[Badeye]

Until something uncontrovertable comes along, I will remain firmly on the side of those that say its the longest running hoax in history.

[RoughDobermann]

Until something uncontrovertable comes along, I will remain firmly on the side of those that say its the longest running hoax in history.

There's the rub... Nothing ever will. The Shroud is an article of FAITH, not something that can ever be verified.

[Alberta's Child]

Until something uncontrovertable comes along, I will remain firmly on the side of those that say its the longest running hoax in history.

Even in science there is really no such thing as "uncontrovertable" when it comes to something like this. You act as if Carbon-14 dating is the definitive evidence in this case.

If you go back and look at all of the evidence related to the Shroud, you'll find (even before this latest piece of evidence was made known) that the probability of someone creating this on their own back in the 11th or 12th century was extremely remote. In particular, there is no question that the Shroud was "created" using a process that is identical to photography, when in fact photography was not invented until the 19th century. The notion that someone would develop a primitive form of technology 700 or 800 years earlier than this -- without leaving any other evidence of it for this period of time -- seems so highly improbable that I would consider it an "article of faith" that can't possibly be substantiated.

[Future Snake Eater]

...I will remain firmly on the side of those that say its the longest running hoax in history.

While the mountain of circumstantial evidence points to it being Christ's burial cloth, they cannot yet say "incontrovertibly" that it is His image. However, they do know for a fact that it is not a hoax. You can take that to the bank.

[cyncooper]

What is your theory of how the image came to be on the cloth?

[Matchett-PI]

"Until something uncontrovertable comes along, I will remain firmly on the side of those that say its the longest running hoax in history."

Grifters (in religion and politics) know that to the superstitious, emotion-driven mentalities (always in the majority in any population), imagination, and wishful thinking will always overide reality.

For merely one instance - if all the pieces of "the cross" which have been sold to such people were assembled, it would be gigantic.

But such mentalities will refuse to believe it when they're told to "follow the money" if they *reeeeally* want to know the real truth about anything (which they don't).

It is a waste of time to attempt to *reason* people out of opinions that they haven't first reasoned themselves into.

[Ditter]

Maybe it is a hoax, I don't know, but that doesn't stop me from wanting to see it. I would have to reconcile wanting to see the shroud & my dislike of crowds. I don't think I could have a private showing.

[Protagoras]

Until something uncontrovertable comes along, I will remain firmly on the side of those that say its the longest running hoax in history.

Just curious, what kind of proof would convince you that the shroud is not a hoax? Not that it's the burial cloth of Jesus, but that it's not a hoax?

I mean, questions remain like, who did this, when did they do this, what was their purpose? Was it a conspiracy? Why did it have to be a hoax? Why not a natural process of some kind from some body?

Like I said, just curious.

[pctech]

Until something uncontrovertable comes along, I will remain firmly on the side of those that say its the longest running hoax in history.

I won't even wait for uncontrovertable. It is and always has been a hoax. 'Nuff said!

[Doctor Don]

I do not believe the shroud is authentic. In Jesus' day the body was wrapped in many pieces of cloth in cocoon fashion so that when He was resurrected an empty "cocoon" was left which the disciples recognized as a miracle.......usually only the face was covered by a small cloth. The shroud is like many "relics" found around ancient religious sites.......there to bring in the tourists and their money.