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Is the Shroud real? Probably.
The Shroud of Turin may be the real burial cloth of Jesus. The carbon dating, once seemingly proving it was a medieval fake, is now widely thought of as suspect and meaningless. Even the famous Atheist Richard Dawkins admits it is controversial. Christopher Ramsey, the director of the Oxford Radiocarbon Laboratory, thinks more testing is needed. So do many other scientists and archeologists. This is because there are significant scientific and non-religious reasons to doubt the validity of the tests. Chemical analysis, all nicely peer-reviewed in scientific journals and subsequently confirmed by numerous chemists, shows that samples tested are chemically unlike the whole cloth. It was probably a mixture of older threads and newer threads woven into the cloth as part of a medieval repair. Recent robust statistical studies add weight to this theory. Philip Ball, the former physical science editor for Nature when the carbon dating results were published, recently wrote: “It’s fair to say that, despite the seemingly definitive tests in 1988, the status of the Shroud of Turin is murkier than ever.” If we wish to be scientific we must admit we do not know how old the cloth is. But if the newer thread is about half of what was tested – and some evidence suggests that – it is possible that the cloth is from the time of Christ.
No one has a good idea how front and back images of a crucified man came to be on the cloth. Yes, it is possible to create images that look similar. But no one has created images that match the chemistry, peculiar superficiality and profoundly mysterious three-dimensional information content of the images on the Shroud. Again, this is all published in peer-reviewed scientific journals.
We simply do not have enough reliable information to arrive at a scientifically rigorous conclusion. Years ago, as a skeptic of the Shroud, I came to realize that while I might believe it was a fake, I could not know so from the facts. Now, as someone who believes it is the real burial shroud of Jesus of Nazareth, I similarly realize that a leap of faith over unanswered questions is essential.
My name is Dan Porter. Please email me at DanielRobertPorter@gmail.com
Holy Smokes! Congradulations Dan. This is a great blog! Lots of well informed people, some experts in their field and not to mention the odd comment from well known Shroud experts undoubtably makes this the ‘Go-To’ blog on the internet dealing with the Shroud.
R
Congratulations Dan. I have been enjoying this blog and all the stuff you post is most interesting. Thank you.
A great milestone Dan! Kudos!
Dear Brothers and Sisterrs in Jesus of Nazareth, Crucified and Raised from the dead!
Hello Dan, and everyone, I really enjoy your blog too… thank you for all that you have done. The missing piece that I see among all of these Shroud Experts – is that the key to the Resurrection of Jesus – is ACCEPTING that God has Risen! – just as our Holy Father Pope Benedict says!
Letting Our Risen Saviour TRANSFORM US! – ON HIS TERMS! – BECAUSE HE KNOWS BEST!
Our Holy Father speaks about the Resurrection throwing OPEN the dark door of the future, of time, of death – but in my life the RESURRECTION – has thrown open the DARK DOOR – of my own wretched existence – and is creating a SINGULAR NEW LIFE – within!
You are welcome to join me in the Singular Encounter that is Resurrection NOW!
Charity, Joy, and Peace in Our Risen Saviour!