Mark Shea over at Catholic and Enjoying It!
. . . There’s nothing like it in the world and the fact that nobody has been able to reproduce it at this late date, plus the fact that it reveals a knowledge of crucifixion utterly unavailable in the 14th Century, plus the fact that the pollen is traceable and dateable to 1st century Palestine screams “authentic”. Only an a priori commitment to materialism fuels the mulish insistence that it’s a fraud. If it’s a fraud, make another one.
Minor objection: I don’t think the pollen is dateable and confirmation is needed to be certain about tracing it to Palestine.
Agreed about the committment to Materialism/Naturalism, i.e. nature is all there is, and nature is ultimately nothing but particles, which is the dominant philosophy in science.
Israel’s leading botanist, Prof. Avinoam Danin, in his new book, “Botany of the Shroud,” agrees that Max Frei’s pollen is not determinable down to the species level, because its external identifying structures are obscured by Frei’s sticky tape glue. But Turin has a large collection of pollen vaccuumed from the Shroud that may be determinable down to the species level.
Also, Prof. Danin has identified the imprint of flower parts on the Shroud (on several different types of photos and also directly on the Shroud). They include four species: Gundelia tournefortii, Zygophyllum dumosum, Cistus creticus and Capparis aegyptia, which are only found growing together between Jerusalem and Hebron! And only flower in the March-April when Jesus was crucified!!
But as Jesus observed, a prior committment to Naturalism (i.e. Anti-supernaturalism), always overides evidence of the supernatural: “If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead” (Lk 16:31).
Woo-Hoo!!! You go, Mark Shea! “If it’s a fraud, make another one” : inarguable truth! Everything you mentioned, plus the bloodstains (NOT paint) and the photoelectric image seared into the cloth at a time when flash cameras hadn’t even been invented yet.
In the same way that great pains were taken over the centuries to protect & preserve God’s word (the Bible) from being destroyed, so countless individuals over the course of history have gone to great lengths to protect & preserve the Shroud. The Shroud itself affirms & backs up the truth of Jesus’ resurrection as stated in the Bible. No wonder the devil is working overtime to discredit it.
I applaud the purity of your faith!