"I got from it that the the Sanhedrin were very much like the Taliban ..." <- Hi Seamus... THAT'S THE POINT! They WEREN'T! Jewish society was - for its times, very tolerant and civilized at that time. In order to have a prisoner subjected to corporal punishment, there had to be a unanimous vote of the judges, so the view of Christ being beaten before craven judges... well... it ain't so Mel...
Cheers
(Happy St. Patrick's day S.K.!)
Larry