# No, your magical Christ nail DIDN'T win WWII for us **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 1, 2005, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-your-magical-christ-nail-didnt-win-wwii-for-us/297308 "2005-04-01T21:53:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![wolf\_in\_second\_hand\_clothing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9d8465/32.png) [@wolf\_in\_second\_hand\_clothing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_in_second_hand_clothing)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2005, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-your-magical-christ-nail-didnt-win-wwii-for-us/297308/1 "2005-04-01T21:53:52Z")
So there’s this asshole in my intro to world religions class. Actually, there are quite a few, as many people take the class in fallacies in other religions and thereby affirm their own. But there is one in particular, and somehow I get put in his discussion group for today’s topic. He, of course, is more interested in talking about how he wants to take the wine tasting class “Oh man you can get _wasted in school!_ Score!” or some history of war class “It’ll be sweet with explosions and shit” While on the topic of WWII, he tells his little cronies about this program he apparently saw on the history channel about the holy spear. “Yeah, anyone who has it is unstoppable in war. Hitler had it, and he was about to win the war, but we sent some commandos to go steal it, and three days later, Hitler was dead.” This prick constantly scoffs at the other religions we study, “Animals and nature has spirits? That’s so gay.” But he finds nothing wrong with believeing that some mystical pig sticker was what single handedly swung the course of the war. I’m considering whether my education is in the best of hands if my university is allowing this idiot to graduate with a degree at the end of this semester. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2005, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-your-magical-christ-nail-didnt-win-wwii-for-us/297308/2 "2005-04-01T21:57:46Z")
He apparently mistook the movie, _Constantine_, for a documentary. I can guarantee that he saw no such thing on the History Channel. You should mock him and tell him how stupid he is. ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_in\_second\_hand\_clothing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9d8465/32.png) [@wolf\_in\_second\_hand\_clothing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_in_second_hand_clothing)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2005, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-your-magical-christ-nail-didnt-win-wwii-for-us/297308/3 "2005-04-01T22:03:54Z")
Done and done. And I _do_ mean done. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2005, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-your-magical-christ-nail-didnt-win-wwii-for-us/297308/4 "2005-04-01T22:05:24Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > He apparently mistook the movie, _Constantine_, for a documentary. I can guarantee that he saw no such thing on the History Channel. You should mock him and tell him how stupid he is. I don’t know. There was a History Channel program called “Hitler and the Occult” that apparently mentioned the Spear of Longinus. ---
**Author:** ![BraheSilver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@BraheSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BraheSilver)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2005, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-your-magical-christ-nail-didnt-win-wwii-for-us/297308/5 "2005-04-01T22:06:16Z")
Likewise, the [sequel](http://www.idsoftware.com/games/wolfenstein/spear/?id=227f03fbd950372406d98461b6c14633) to Wolfenstein 3d was not based on a true story. Although I think there might have been a guy named Hitler running around Germany the time the game is supposed to take place. ---
**Author:** ![Rodd\_Hill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/3ab097/32.png) [@Rodd\_Hill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodd_Hill)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2005, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-your-magical-christ-nail-didnt-win-wwii-for-us/297308/6 "2005-04-01T22:07:19Z")
Silly SOD! ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2005, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-your-magical-christ-nail-didnt-win-wwii-for-us/297308/7 "2005-04-01T22:11:11Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > He apparently mistook the movie, _Constantine_, for a documentary. I can guarantee that he saw no such thing on the History Channel. I did. I think it was just this past weekend. And they did tell of the lore that any army that posessed it was unstoppable. But they stressed that it was lore, not fact. And there’s tons of lore surrounding the thing. I think this moron was just cherry-picking the tidbits that he wanted to believe. ---
**Author:** ![Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tastes_of_chocolate/32/3232_2.png) [@Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tastes_of_Chocolate)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2005, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-your-magical-christ-nail-didnt-win-wwii-for-us/297308/8 "2005-04-01T22:21:50Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > He apparently mistook the movie, _Constantine_, for a documentary. I can guarantee that he saw no such thing on the History Channel. You should mock him and tell him how stupid he is. Unfortunately, the History Channel is showing lots of stuff that is of questionable historical accuracy. I wouldn’t be so fast with that guarantee. From [their site.](http://www.historychannel.com/) Tomorrow you can watch “UFO Files” Thursday you can get “Countdown to Armageddon”, the description includes this line “Are these simply natural disasters \ or are these threats terrifying prophesies from the Bible…” Check out their store. The number of videos listed under “Religion and Spirituality” is rather large. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2005, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-your-magical-christ-nail-didnt-win-wwii-for-us/297308/9 "2005-04-01T22:25:00Z")
I stand corrected on the History Channel. had no idea it had degenerated to such an extent, ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2005, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-your-magical-christ-nail-didnt-win-wwii-for-us/297308/10 "2005-04-01T22:29:48Z")
