Posted on 04/12/2020 10:50:39 AM PDT by Kaslin
Yesterday on "Holy Saturday," there was an extraordinary online exposition of the Shroud of Turin —purported to be the authentic burial cloth of Jesus Christ — viewed live across the globe on numerous media platforms.
Catholic News Service reported earlier this week that amid the coronavirus pandemic, Archbishop Nosiglia [of Turin, Italy] had received thousands of requests to pray before the Shroud during Holy Week to ask God for “the grace to defeat evil as he did, trusting in the goodness and mercy of God.”
The report concluded with the Archbishop's heart wrenching, yet hopeful statement that seeing the Shroud "will go to the heart and the sadness of many people who will follow us. It will be like staying with the Lord on the day we await his Resurrection."
Proclaiming His Resurrection today are 2.4 billion people around the world who adhere to the Catholic and Protestant branches of the faith based on the divinity of Jesus Christ. (The Orthodox Church celebrates on April 19.)
That evokes one of Easter's most frequently asked questions:
Is the Shroud of Turin shown yesterday — evidence of Jesus' suffering, death, and Resurrection — the same linen cloth belonging to Joseph of Arimathea that he and Nicodemus used to wrap the body of Jesus on Good Friday?
That "evidence" is seen on a rectangular shaped cloth measuring 14.6 feet long and 3.5 feet wide. The Shroud displays a mysterious faint, continuous, front-to-back yellowed image of a bearded, crucified man with AB type bloodstains matching the wounds suffered by Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in all four Gospel narratives.
"Mysterious" because the Shroud is the world's most revered and studied artifact with numerous unexplained properties and questions that still baffle 21st -century scientists.
How was the image formed?
No one knows. One popular scientific theory is that radiation rose from within the body, resulting in a burst of light that scorched the cloth with a detailed, anatomically correct male image. Yet, scientists know how the man's image was NOT formed.
In 1981, close to 40 distinguished scientists participating in the only comprehensive study ever authorized — the 1978 Shroud of Turin Research Project (STURP) — famously concluded: "No pigments, paints, dyes or stains have been found," and "The Shroud is not the product of an artist."
What explains the photographic abnormality?
In 1898, Italian photographer Secondo Pia applied the "new" technology of photography to the Shroud. In his darkroom, Pia discovered the Shroud's first "modern" unexplained mystery — when seen with the naked eye, the cloth is a "negative" image — but develops as a "positive" photographic negative. The "positive" image shows in vivid detail the marks of torture endured by the man.
Why is the Shroud image encoded with 3D "distance" information?
Amazingly, the Shroud and the image is 2D but reads like a 3D "relief map." This bewildering one-of-a-kind property was discovered in the 1970s. Quoting again from STURP's final report summary: "Computer image enhancement and analysis by a device known as a VP-8 image analyzer show that the image has unique, three-dimensional information encoded in it."
How is the Shroud image uniform in depth?
Remarkably, the man's image is only two microfibers deep — the thickness of about 1 percent of a single thread — and uniform in intensity throughout the cloth with no deviation — a feat impossible to accomplish with human hands!
Furthermore, there are many more mysteries and controversies concerning substances found on the cloth such as pollen, dust, and traces of plants and flowers, some that trace back to Jerusalem in the spring during the time of Jesus.
What about the radiocarbon dating controversy?
The most famous, damaging, and widely known controversy concerns the 1988 radiocarbon (C-14) tests dating the Shroud to between 1260 and 1390, thus denigrating the cloth as a "medieval forgery." Immediately, scientists questioned and criticized the test protocols.
Finally, in 2017, the radiocarbon test raw data was released after 29 years. Subsequently, a research study completed in 2019 concluded that the medieval dates — famously reported in 1988 with great fanfare and "95 percent confidence" — were very suspect and unreliable.
Given all that background, let's explore the title question (slightly expanded):
What if the Shroud of Turin is Christ's authentic burial cloth and proof of his suffering, death, and Resurrection?
As a founding member of Sign From God — a Shroud education ministry also involved with the planned February 2021 high-tech exhibition about the Shroud at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C. — here is what I believe:
The Shroud is authentic because that explains the cloth's unexplainable mysteries and properties. However, if "proven" authentic, the Shroud erases all the world’s excuses not to believe that Jesus Christ is Lord.
