Christianity Today Issues Correction After Public Outcry Over Crucifixion Claims

Although the Babylon Bee, known for its witty satire, is famous for its humor, it was serious in its response to a recent social media post from Christianity Today. “The Bible doesn’t say Jesus was nailed to a cross,” the magazine posted on X. “One evangelical Bible scholar thinks the crucifixion may have been done with ropes.”

The Bible doesn’t say Jesus was nailed to a cross.

One evangelical Bible scholar thinks the crucifixion may have been done with ropes. https://t.co/jXxKuvyo2a

— Christianity Today (@CTmagazine) April 19, 2025

Now the magazine has been forced to issue a correction after widespread condemnation from biblical scholars, pastors and the Christian public:

Correction: This article has been revised to clarify that Scripture, including the Gospel of John, indicates that Jesus was crucified with nails and that Christianity Today, along with Christian scholars and theologians throughout church history, affirms that account. CT’s theological positions can be found in our statement of faith. The author of this article has issued an apology.

The outcry over the controversy spread like wildfire on social media.

The Babylon Bee’s Peter Heck quickly responded.

“Maybe it slipped past the editors,” he wrote. “But how? How could a theory, so antithetical to the explicit teaching of scripture, whose entire line of argument is predicated upon the heretical notion that the gospel of John could have been, for lack of a better term, a fabricated account, ever get published at a magazine dedicated to the truth of salvation in Christ alone?”

The respected satirical publication cited numerous scriptures in its response:

• John was an eyewitness to the crucifixion. We know that from the lips of Jesus himself, who spoke to John while hanging on the cross, telling him to care for his mother. (John 19:26-27)

• After reports of his resurrection, Thomas famously told the other disciples, “Unless I see in his hands the imprint of the nails and put my finger into the place of the nails and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” (John 20:25)

• Paul writes that on the cross, Jesus “canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.” (Colossians 2:14)

• In one of the most descriptive prophecies of the Old Testament, hundreds of years before crucifixion had even been invented, the Psalmist writes of what would happen to God’s Messiah: “Dogs surround me, a pack of villains encircles me; they pierce my hands and my feet.” (Psalm 22:16)

• Luke, one of the greatest historians of all time — biblical or otherwise — records details of Christ’s appearing to His disciples and authenticating that He is the crucified, risen Lord by telling them, “Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself!” (Luke 24:39)

Christians didn’t hold back in their often humorous response to Christianity Today’s claims. The post received a Community Note in which X users corrected the magazine’s theology.

Christianity Today issues correction after suggesting Jesus wasn’t crucified, eliciting a response from the Babylon Bee and others.

I’m looking forward to Christianity Today article:

“The Bible doesn’t say Jesus was buried in a tomb.

One evangelical Bible scholar thinks Jesus was cremated.”

— Samuel Sey (@SlowToWrite) April 20, 2025

“It’s not that I don’t appreciate discussion or want to dismiss competing thoughts without giving them a proper hearing,” Heck wrote. “It’s that it is beyond irresponsible for a Christian publication to spend its money and platform to undermine the authenticity and credibility of the gospels. Someone might want to let the brothers and sisters at Christianity Today know that spreading shoddy research that undercuts central doctrines of the faith and demoralizes the faithful isn’t a great way to advance it.”

–Alan Goforth