Bill Cork, an associate pastor of the Houston International Seventh-day Adventist Church in Houston, Texas has a different take in his blog Oak Leaves:
History and science … say it’s a painting, a forgery created in the 14th century, when conniving clergy conspired to wrest coins from the hands of credulous commoners. Now, some “true believers” still try to tell us it’s a miracle.
Even apart from science and history, the purported shroud is not what Scripture describes: strips of linen and a separate face cloth.
Needless to say, I disagree with Bill’s take. Indeed history argues and science suggests that it may be the authentic burial cloth of Jesus. See the Fact Check tab at the top of this page. As for biblical interpretation, if the history and the science conforms, then great. If it does not, as is the case for evolution (which I believe in completely) then we need to see how it fits into our apologia. The strips argument and the second face cloth is not justified. Indeed, if our understanding of Jewish burial of the late-Second Temple period is correct, there is a shroud, a face cloth that is removed from the face before burial, and some linen strips used for binding wrists and jaw.
For more information on the science and history of the shroud see Shroud of Turin Story
Bill’s posting is at The Shroud of Turin « Oak Leaves
Thank you, thank you, thank you, for saying, “…the case for evolution (which I believe in completely)…” I have had yet found an apologetic site that actually believes in evolution. I am more willing to believe what you say about the Shroud because of this statement. Thank you!