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!)
Mary admits the same in Scripture yet Roman Catholics claim she never sinned in contradiction of Scripture and even their own ECFs.
Do you even know what you're talking about????
It seems we know more about this than you do.
In the year 1251, in the town of Aylesford in England, Our Lady appeared to St. Simon Stock, a Carmelite. She handed him a brown woolen scapular and said, “This shall be a privilege for you and all Carmelites, that anyone dying in this habit shall not suffer eternal fire.” In time, the Church extended this magnificent privilege to all the laity who are willing to be invested in the Brown Scapular of the Carmelites and who perpetually wear it.
https://www.sistersofcarmel.com/brown-scapular-information.php
The apparition.
The cloth, all by itself?
Vendors are selling these for around $11 depending on the website.
...the words on the cloth were sewn or embroidered on, as a memento of the promise.
Nope. The words on the idol were the words of the apparition.
That promise was not to everyone, but to the carmelite.
dude....really?
In the year 1251, in the town of Aylesford in England, Our Lady appeared to St. Simon Stock, a Carmelite. She handed him a brown woolen scapular and said, “This shall be a privilege for you and all Carmelites, that anyone dying in this habit shall not suffer eternal fire.” In time, the Church extended this magnificent privilege to all the laity who are willing to be invested in the Brown Scapular of the Carmelites and who perpetually wear it.
https://www.sistersofcarmel.com/brown-scapular-information.php
As you're attempting to defend this idolatry, do you wear one of these?
Perhaps a miraculous medal as well?
When I'd asked you to explain *your* beliefs --- a reasonable and civil request, and one which is the center of your field of competence --- --- you replied with a series of statements about *Catholicism*. Some of them were just a wee bit kinked out, but some were 180 degrees in the wrong, as if you were using Bizarro-language where everything is precisely bass-ackward.
If Catholicism really were as you described --- e.g. "salvation and sanctification under coercion" --- I'd have fled screaming as soon as I had set all the halls on fire.
Whether you are the victim of individual pastoral malpractice I do not know. But take care not to project your sad experience upon this vast pilgrimage of saints still following her Lord through all the continents and 20 centuries --- this Church which reels and is restored, which still loves and is loved by Christ, and rejoices in His promises.
2 Cor 4:8-10
We are pressed on all sides, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.
A demonic apparition cannot make a promise which ONLY God could make and keep. I see your problem now ...
Pauli had several theories, none of which are found in the Bible except in Psals 14:3 and 53:3. God did not move any of the apostles to make much of keeping any such relics, so why should you? The controversy over the hypothesized shroud is amusing?? In what sense does the chinstrap fit into this cobbled-together narrative?
Still no replies from the Roman Catholic defenders of this idol??
Color me stunned.
The ease with which satan entangles Catholic souls to support demonic apparitions tells us how easily these same will embrace the signs and wonders satan will display during the Tribulation years. We need to keep reminding them to not accept the Mark of the Beast which will be commanded to them.
They've already departed from the gospel for a false gospel.
Please note that the question I asked was not answered.
So is it true or not?
Will wearing that when you die keep the wearer from hellfire?
So; FR tells you one thing on one side of the world and it tells me something different.
HMMMmmm...
The apparition made it crystal clear.
Your date is ahead of mine; too.
I love that quote! It has the same message as this:
John 1:9
The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.
How does one get into this sanctifying grace? By being incorporated into Christ, grafted into Him, clinging to Him --- coinherence in Him, He in you, you in Him --- in Him, who alone is holy.
We come to share in His very life from the inside.
It's really an incredible gift.
Have you ever kissed the pope's ring?
Translation:Please jump down THIS rabbit hole!
And the only information I had on it was from the posts of the trolls.
I was merely attempting to show that there is ‘grace’ and then there is ‘GRACE’.
Definitions for both appear to be fluid.
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