To help celebrate Easter, I posed this same question to colleagues who are world-renown Shroud experts, authors, speakers, theologians, and educators:
Cheryl H. White, Ph.D., LSU Professor of History and curator of The Museum of the Holy Shroud, Shreveport, LA.:
"If the Shroud of Turin is authentic, it, of course, affirms what many people already believe. Yet, its authenticity still remains beyond the accessible realm of human knowing. The truly great mystery of the cloth is its profound parallel to the deeper mystery it represents."
Russ Breault President, Shroud of Turin Education Project Inc., Shroud Encounter:
"If the Shroud was proven to be authentic, it would change everything. Why? The Resurrection changed everything. It was a singularity comparable to the Big Bang. It was proof that Jesus is the Son of God. He was crucified for a reason and overcame death for a reason. What reason? For God so loved the world…"
Father Andrew Dalton, Legion of Christ, Assistant Professor of Theology, Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum, Rome, Italy. www.othonia.org:
"If the Shroud pertains to Jesus of Nazareth, then blessed are we to behold in it some semblance of the face of God and to contemplate the body that bore the sins of the world, buried them in the ground, and then rose to new and eternal life!"
Barrie Schwortz, founder of Shroud.com:
"The Shroud is now an object of faith to a billion people, but I think each person has to regard it from their own perspective. The answer to faith isn't on the cloth, but in the eyes and hearts of those who look upon it." (See my recent interview with Barrie.)
Gary Habermas, Ph.D. Distinguished Research Professor, Chair, Department of Philosophy Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary, Lynchburg, VA:
"It is very possible that the Shroud is the actual burial garment of Jesus, with dozens of pointers in that direction, combined with the recent serious blow to the 1988 carbon dating tests. If so, this could indicate additional converging evidence for Jesus' Resurrection, the most significant event in human history."
Yes, today, we celebrate "the most significant event in human history."
Hallelujah! "He is not here; he has risen."
It would be interesting but not change anything.
He was wrapped in strips of linen.
“Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen.” John 19:39-40
Interestingly the article posted after this one is about the burial strips.
No. It wouldn't change anything. But for certain, every stinking Muslim on the planet could line up to kiss every Christian's arse then drop to their knees and worship the one true G-d.
If it is fake, it would be strange that the artist would know about positive and negative images.
FROM THE MSMS EVERY EASTER...
WHO IS JESUS?
What If the Shroud of Turin Is Christ’s Authentic Burial Cloth?
And, of course, reruns of Charlton Heston’s “MOSES”.
Why not...
CHRIST IS RISEN! HE IS ALIVE! JESUS WON THE VICTORY!
If fake, how was the 3D image on the shroud created?
Amen. We don’t need a cloth we have the Risen Christ
I like the story that it is from Jacques DeMolay from the Knights Templar. The Templars were rounded up on Friday the 13th and Jacques DeMolay was crucified in effigy of Christ. The Carbon dating even puts the shroud into that timeline.
If one believes in the shroud of Turin, it is logical to ask then what one believes about other Christian relics as well. St. Helena’s One True Cross - which was supposedly lost when the Turks conquered Constantinople, but which other European churches claim to have fragments of, or the Holy Nails which were used in Christ’s crucifixion, or the Crown of Thorns on display at Notre Dame. This list could be very long.
I don’t doubt that many genuine relics do exist. Christ was a great and famous man in his own time. It is therefore natural for people to have saved items connected to Him, just as we have items owned by kings from a thousand years ago.
I suppose the question is, at this point, how to know for sure.
Had a thought just now; please let me know what you think.
What if Christ was indeed wrapped in the shroud, and the shroud itself (with the body inside it) was what was wrapped in strips of linen?
It’s like examining the construction details of Thomas Jefferson’s estate at Monticello, and finding out that the level of precision they used to build it could only have been accomplished using laser technology.
What if:
-The things He said were true?
-There is a Heaven and a Hell?
-What if those dead in sin actually do go to Hell for all eternity?
-What if those that die in friendship with Jesus live with him forever in paradise?
-What if the Catholic Church is...
The One True Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church founded by Christ Jesus
, that built Christendom(western civilization.)
The Nicene Creed
I believe in one God,
the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible.
+10 One God
I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the Only Begotten Son of God,
born of the Father before all ages.
+15 Christ Jesus
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father;
through him all things were made.
+ 1 Consubstantial with the Father
For us men and for our salvation
he came down from heaven,
+ 1 For our salvation
and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary,
and became man.
+ 1 Virgin Birth
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate,
he suffered death and was buried,
and rose again on the third day
in accordance with the Scriptures.
