Yes, that's how the thread started, but it also very much about the claims made by various posters in the thread, such as brit-93108. That's how discussions go message boards; the topics often drift.
brit-93108: I see a connection in retrospect because there is some historical controversy as to whether it was in fact the Sanhedrin that influenced Roman law and implementations of execution.
james-woods: You are actually saying that the Sanhedrin convinced the Romans to use a cross for executions?? I doubt that there is a shred of evidence for such a notion. But, even if they did, what did the letter Taw have to do with it?
brit-93108: You raised an interesting point, james_woods, leading me to further posit that perhaps the Sanhedrin was so economically powerful it was one of the biggest taxpayers in the kingdom. Keep manipulating the Jewish people into tithing, and we will fund your empire. I can imagine the choice of a cross, besides being a common method of execution, was a symbolic show of political solidarity between the Sanhedrin Roman benefactors and the Romans, morphing the t and T...If the cross was part of prophecy as the book suggests in the Amazon preview (where you may be able to read it all, for all I know, I didn't get that far yet), it is not an idol but a prophecy build by YHWH into the ancient and original Hebrew alphabet (which is a short alphabet). It proves that Jesus was executed, not by the Romans, but by Satan himself who bastardised the Sanhedrin and used them as puppets on a string in an attempt to destroy his perceived obstacle to God himself. The cross in that sense was intended as an ugly middle finger at God but was transformed by Christ into Satan's eternal tombstone.
Leolaia: The shape of an alphabet letter, or the use of this very basic geometric shape (the intersection of two lines) as a symbol, had nothing to do with ancient Roman execution practice.
brit-93108: There is no evidence at all, Leolaia, that may have influenced the Roman method of execution? How far before Jesus's execution was the Sanhedrin in bed with the Roman government, and what subtle influence did these rabbis have on every facet of Roman culture? I'm fascinated to hear the ancient alphabet was found in the Dead Sea scrolls. Makes me wonder if there are more scrolls are to be opened that will reveal the scope and grandeur of outright selling out of the Jewish faith to the Roman Empire by its corrupt religious leaders to benefit their worldly treasures, an act of betrayal on an order of magnitude greater than Judas, betrayal of God, the Jews, everything good and righteous?