Maria da Glória Gonçalves Barroso responds to the comments by Len Myers. If you recall, Maria has reported that 95% of the people attending Larry Schauf’s presentation (actually a trial) at Newman University favor authenticity. Len Myers had responded by noting:
This vote was at a Catholic University. What would the vote have been like at Kansas State? Better yet, Berkley, CA? What would the vote have been like after the exact same presentation at Yeshiva University?
I suspect that people who come to shroud presentations are religious. How many people changed their minds after hearing Larry Schauf?
Okay, so Maria replies:
I guess Len Myers’ reasoning is partially correct if Larry Schauf’s presentation had been at other University may be voting results were different, what he’s meaning is that the result was biased, nevertheless I don´t consider biased results just because most of the people who attended the trial were probably religious.
If we apply a rational skepticism and so called critical thinking to both sides of the issue we conclude that so called Skeptics have each of them their own «true» theories for debunking the Shroud, but as far as I know all of them have been debunked by sound scientific and historical arguments.leaving aside pseudo science all serious scientific work and historical research point to the Shroud of Turin beeing a first century Shroud that once wrapped a corpse which left a still mysterious imprint on it.
With all historic and scientific background it is not unreasonable to conclude for authenticity.
In my country let alone christian people, most of catholic priests and even Bishops know almost nothing about the Shroud of Turin and don’t even care about it, nevertheless in few Shroud of Turin lectures my husband presented even non religious but honest persons who attended them just by curiosity at the end were convinced that the Shroud did wrap the historical Jesus.So I’m convinced that even if non religious but honest people (not fanatic atheists blinded with hate against religion) attend a serious presentation most of them would vote pro-authenticity.
regards
Maria da Glória
Centro Português de Sindonologia
I think Maria is right. But I see Len’s point. However, I give students more credit for honest judgment not clouded by prejudice. Of course, we don’t know how they are prejudiced. Just because they are attending a Catholic school doesn’t convince me that they came into the room thinking the Shroud is real. If I had to guess, I’d thought the opposite.
It is fundamentalists, be they Christian or the so-called “New” Atheists, that cannot be convinced by science or history or logic.
New Shroud of Turin Paper in JIST, a Peer-Reviewed Scientific Journal « Shroud of Turin Blog