The Shroud of Turin is a fake, some scientists and atheists say. "We know it's a fake. Okay all the evidence (scientific, historical, literary, botanical) suggests it may be authentic. We can't figure out how the image was made - we can't reproduce it correctly with all our technology, but that doesn't mean a medieval artist couldn't do it. We stick by the carbon dating tests that have now been discredited - we refused to accept that they are discredited. It is a fake. Okay, there are more questions than answers and every scientific examination presents even more questions - it is a mystery - but it is not the shroud of Christ."
Such is the response I hear in Tom Chivers's article ("The Turin Shroud is Fake. Get over it.") in the Telegraph. In terms of our faith, it matters little that it is the Shroud of the Lord - our faith does not depend on it. However, without being credulous, we must also be open to the possibility that God might actually have left us a document of the Resurrection to strengthen our faith. That may well be the Shroud of Turin.
That said, it seems, given the big picture, with all the evidence before us, the chances are that it is authentic. The only (and the I mean the ONLY) examination which casts doubt over authenticity is the carbon dating, and a number of scientists have doubts about those results. If this was a court case and the jury had to take all evidence into account, they would probably go for authenticity, and question the only test over which there is a shadow. Perhaps scientists that doubt may need a chat with the very uncomfortable archaeologists who have discovered Sodom and Gomorrah.
So, will we revise Chivers headline and suggest: "The Turin Shroud may be authentic, get over it!"?
Scientists say Turin Shroud image created by ultraviolet lasers (From yahoo.com, posted by Brian Martin in Alabama)
ReplyDeleteBy Eric Pfeiffer
– 21 hrs ago
The Turin Shroud
The exact origins of the Turin Shroud remain a great mystery, but scientists are now disputing the long-held belief that the religious artifact is a medieval forgery.
Italian researchers at the National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development say they believe the image was created by an ultraviolet "flash of light." However, if that theory is true, it remains a mystery as to exactly how that technology could have been implemented at the time of the Shroud's creation. While the technology is readily available in present day, it was far beyond the means of anyone around pre-20th Century.
The Turin Shroud is said to be the burial cloth of Jesus, but has long been believed to be a fake, created during medieval times. It is currently kept in a climate-controlled case in Turin cathedral. Scientists at the Italian agency have reportedly spent years attempting to recreate the Shroud's imagery. 'The results show a short and intense burst of UV directional radiation can colour a linen cloth so as to reproduce many of the peculiar characteristics of the body image on the Shroud of Turin,' the scientists said.
"When one talks about a flash of light being able to color a piece of linen in the same way as the shroud, discussion inevitably touches on things such as miracles," said Professor Paolo Di Lazzaro, who led the study. "But as scientists, we were concerned only with verifiable scientific processes. We hope our results can open up a philosophical and theological debate."
Believers in the Shroud say it contains the image of a man with nail wounds to the wrist and feet. Still, skeptics of the Shroud's authenticity are unlikely to be swayed. There has been substantial evidence working against it, including a 1988 radiocarbon test conducted at the University of Oxford, which dated the cloth to a time between 1260 and 1390.
All past information on The Shroud needs factual updating. Back in 1989 to 2000,to the current date, it was proven poor science and poor area location chose a small piece of cloth that had French obvious invisible mending of a torn edge. It was mended by weaving in cotton, and dying the cotton. The cotton interweaving tested to be C14 correct, 1300's, but the original linen threads dated, in correction of C14 testing to be in the First Century. The scriptures of a man suffering a violent crucificxion death were proven correct in the AB blood taken from the Shroud and bloody face cloth. The image has been forensic tested not to be man-made by paint, or photography, and the only possible explanation for the created image is a supernatural light of a ressurected body, soul, and spirit. A light so unnatural it just took the body but did not burn the evidence of God's own, in the flesh, suffering for His own adopted people. Had those church leaders not rejected Him, us Gentiles may not have come to known He came to love and forgive us, too, and the whole world. Why? Because we and Earth are His creations. We belong to Him and not to His opponent, Satan. You individually choose whom you will follow. There will always be a need to individually search for truth, in order to confirm God is alive and well, and loves us and forgives us to any Doubting Thomas. For some, it will take their own due diligence to study the Shroud, and the bloodied face cloth, and read His Book, The Way, and not take a pagan's word what or whom to believe. Individuals need to view the bloody face cloth, the Sacred Sudarium. The blood stains match up with blood on the face of the Shroud. The beatings Jesus took, match to the Gospel of John, and the Old Testament prophesies. The Shroud and face cloth are the forensic evidence this was a man of sorrows. I challenge the skeptics, ask for their own personal own miracke testing God is real, to them. God is a personal relationship. God wants the best for us, what is a benefit to us and family and community. He forgave those who crucified Him and broke his heart, the medical opinion the man in the Shroud died of shock causing heart failure. Ref. Dr. Frederick Zugibe. You can see peace not hate or fear in face image, that is what caused me, back in 1979, my first view of the black and white photos, this suffering man, was truly the authentic Begotten Son of God. The skeptics who crucified Him, not for His good works in healing all who came to him with repented hearts, but for who He claimed to be, God, in the flesh. He came to redeem all mankind against the evil one who yet deceives, but has lost his power, but not influence over skeptics. John 10:10 shows The Way and the Why. Jesus Finished His Work. Believers, our work is just Beginning. Stand up for Jesus and He will stand up for you. Pray for your church leaders, community, schools, and your family, your judges, your Nation. 2 Chronicles 7:14
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