The “Spear of Destiny” was a plot device in Roy Thomas’s 1980s comic-book series _All-Star Squadron_, set during WW2. Hitler possessed it and thus was able (in conjunction with the Holy Grail, in the possession of the Japanese) to keep the most powerful of the superheroes (Superman, Wonder Woman, the Spectre, Green Lantern, etc.) out of Axis territory, thus explaining why they didn’t wrap up the war in about twenty minutes. But your associate doesn’t seem literate enough to handle comic books. ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2005, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-your-magical-christ-nail-didnt-win-wwii-for-us/297308/11 "2005-04-01T22:34:03Z")
> [@Captain Amazing](#): > > I don’t know. There was a History Channel program called “Hitler and the Occult” that apparently mentioned the Spear of Longinus. There was a whole segment about the spear. Supposedly the spear that poked Christ. Except the spear was from hundreds of years later, based on metalurgy. So was sheath that held the spear, and the wire that held the spear together. But there was a piece of an iron nail embedded in the center of the spear that looked like it could have been from the 1st century or so. That was the provenance. ---
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2005, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-your-magical-christ-nail-didnt-win-wwii-for-us/297308/12 "2005-04-01T22:35:08Z")
The Spear of Longinus was also the Maguffin in James Herbert’s horror novel, called _The Apear_. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2005, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-your-magical-christ-nail-didnt-win-wwii-for-us/297308/13 "2005-04-01T22:35:52Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > I stand corrected on the History Channel. had no idea it had degenerated to such an extent, Actually that show wasn’t too bad. It contained a healthy amount of skepticism. But it was presented in such a way that non-critical thinkers could come away from it with just about any weird conclusions they wanted to. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2005, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-your-magical-christ-nail-didnt-win-wwii-for-us/297308/14 "2005-04-01T22:36:39Z")
Silly people, everyone knows it all hinged on who could get and keep the Ark. Thank goodness Indie was on our side. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_in\_second\_hand\_clothing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9d8465/32.png) [@wolf\_in\_second\_hand\_clothing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_in_second_hand_clothing)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2005, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-your-magical-christ-nail-didnt-win-wwii-for-us/297308/15 "2005-04-01T22:37:59Z")
> [@Duke of Rat](#): > > There was a whole segment about the spear. Supposedly the spear that poked Christ. Except the spear was from hundreds of years later, based on metalurgy. So was sheath that held the spear, and the wire that held the spear together. But there was a piece of an iron nail embedded in the center of the spear that looked like it could have been from the 1st century or so. That was the provenance. Yes, since the nail _could_ have been from _around that time_ it clearly must be from the true cross. I neglected to mention that part, but that’s where the ‘nail’ in the title comes from. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2005, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-your-magical-christ-nail-didnt-win-wwii-for-us/297308/16 "2005-04-01T22:41:57Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > And they did tell of the lore that any army that posessed it was unstoppable. Oh, **tdn** , what are you trying to do, scare me? You sound like my mother. We’ve known each other for a long time. I don’t believe in magic, a lot of superstitious hocus pocus. I’m going after a find of _incredible historical significance_, you’re talking about the boogie man. Besides, you know what a cautious fellow I am. ::tosses loaded gun across the room, coils bullwhip, and dips fedora so only his glaring eyes can be seen between the overhanging brim and the manly two-day stubble on chin.:: I bet they’ve got that spear in a very safe place, with top men working on it. _ **Top Men** _. Oddly, it hasn’t allowed us to prevail in successive conflicts. How does your classmate explain that? Stranger ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2005, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-your-magical-christ-nail-didnt-win-wwii-for-us/297308/17 "2005-04-01T22:42:59Z")
> [@Captain Amazing](#): > > I don’t know. There was a History Channel program called “Hitler and the Occult” that apparently mentioned the Spear of Longinus. Of course, everyone knows that the Spear of Longinus should be in orbit right about a decade from now. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2005, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-your-magical-christ-nail-didnt-win-wwii-for-us/297308/18 "2005-04-01T22:45:59Z")
> [@gobear](#): > > The Spear of Longinus was also the Maguffin in James Herbert’s horror novel, called _The Apear_. Just think how many he would have sold if he had named it **The Spear** 🙂 . ---
**Author:** ![Ponder\_Stibbons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponder_stibbons/32/343_2.png) [@Ponder\_Stibbons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponder_Stibbons)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2005, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-your-magical-christ-nail-didnt-win-wwii-for-us/297308/19 "2005-04-01T22:47:48Z")
Uh, guys, I hate to break it to you, but “Spear of Longinus” is one of those joke names. You know, like “Biggus Dickus”. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2005, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-your-magical-christ-nail-didnt-win-wwii-for-us/297308/20 "2005-04-01T23:08:39Z")
Isn’t that spear the one that the guy was trying to find all the parts to int the execrable USA Network presentation of [The Librarian: Quest for the Spear.](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0412915/)? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-your-magical-christ-nail-didnt-win-wwii-for-us/297308.md?page=2)