Posted on 08/03/2002 6:33:43 AM PDT by NYer
That is very, very cool. The evidence is overwhelming.
My copy of the book arrived last week. This has to be the most exhaustive and conclusive research ever done on The Shroud. I am not even half way through Chapter 1. It is difficult to read as each detail delves deep into the harsh and brutally painful reality of the suffering inflicted on The Man of The Shroud. From the wounds on his head (counted and numbered) to the angle and placement of the nails in his hands and feet, forensic experts have learned much about the Roman methods of torture. I can't imagine the horror experienced by his mother and disciples, to witness this amount of suffering.
No expense was spared in the research. To cite just one example:
None of the unique scourge mark features are visible on the Shroud with the naked eye. The indented centers and raised edges are perceptible only when these areas of the body image are photographed and enlarged, then examined under a microscope. Ultraviolet light and fluorescence testing are needed to show the serum-fluorescing borders and to observe that scratches and cuts invisible to the unaided eye accompany the scourge marks. These findings are highly significant because they prove that the Shroud could not have been created by an artist in the Middle Ages. A medieval artist would not have had access to photographic equipment, a microscope, or an ultraviolet light source because none of the tools would be invented for several more centuries. There are more than one hundred scourge marks on the man in the Shroud. The inaccurate representation of just one of them would reveal an unnatural physiological reaction and expose the work as an artistic creation.
They found bruises, cuts, abrasions and dirt around the knees, consistent with someone who had fallen under the weight of a heavy beam. I strongly recommend this book and thank HumanaeVitae for having brought it to my attention.
Do you suppose there is a reason why all of this evidence should be made evident at this moment in time?
The shroud even provides indirect confirmation of the resurrection. If the body had decayed in the normal way or even remained in the shroud for more than a few days the shroud would have been discolored and eventually itself decayed. If the body had been stolen or removed, large portions of the shroud would have adhered to the body, as any cloth would adhere to open wounds destroying the image.
Scientist try and discredit the shroud by using Carbon-14 tests, but those are often unreliable. They say it proves the shroud is from the 14th century, and say it proves conclusively that the shroud is a fake. They don't take into account that the shroud had been touched by many people and articles over the centuries...or that there was a fire in the Chambrey house in 1534 where the shroud was being kept. The heat was intense enough to melt the silver tub holding the shroud, yet the shroud didn't catch fire. Therefore, the tube must have been airtight. Both of the previous could have altered the test results.
All in All, I believe it is throughly authentic. =)
I see you already have a copy; Colleen is ordering it from amazon.com.
Short of the Holy Grail, this has to be the most blessed relic. Since the Holy Grail has never been found (there are stories about a cup somewhere in Scotland), that would mean the Shroud IS truly the most blessed relic today.
Colleen, you will not be disappointed.
What is our suffering compared to His?
I'm surprised more Catholics haven't heard of this book. I went out and got it after seeing the author, Mark Antonacci, on EWTN Book Notes. The book itself came out in 2000.
As far as why this information is coming to light, I think number one is that we now have the technology to do it; and number two a new century is arriving. I think the 21st Century will be the oppoisite of the 20th; hopeful and faithful without the massive wars, etc.
Anyway, I was also intrigued by Antonacci because he is a former atheist, like myself.
The introduction to the book was quite a story!! Yes, this would explain the level of scrutiny and indepth analaysis he applies to his investigation. Does he say that as a result of his research, he did find God?
This should be on the top 10 reading list for all catholics and christians. Thank you, again.
I remember in his EWTN interview he states that he first got involved with the Shroud after the STURP project in 1978. After a thourough investigaton of their conclusions he himself concluded that the Shroud was real and converted.
And hey, you're welcome...great book. The history of the Shroud and it's continued miraculous "survivals" of fires, floods, wars etc. is worth the price of the book alone.
Get it!! That's all I can say. Reading just the first chapter, I am drawn into the final hours of Christ's life. The brutal beatings, the "cap" of thorns, bearing a 100lb weight on his shoulders (arms tied to the crossbeam) so that particles of dirt were found on his forehead, nose and knees from when he had fallen, the nails that pierced his wrists forcing his thumbs inward, His body pushing upward to exhale air while hanging vertically on the cross .... I could go on. What misery or agony in our personal lives can even remotely come close to what He endured on His journey to calvary? The trauma to His body was so intense that He actually went into rigor mortis while still hanging on the cross. This is an absolutely amazing book that details an absolutely agonizing death ... for us.
"Among the facts related in the gospels, which are confirmed by modern science by the shroud are: bruises on the face, caused by the servants of the high priest; the scourging, which was by two men, one taller than the other, and which covered the entire body; the crown of thorns, which was a cap, not a circlet; the lance wound in the heat and the emission of a watery fluid as well as blood; the nail wounds, which were in the wrists, not in the palms so that the thumbs a, and which severed the median nerves, causing the thumbs to be jammed against the palms, so that the they are invisible on the shroud; the carrying of the cross, which rubbed against the shoulders and produced a large abrasion; the falls, attested to by the wounds on the knees and traces of dirt; the crucifixion itself attested by differing patterns of bloodflow caused by the crucified man's raising and lowering of his body in order to breathe. The shroud image also shows that two coins were placed over the eyes, as was customary in Jewish burials. The coins were ones minted by pontius pilate between October 28 AD and October 31 AD. The image also can be reproduced in 3D, and I have never heard of a painting or photograph that can do that.
The shroud even provides indirect confirmation of the resurrection. If the body had decayed in the normal way or even remained in the shroud for more than a few days the shroud would have been discolored and eventually itself decayed. If the body had been stolen or removed, large portions of the shroud would have adhered to the body, as any cloth would adhere to open wounds destroying the image.
Scientist try and discredit the shroud by using Carbon-14 tests, but those are often unreliable. They say it proves the shroud is from the 14th century, and say it proves conclusively that the shroud is a fake. They don't take into account that the shroud had been touched by many people and articles over the centuries...or that there was a fire in the Chambrey house in 1534 where the shroud was being kept. The heat was intense enough to melt the silver tub holding the shroud, yet the shroud didn't catch fire. Therefore, the tube must have been airtight. Both of the previous could have altered the test results.
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