Posted on 07/28/2019 6:02:04 AM PDT by Kaslin
In an imaginary “ranking” of Christian topics that elicit the most fervent discussions, Jesus Christ is No. 1. But near the top is the Shroud of Turin — believed by millions of Christians to be the authentic burial cloth of Jesus. This “ranking” was inspired by you — Townhall readers who wrote over 500 impassioned comments in response to my July 21 piece, “Shroud of Turin: New Test Concludes 1988 ‘Medieval Hoax’ Dating Was a Fraud.”
I purposely read all your comments to gain insight into my role as an adviser and fundraiser for a groundbreaking exhibition about the Shroud of Turin at the Museum of the Bible in Washington D.C. This spectacular museum, among the largest and highest rated in the city, is located only three blocks from the Capitol. And just prior to the January 20, 2021, presidential inauguration is when this high-tech Shroud exhibit is scheduled to open.
Threaded throughout hundreds of your responses about all aspects of the Shroud was one overarching theme summarized by these three comments:
“Anyone who requires physical evidence to underpin their faith doesn’t understand the concept of faith.”
“JESUS CHRIST died for all. HE is what is important. Making such a fuss about this piece of cloth is a distraction from HIS work of SALVATION.”
“I respectfully submit that the only ‘relic’ which really matters is the one which was left us on that first Easter morning: The tomb is empty! He is Risen! He is Risen indeed! Alleluia!”
Of course, “He is Risen” is also the foundation of my Christian faith, (made slightly more complicated by having been born Jewish). But I feel compelled to discuss and explore the comment that reads in part, “…such a fuss about this piece of cloth...”
And my response is simple: The Shroud of Turin exists because HE exists. An answer that echoes what God said to Moses, “I Am Who I Am. Say this to the people of Israel: I Am has sent me to you” (Exodus 3:14).
Thus, the existence of the Shroud of Turin raises two questions that I will attempt to address: First, what exactly is the Shroud? And second, a deeper dive into “Why does the cloth exist?”
The Shroud of Turin is a 14.5-by-3.5-foot linen cloth with a linear front to back mirror image of a crucified man. The Shroud has the distinction of being the most studied artifact in the world, yet the cloth’s numerous mysteries remained unexplained by modern science.
At this moment the Shroud lies in a fireproof box in the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Turin, Italy, as it has continuously since 1578. (But secretly relocated between 1939 and 1946 when Italian authorities feared Hitler was seeking possession.)
Dating the Shroud has been controversial and the subject of my July 21 piece.
Among Shroud historians, there is no dispute that in 1352, over 200 years before the Shroud was housed in Turin, Geoffrey DeCharney displayed the cloth in Lirey, France marking the beginning of the Shroud’s documented "modern" dating.
There is also much circumstantial Shroud evidence through art, artifacts, and coins that pre-dates 1352. Moreover, scientifically verified botanical evidence found on the cloth in the form of pollen, dust, flowers, and even the weave and type of linen traces the Shroud back to first-century Jerusalem.
The cloth with its mysterious properties has survived wars, invasions and the ravages of time including numerous fires — most recently in 1997 at its home cathedral in Turin.
Most harrowing was the 1532 fire in Chambéry, France. Miraculously the entire cloth was not destroyed but left those distinctive linear markings along both sides of the Shroud that we see today. Hard to imagine, but the linen cloth was stored in a silver box, folded in 48 layers, when drops of molten silver burned through the cloth’s outer folded edges.
The point is, against all the odds, the Shroud exists. And, as stated earlier, because He exists. There is also a significant Bible-based reason found in the Gospel of John known as “Doubting Thomas” (John 20:24-31).
But first, a “guest” who will explain this passage needs a proper introduction:
It turns out that the many Townhall readers who commented about not needing the Shroud’s “physical evidence to underpin their faith,” represent a large swath of Christian believers. I learned this when asking Russ Breault— my fellow Shroud exhibit team colleague, and a world-renowned Shroud expert and speaker — if he had experienced similar attitudes after over 30 years of hosting his popular “Shroud Encounters” to sell-out crowds.
Breault replied:
“I get that statement all the time! When someone says, ‘I don't need the Shroud for my faith,’ I usually say, ‘That is fantastic! But that doesn't mean the Shroud was not meant for someone else.’ ”
Breault continued: “In the Doubting Thomas story, Jesus pronounced a blessing on those who ‘believe yet have not seen,’ but Jesus did not condemn Thomas for his unbelief. In fact, a week after the Resurrection, Jesus appeared a second time, and the first person he spoke to was Thomas, who was not there to witness Jesus’ first appearance. Jesus then quotes Thomas' words back to him, ‘Thomas, thrust your hand into my side and place your fingers into my nail wounds and be not faithless but believe.’
At this point, Thomas — forever known as "Doubting Thomas" — makes the strongest profession of faith in the New Testament saying, "My Lord and my God." Then Jesus pronounced a blessing on those who can believe without seeing. So we are blessed if we can believe without seeing, but we are not cursed if we can't get there without some additional evidence.
