I'm feeling some need to explain my own usage of the term "lie" in an earlier post, though no one has challenged me to do so. But, just to clarify things:   

I do not for one moment believe the Gospels have lied in their recounting of the events that took place. Scripture states quite clearly what happened, and I accept that this is what happened. Knowing human nature, it's all too plausible and doesn't strain credibility in the least.

When I made reference to "horrendous lie" above, what I meant was the distortion which has been imposed on the Gospel narrative. The Nazis famously come to mind, but plenty of others throughout history have used Bible writ to rationalise their dirty work. They're the same types ("holy people"?) who quoted Thou Shalt Not Suffer A Witch To Live while hoisting Rebecca Nurse and Mary Easty high on a gallows in Salem and setting alight Alison Balfour in Edinburgh and Johan Reichardt (all of nine years old) in Würzburg. It is this warping and twisting of sacred text to serve one's own ends that becomes The Lie.

So once again we are left to interpret words as they have been set down; and - although I do not deny the role played in Jesus' death by those standing before Pilate that day - my own gut reaction is that the final blame lies with the Romans. They were the ones with the ultimate, unstoppable power. Jesus was a thorn in their side and it suited them to get him out of the way. No one could make these rulers do anything they didn't want to, or prevent them from doing anything they did. Crowds call for things all the time - but (unless they morph into a mob and take violent action) raised voices are not where the power lies. Action is. With dominance and control come responsibility.   

To feel this way is not to deny anything that's written in the Bible. No one is disagreeing - whether it's scripture or the song words - about what has been written. It's a matter of where your judgment falls, and that's always going to vary with each individual.

Certainly I do not believe the Gospels to "be" a lie in the sense that the so-called Protocols of the Elders of Zion is a lie.