[bjourne]

But it is important to point out that while there is no conclusive evidence to say whether Jesus was nailed or tied to the cross, nails were used for crucifixions by the Romans in Jesus time. It's possible that the Roman official who ordered Jesus crucifixion wanted to be merciful so he ordered the guards to hammer bigger holes into the hands or wrists of Jesus to increase the rate of blood loss so that he would die quicker. I guess my point is that the evidence is inconclusive so there are many ways you can fill in the gaps. There's even some who claim that Jesus and Paul were the same person. Sounds sketchy to me, but there is probably no way to disprove them.