Posted on 04/04/2015 5:53:44 PM PDT by Steelfish
What Does The Shroud of Turin Prove About Easter? History Channel's The Real Face of Jesus? by MYRA ADAMS April 4, 2015
Christians around the globe will begin their annual celebration of Easter, or Resurrection Sunday, commemorating what they consider to be the greatest event in human history. The basis for the world’s largest religion is the belief that, in Jerusalem around a.d. 33, an itinerant Jewish rabbi died as a result of crucifixion and after three days rose from the dead, fulfilling his own and numerous other ancient Messianic prophecies found in the Hebrew Bible, or Old Testament.
Sounding too much like science fiction, this tale is easily dismissed by non-believers. However, millions of Christians firmly believe that material scientific proof of the Christ’s resurrection actually exists today, and that evidence is called the Shroud of Turin.
The Shroud, alleged to be the burial cloth of Jesus, is the most studied, tested, and analyzed religious relic the world has ever known. It is preserved in an underground vault in the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in Turin, Italy. Beginning April 19, the Shroud will be on a rare public display, through June 24. Pope Francis is scheduled to pray in front of the Shroud on June 21, and his visit to Turin will generate enormous global media attention.
The Shroud’s public exposition, highlighted by the pope’s visit, naturally will also generate a debate about the Shroud’s authenticity. If you have read this far, but are laughing at the idea that the Shroud of Turin is the burial cloth of Jesus and proof of his resurrection, you should know certain numerous indisputable scientific facts. In fact, they are far too many for this space, but here are some highlights.
(Excerpt) Read more at nationalreview.com ...
Preponderance of the evidence, and scholarship that traces the Shroud journey through History and geography. Turin was not its first stop in modern history, just its final and current location. It turned up in Lirey, France in 1350 in the hands of a Geoffrey De Charney, a country knight. He was not just any knight, but the standard bearer of the King of France and the author of the French Code of Chivalry. It is thought that his Great Grand Father had been a Knight Templar and a member of the fourth Crusade that a sacked Constantinople. A Geoffrey de Charny (spelling was a matter of opinion in them thar times) was burned at the stake with Jaques De Molay, the head of the Knight Templar when King Philip the Good and the anti-Pope got greedy and wanted the Templar's treasury and arrested, tortured, and eventually executed every member of the religious order of Templar Knights.
The inventory of the relics of the Hagia Sophia Cathedral at the time of the sacking listed the Holy Shroud of our Savior among its treasures. . . but not afterwards. That relic was added to the inventory in 944AD when the Image of Edessa was brought to Constantinople from Edessa. On the occasion Gregory Referendarius, the Arch Deacon of the Hagia Sophia gave a sermon which was found in the records. He described what had been thought to have been only a facial image of Jesus not made by hands, as a full image, showing where origin of the living waters of life had flowed from (the spear wound in the side) and the hinted at the double image.
Another knight of the 11th Century crusades, Sir Robert du Clary, reported in letters he wrote home,that every Sunday the Shroud of Jesus was raised up so that the congregation could see "the crucified and resurrected figure of our Lord standing before us".
These references establish the Image of Edessa as most likely the Shroud of Turin as being hidden in a frame, folded in side, as a "tetra diplong" or double folded in four, which is something that was used to describe the Image of Edessa. Making that leap of logic, takes the Shroud back 400 years to where it was found after an earthquake where it had been walled up in the city gates of Edessa to protect it from a period of Arab iconoclasts for 200 years. Prior to that there are legends it was carried to King Akbar by the Apostle Thomas (or another apostle depending on the legend) and cured him of a strange malady when he requested to see Jesus. . . which takes it back to Jerusalem and the apostles. . . and then to the Biblical mention in the Tomb.
Scientifically we have found Travertine Aragonite dust where the feet, knees, buttocks, shoulders, and head rested on limestone. That dust is an exact spectrographic match for the Travertine Aragonite found only in the area to the east of Jerusalem. It may be someday found somewhere else in the world, but he odds are not good.
Many of the pollens on the Shroud match flowers and plants found growing only in a 100 mile radius around the israel area. . . including one that went extinct in about 500-600 AD. . . and would be impossible for any forger to know to put on the Shroud in ancient or even modern times.
There are dim images of herbs and plants on the Shroud that match plants that would have been selected for a burial in the Spring in Jerusalem and match the pollens found. . . and none that would not. These have been confirmed by Professor of Biology and Botany at the Jerusalem University Dr. Avinoam Danin and Dr. Uri Baruch Floristic Indicators for the Origins of the Shroud of Turin.
The above reply was for you. I have no clue why your name got truncated in the To: column
In my experience, it is actually more conical, if you take my meaning ;)
That was good. I'm borrowing (OK, plagiarizing!) it!
Well said stonehouse. It also gives us an opportunity to gaze upon and contemplate His sufferings....sufferings He endured for us. The Shroud shows all of the wounds of Christ.
Okay, thanks for that.
Best of luck on your journey.
So either you didn't read the article at all, or completely ignored the physical evidence which includes blood at the locations in which Christ was lashed, nailed to the cross and stabbed with a spear.
I agree with your statement on not needing physical evidence as a matter of faith, however I still found this a fascinating read and it may not increase my faith per se, but it does bolster the authenticity of the Bible.
I look at this from the perspective of "once again, science proves the existence of God" ... or in this case, his Son. I think it's interesting that more and more, science does confirm our Father.
Sorry - the “washcloth” over the face meant as an example for the entire shroud. The image isn’t on there like if it had just been ink/sweat/blood on ones’ face, and then lay a washcloth on the face to soak in the fluids.
I think I see what you are getting at. The Shroud is thought to have had some bodily contact points such as the nose, knees, etc. The high points. It does appear to have been supported by packing around the body, probably the "hundred weight of herbs' etc. that Joseph of Arimathea bought to pack around the body. That would be a lot of plant material.
“The shroud is a painting.”
The image wasn’t made by paint or any other method that X-ray, fluorescence or microchemistry could detect. The image appears solely on the surface fibers of the cloth. There is no known method for creating an image of this sort. Moreover the image is a photographic negative that reveals three dimensional detail when processed through a NASA image analyzer.
It is so remarkable and mysterious that one of the STURP techs who studied it, Barrie M. Schwortz, a non-religious Jew, created a website for the study of the Shroud:
https://www.shroud.com/menu.htm
I have read much about the shroud and seen a number of documentaries about it too. The point is that it has not been proven to be what it is submitted as and that relegates it to a relic/curio of unknown value as far as any kind of proof. I 100% believe that Jesus died on the cross, was buried, and rose again. I will give physical relics their due as curiosities and not get too emotionally entangled in things/stuff - I won’t chance them becoming pseudo idols with the main value being a distraction.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.