Posted on 08/21/2024 8:04:03 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Sometime in the mid-'80s, I remember going to Atlanta with a group from my church to see the Shroud of Turin, the linen cloth that some have claimed was the cloth that Joseph of Arimathea used to bury Jesus and place Him in the tomb. I remember images and videos in that crowded exhibit hall that told the story of the shroud, and of course, the shroud itself was on display in a glass case.
I was probably 12 or 13, so I wasn’t mature enough in my faith to be able to conclude whether it was real. I do remember the controversy surrounding the dating of the artifact even then, and there were rumors that people were experiencing healing after coming near the shroud. Nevertheless, it fascinated me enough to keep an eye on any news I see about it even today.
The Shroud of Turin first came to prominence in the 1350s, and by the 16th century, it had a permanent home in Turin, Italy. For hundreds of years, the faithful believed that it was Jesus’ burial cloth, and plenty of people believe it today. But in the ‘80s, some researchers concluded that the shroud only dated to the Middle Ages.
Now, a group of Italian researchers have used a new technique called Wide-Angle X-ray Scattering (WAXS) to study the shroud. Comparing the shroud to another linen sample that dates to the New Testament era, they conclude that the cloth dates back to the time of Jesus.
Scientific Technique Dates Shroud of Turin to Around the Time of Christ’s Death and Resurrection
Liberato De Caro discusses his peer-reviewed findings, based on an X-ray method of research, used to determine the age of the shroud’s fibers.⤵️ https://t.co/uLzCh09gCt— National Catholic Register (@NCRegister)
(Excerpt) Read more at pjmedia.com ...
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It’s a real shroud...............
Just because the linen is that old, doesn’t mean the image is that old.
The image could have been added centuries after the linen was first woven.
I personally don’t have an opinion on its authenticity, but virtually no one who has a solid opinion will change their mind at this point.... no matter what “evidence is presented.
Oh Catholics and their relics.
. But our faith in Jesus shouldn’t rest on the status of artifacts. As Jesus told the Apostle Thomas, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed”
But it only takes one generation to lose the original idea of a tradition/relic. Relics in the church have always been about power. “We have a class ONE relic!”
God did use common things like stones to help remember. But the slippery slope is remember.............venerate......worship.
We are not to use images. God is a thinking man relationship. He uses words and stories to communicate.
God can use this. If the discussion of this leads to a discussion of God’s word, then it is a good thing.
But note, the discussion is about is it real or not and minutia.
It hasn’t been done … because up until now it CAN’T be done.
The shroud is basically a photographic negative, and if the Carbon-14 dating was accurate then it was produced at least 500 years before photography was even invented. That’s like examining an archaeological dig of a Cristopher Columbus landing site from 1492 and finding a space shuttle there.
If it could have been added, then it clearly could be reproduced. But it can't be reproduced.
Nobody says it does.
But the slippery slope is remember.............venerate......worship.
Not necessarily. Not everyone (or even most people) who has a statue in their house goes on to worship it. It depends how well one knows their Faith.
We are not to use images.
If that were universally true, God would not have commanded Israel to make them at certain occasions, most notably for His own Temple. Anything can be abused; that is why we should stay close to God's Word and stay educated in the Faith.
“The image could have been added centuries after the linen was first woven.”
True, but efforts to produce a copy have failed miserably.
Nobody says it does.
Many people DO worship Mary and artifacts.
Why worry? If you believe its true—to you it is a true artifact. If you don’t? why worry about it? God will never let us know for sure because that would take from us Free will, his greatest gift to mankind. Ever wonder why God loves us more than he loves the angels? The Angels see and experience God and still have doubt. People believe without seeing him and trust in his love.
BTTT
Chain of custody. Just because a French knight stands up 1300 years after-the-fact, and declares it, doesn’t make it true.
Ridiculous we are not talking about the gospels, faith and repentance, and examining ourselves to see if we are actually in the faith; not being deceived.
I don’t worry about it in the least. I think it’s incredibly interesting and I’m looking forward to scientists doing more work on it!
We have to make many distinctions in our lives to keep straight on a multitude of issues, not just religious matters.
Many people DO worship Mary and artifacts.
No doubt some do, but it's because of ignorance. How many and which ones do by external observation is impossible to say unless one is a mind reader. I may see me kneel down in a posture of prayer before an image of the Blessed Virgin Mary, but I assure you I am not worshipping her (or the image, for that matter) as I do God because the Bible and the teachings of my Church explicitly forbid it.
It’s not just a Catholic thing.
I took a class with Liberty University a number of years ago (video + online), and one of the lectures was about the case for the shroud. I don’t remember how strongly he worded his conclusions, but it there was definitely a “do not dismiss it out of hand” aspect to it. (He seemed more bullish on its authenticity than he expected us to be.)
Gary Habermas was the instructor.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Habermas
So some guy in the 1300s went to the time, trouble and expense, to purchase a thousand year old piece of linen? Assuming he could even find something like that, why would he do it? To fool people 700 years in the future, using tests he could never even conceive of?
as I do God because the Bible and the teachings of my Church explicitly forbid it.
IT is GOD that forbids it. Your church says it is wrong yet permits it. Doesn’t correct anyone, encourages it.
My question to you, is WHY would you kneel and pray to an IMAGE of Mary when God invites you into a personal relationship with him as FATHER through the Holy Spirit and Jesus.
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