Why Does The Shroud of Turin Still Exist?

Townhall.com ^ | July 28, 2019 | Myrah Kahn Adams

[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!)

[Elsie]

I specifically asked a one line question requiring only a yes or no answer.

Ah..

Requirements...

---

According to the doctrine of the Catholic Church, the era of public revelation ended with the death of the last living Apostle.

 

A Marian apparition, if deemed genuine by Church authority, is treated as private revelation that may emphasize some facet of the received public revelation for a specific purpose,

but it can never add anything new to the deposit of faith.

 

The Church will confirm an apparition as worthy of belief, but belief is never required by divine faith.

 

http://www.catholic.org/mary/appear.php

[Mark17]

there was never any conversation between those who've departed and those still on earth

That would be necromancy. It’s forbidden.

[Elsie]

Resist; Brother. RESIST!!!

[Elsie]

No need to warm people about the shipwreck of their faith, then.

They'll be getting warmed soon enough...

[Elsie]

Many of the Marian apparitions enjoin the listeners to prayer for God's mercy in a corporate sense; not merely an individual one.

---

The 15 promises

(Given to St. Dominic and Blessed Alan de la Roche)

1	Whoever shall faithfully serve me by the recitation of the Rosary, shall receive powerful graces.
2.	I promise my special protection and the greatest graces to all those who shall recite the Rosary.
3.	The Rosary shall be a powerful armor against hell, it will destroy vice, decrease sin, and defeat heresies
4.	It will cause virtue and good works to flourish; it will obtain for souls the abundant mercy of God; it will withdraw the hearts of people from the love of the world and its vanities, and will lift them to the desire of eternal things. Oh, that souls would sanctify themselves by this means.
5.	The soul which recommends itself to me by the recitation of the Rosary, shall not perish.
6.	Whoever shall recite the Rosary devoutly, applying Himself to the consideration of its Sacred Mysteries shall never be conquered by misfortune. God will not chastise Him in His justice, he shall not perish by an unprovided death; if he be just, he shall remain in the grace of God, and become worthy of eternal life.
7.	Whoever shall have a true devotion for the Rosary shall not die without the Sacraments of the Church.
8.	Those who are faithful to recite the Rosary shall have during their life and at their death the light of God and the plentitude of His graces; at the moment of death they shall participate in the merits of the Saints in Paradise.
9.	I  shall deliver from purgatory those who have been devoted to the Rosary.
10.	The faithful children of the Rosary shall merit a high degree of glory in Heaven.
11.	You shall obtain all you ask of me by the recitation of the Rosary.
12.	All those who propagate the Holy Rosary shall be aided by me in their necessities.
13.	I  have obtained from my Divine Son that all the advocates of the Rosary shall have for intercessors the entire celestial court during their life and at the hour of death
14.	All who recite the Rosary are my children, and brothers and sisters of my only Son, Jesus Christ.
15.	Devotion of my Rosary is a great sign of predestination.

---

Sure an awful lot of "I" and "me" and "my" in this data!

WAY different than the words of Mary when she said, "Do what HE tells you."

[Elsie]

Stop taking individual words out of context.

Call no man father.

You are making GOD out to be a liar.

[Elsie]

...did you miss my earlier post about "do you have any kids"?

Did I reply to it?

[Elsie]

Humility before God allows Him more room to work.

I needed this chuckle!

[Elsie]

If they'd bothered to say, "Gee the Catholics screwed up in the late Middle Ages, getting carried away with legalism and at the time forgetting Grace and Mercy"...but they insist on throwing out the Infant with the Baptismal Font so to speak.

At least you've recognized this as something they did NOT say; perhaps you and your fellow Catholics can say, "Golly! Rome sure has screwed up lately with the current pope and that Vatican II stuff and them priests and the boys and the..."

[ealgeone]

I know that and you know that....but many don’t!

[ealgeone]

GW: If they'd bothered to say, "Gee the Catholics screwed up in the late Middle Ages, getting carried away with legalism and at the time forgetting Grace and Mercy"...but they insist on throwing out the Infant with the Baptismal Font so to speak.

ELSIE: At least you've recognized this as something they did NOT say; perhaps you and your fellow Catholics can say, "Golly! Rome sure has screwed up lately with the current pope and that Vatican II stuff and them priests and the boys and the..."

Let's see, grey has now admitted Rome screwed up in the late Middle ages which most historians say started around 1250 and lasted until the 1500s.

The Reformers were trying to correct those errors but were rejected as Rome double downed on those errors.

Is it conceivable Rome had screwed up prior to that?

Yes it is.

Comparing RC theology to Scripture shows this is the case.

We have some RCs today who believe the last "valid" pope was Pius XII whose term ended in 1958...61 years without a "valid" pope.

We have some RCs today who've tossed out Vatican II beginning in 1962.

How in the world does a Roman Catholic know which of its man-made "traditions" is now correct?

[grey_whiskers]

...what’s that in Hebrews about “the spirits of just men made perfect” ?

[metmom]

No doubt.

[grey_whiskers]

never required gives quite a different impression than never required ...

[metmom]

Huh. Is that why Satan *quoted* Scripture at Jesus to tempt Jesus?

He misquoted it and Jesus correctly quoted it right back thus defeating him with it.

The word is the first thing Satan attacked when he tempted Eve int he garden. He said *Did God REALLY say....??????*.

And that's just what Catholicism does when they downplay the authority of God's word and denigrate it to nothing more than written down tradition.

And the way Catholics argue against it's authority is also the work of the enemy. Don't get sucked into believing his lies.

The sword of the Spirit is the word of God and the only offensive weapon the Christian has at his disposal as listed in Ephesians 6.

[metmom]

I doubt satan hates the Catholic Church the way you seem to believe.

Why would he?

He's filled it with homosexual, child molesting, drug abusing, greedy, corrupt leadership.

They're doing just a fine job for Satan.

No reason for him to attack Roman Catholicism these days.

[metmom]

Satan also hates the Church and wants to sow strife and discord. There can be attacks on individual Christians as well as on the body. And from more than one direction.

What a hoot considering the number of attack the pope threads that Catholics post here on a daily basis.

Do YOU accept Francis as the legitimate, valid, elected by the college of cardinals pope of Catholicism to which Catholics must be in submission to for their salvation according to Unum Sanctum?

He WAS elected according to Roman Catholic protocol, after all.

[papertyger]

So what’s your point?

[grey_whiskers]

You're utterly wring about the Sword of the Spirit being the only offensive weapon.

Jesus himself told the disciples, when they could not cast out a demon, "This kind comes not out but by prayer and fasting."

Exorcism is offense, not defense.

[GingisK]

I did answer you. I told you that your assessment was very good. If you are looking for agreement, well, all of my comments on the thread should indicate that I thought the shroud was carp all along, just like all of the Catholic icons and scraps.