+10 Suffered, Died and Rose
He ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
+ 1 Ascended, Seated
He will come again in glory
to judge the living and the dead
and his kingdom will have no end.
+10 Come Again in Glory to Judge
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.
+10 Holy Trinity
I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.
+10 One Visible Church
I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins
+ 1 One Baptism
and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead
and the life of the world to come.
+10 Resurrection of the Dead
The Ten Commandments:
1. I am the LORD your God. You shall worship the Lord your God
and Him only shall you serve.
2. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
3. Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day.
4. Honor your father and your mother.
5. You shall not murder.
6. You shall not commit adultery.
7. You shall not steal.
8. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
9. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife.
10.You shall not covet your neighbor's goods.
+10 The Ten Commandments
The Greatest Commandment
1. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy
whole soul, and with thy whole mind, and with thy whole strength
2. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.
+ 2 The Greatest Commnadments
The Seven Sacraments Catholic Church:
1. Baptism.
2. Eucharist.
3. Confirmation.
4. Reconciliation.
5. Anointing of the sick.
6. Marriage.(XY+XX, Till death do us part)
7. Holy orders.
+ 7 The Seven Sacraments
The Precepts of the Catholic Church:
1. You shall attend Mass on Sundays and on holy days of obligation
and rest from servile labor.
2. You shall confess your sins at least once a year.
3. You shall receive the sacrament of the Eucharist at least during the
Easter season.
4. You shall observe the days of fasting and abstinence established by
the Church.
5. You shall help to provide for the needs of the Church.
+ 5 The Precepts
The seven chief corporal works of mercy:
1. To feed the hungry.
2. To give drink to the thirsty.
3. To clothe the naked.
4. To visit the imprisoned.
5. To shelter the homeless.
6. To visit the sick.
7. To bury the dead.
+ 7 Corporal Works
The seven chief spiritual works of mercy:
1. To admonish the sinner.
2. To instruct the ignorant.
3. To counsel the doubtful.
4. To comfort the sorrowful.
5. To bear wrongs patiently.
6. To forgive all injuries.
7. To pray for the living and the dead.
+ 7 Spiritual Works
Pro-Life - From Conception Until Natural Death
+10 Pro-Life
There are not a hundred people in America who hateLord, keep us strong. Keep us bold and filled with love for our
the Catholic Church. There are millions of people who hate
what they wrongly believe to be the Catholic Church
— which is, of course, quite a different thing. - Fulton J. Sheen
Amen
* Click the pic to learn how to say it in Latin
Please note that this image is merely an artistic depiction of Saint Michael the Archangel
and Satan in human like form and may or may not be an accurate resemblance to their actual
forms or all accounts of forms in which they may or may not have actually appeared either
separately or together.
Sáncte Míchael Archángele,
Saint Michael the Archangel,
Sahn tay Me kale ark ann ja lay
defénde nos in proélio,
defend us in battle.
de fen day nos en pro leo
cóntra nequítiam et insídias diáboli ésto præsídium.
Be our protection against the malice and snares of the devil.
contra neh-queet ee um et in cid e ah s dee ob lay esto pray sid ee um
Ímperet ílli Déus,súpplices deprecámur:
May God rebuke him we humbly pray;
Im pair et ee lay Day-ews soup-lay-chase day-pray-che-more
tuque, prínceps milítiæ cæléstis,
O Prince of the Heavenly host
too quay pren-cheps may-lee-tea-a che-lace-tees
Sátanam aliósque spíritus malígnos,
Satan and all evil spirits
Say tan um ah lee o squeece spear ee toose mah ling nos
qui ad perditiónem animárum pervagántur in múndo,
who wander through the world for the ruin of souls
quee ard per dits ee own um ani mon um prev a gon tour en mundo
divína virtúte,
by the divine power of God,
day vee nay ver-toot-tay
in inférnum detrúde.
thrust into hell
en in fair num day-too-tay
Ámen.
* Click the pic
7
It’s my understanding that the carbon dating was done on a piece of linen that had been used to patch an area of the shroud that was damaged in a fire. If I remember correctly, molten silver from the casket that held the shroud had dripped on it.
If that anecdote was correct, it would invalidate any Carbon 14 results.
+1
And, the trolls are at it again.
The blood from the Shroud is type AB. This is usually found in people from the middle east and not France
It’s real. And I am Baptist. By
What if its not?
All I can say is I believe in my heart it is. Those who choose to not believe that's up to them.
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