp the grueling sufferings of the crucifixion, and who are open to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. This book describes the nature and purpose of crucifixion, which was to slowly wring the life out of a person while inflicting maximal, steadily increasing pain. The feeling of helplessness and inevitability of doom are significant psychological factors that Satan would certainly have used to try to tempt Jesus. I cannot imagine anyone, without the grace of God, being able to withstand such treatment without utterly hating the ones who inflicted it. Yet even at the moment of His death, Jesus was resolved to submit to the will of the Father, and was totally forgiving of our sins. If there had been only one of us who needed to be saved, Jesus would still have come to save him. It has made me never want to sin again. This book is especially good reading for Lent.Peace be with you.

I finally located a copy of Dr. Barbet's book, read it in one evening - and will never be the same again. From an examination of the Shroud of Turin, Pierre Barbet has written a scientific and reverent study of the Crucifixion of Christ.What kind and degree of physical torture did Jesus suffer before and during His death on Calvary? What was the medical cause of His death? These are some of the questions Dr. Barbet attempts to answer in this fascinating, gripping and moving book. To actually read the physical, emotional and psychological abuse inflicted on Jesus - from His Agony in the Garden, scourging, and death on the Cross -is to recognize that no matter what we have ever learned about the Passion pales in relation to what actually took place. Christ suffered beyond anything that humans can comprehend. Dr. Barbet's reconstruction of Christ's terrible agony is presented in language that cannot fail to move the heart.

This book is the most astounding work I have ever read. Completely factual, it removes all doubt of the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin without even addressing the controversy. No forgery could have been so precise. This book brings new insight into the sufferings of Christ and the barbarism of the Romans. Praying the stations of the Cross will never be the same for me again. This book will bring you to your knees with sobs of anguish. I have bought several copies to give to friends, and they have had similar experiences.

Dr. Barbet examines the shroud of Turin through the eyes of a forensic pathologist. In this excellent book he details every trauma evident on the shroud, explains the probable means by which the trauma was inflicted, and corellates his findings with historical knowlege. At the end of this painstaking examination, he vividly recalls the passion and death of the Lord Jesus Christ in such a way that you will feel every lash at the scourging, the wicked shock of the cap of thorns as it's driven forcefully over the head, and the prolonged, gasping death by asphyxiation on the cross. This work is not intended to inspire or convert the reader, but it will provide a vivid appreciation of the macabre practice of crucifixion. Written originally in 1936, this work does not address many of the criticisms leveled at the authenticity of the shroud in recent years; yet after reading this, you will be less inclined to accept the naysayers cries of fraud.