Therefore, perhaps the Shroud is a silent witness to the world offering all of humanity the same opportunity Jesus gave to Thomas. In some proverbial sense by looking at the Shroud, we too can thrust our hand into His side and place our fingers into His nail wound and find our faith in the process.”
Thank you, Russ! And now my final thoughts for Townhall commenters.
If blessed with great faith, you are free to ignore or downplay the image on the Shroud showing Christ’s great suffering and victory over death. Yet, take comfort in knowing that the Shroud is there to supplement or reinforce the faith of others while potentially witnessing to the ever-increasing number of Doubting Thomases found throughout the world.
In the end, I believe that the Shroud exists as proof of God’s greatest gift to mankind —the Lord Jesus Christ — who lives and reigns forever and ever. Alleluia!
(Now, let the comments begin!)
A world expert on hemoglobin did tests on the Shroud material (multiple tests, multiple techniques) and found breakdown materials from hemoglobin (the tests were not such that they required fresh blood to be valid).
Further study shows that the blood was of type AB, which is the same type as found on another ancient artifact, the Sudarium of Oviedo, which was first mentioned in AD 570.
Incidentally, to answer your question, the Sudarium is celebrated as the cloth wrapped around the face & head of Jesus post-mortem.
And, to answer an unasked question, yeah the burial cloths from a man crucified and with a spear shoved into his heart, just might have some bloodstains on them.
There's something in the Bible about "proclaiming His death until He comes again."
Use it as an aid to meditating on the Passion & Crucifixion.
Romans 14:1 and 14:4 --
"Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters. 4 Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand."
Would that be an admission that without the Shroud, and the relics such as the splinters from the Cross, and the bones of the apostles and other physical evidence you would have no compunction to believe that Jesus existed???
Careful with that one. Jesus Himself said to the woman it was her faith that saved her.
Secondly, what about Peter, where even garments that had touched his body were placed on the sick, and they recovered?
God is not too proud to use many different vehicles to bless us.
For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.
Hope all is well, sirrah.
Wounds my heart with a pointed spear.
COFFEE meeets KEYBOARD!
...well, OK, it *would* have, if it weren't already nearly 11 at night.
Ummm, yeah.
That's why He told Doubting Thomas to put his hands in His side.
What composition of cloth, what frequency spectrum, at what intensity, for how long?
Are you starting that crap again?
Repeating misunderstandings of Catholic doctrine as explained by the Rev. Bud Albumin (head of the second fastest growing evangelical organization in South Central Kentucky) {*}, while not even being *aware* of the work that went on to codify the faith, eliminate heresies, and choose the Canon -- still less aware of how the historical faith through (say) 1800 years differs from what is taught in Evangelical outreach (as though the Evangelicals are the final, sole, and true source of Christian doctrine, even though they are Johnny-come-latelies)...
yeah that'll provoke a response.
But Christ calls us to unity. When one reads not the most popular, but the most devout / Holy Spirit led Protestants, it is astounding how much their writings sound like the meditations of the Great Saints of the Catholic Church. {*} hat tip to Dave Barry; paraphrased from memory
I’ve done my study, yes. It’s fascinating, yes. And I really enjoy reading both the Reformers and the ancient church fathers and seeing how similar they are to each other.
The frustration that most FR Protestants tend to feel is being told that when first expressing these thoughts on the board, we’re often told that we’re either A: inferior B: heretics, or C: not Christian at all, and so our natural stance tends to be in reaction to that.
How about you post some scripture backing up your claim...
The Church, by order of fact and by the profession of Scripture itself, is more important than the book you hold in your hands,
How so??? Without the scripture we wouldn't know any thing about the church...Scripture is the cause of the church...
for what use is it unless it be taught and explained to you, as we saw with Philip and the eunuch in Acts?
After the Eunuch left Philip he went back to his own Country...Who taught him then???
The Church preceded the Bible (and this is a simple fact of history)
True, but the church did not precede scripture...
As to address the topic of the thread itself!
I’d love to have that kind of evidence that Jesus existed if for no other reason than to laugh in the face of obnoxious atheists who love waving around their claims that Christ never actually existed.
I think that it’s unwise to base our faith on whether or not a particular bit of cloth is genuine, however. Not that I think many on this thread believe solely because of the shroud, but if it’s ever proven to be not genuine, what damage will it cause to those who are weaker in faith?
Well, when the first reaction that people see from a Catholic on these threads is you calling people bigots, it’s small wonder that they become all the more entrenched in emnity to Roman Catholicism.
And who were the physical signs for???
1Co 1:22 For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:
1Co 1:23 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;
Christians do not require a sign nor do we rely on man's wisdom (human philosophy)...
Unfortunately, there are quite a few of them here.
And they might not...Jesus' blood was drained...His body was cleaned according to Jewish custom and a hundred pounds of salve was smeared all over his body before any burial clothes came near him...
What a beautiful story.
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