From time to time I’ve drawn attention to some list of top ten or top five mysteries, which invariably includes the Shroud of Turin. Another list, 5 greatest unsolved enigmas of humanity, just popped up on a blog called Learning Mind. It is interesting. And if I find the time, I might read more about these first four items.
I think I have heard of some of them or all of them at one time or another.
- The Bimini Road
- The Voynich Manuscript
- The Piri Reis Map
- The Nazca Lines (one aerial image pictured)
Then I read a bit about the fifth item, something I know something about. And I read:
Although the Vatican has affirmed that it is not authentic, the Holy Shroud remains an unsolved mystery of humanity. It is a shroud on which is imprinted the image of a bearded 33 years old man. Throughout the fabric there are signs of blood, which proves that this man was crucified and then his body was covered with this cloth. Understandably, many believe it is the burial cloth of Jesus Christ in which the body was put after the Crucifixion, as the weave of the fabric refers to the epoch he lived in andthe signs of blood confirm the death in the same manner as that of Christ.
Some other scientists contend that it was created much later, between 13th and 14th century. Even if it is a coincidence and not the burial cloth of Christ, the mystery remains: what has become of the real shroud that covered his body after the Crucifixion? (bolded emphasis is author’s)
The Vatican has affirmed that it is not authentic? Really? A bearded 33 years old man? Pray tell, how did someone determine the age? Was it the beard? It must be Jesus if the image is of a 33 years old man. And these amazing tidbits from wherever continue. Can anything written about any of the other mysteries in this article be trusted?
Can you trust anything you read in a blog?
Screwtape the Father of Lies is at it again. He’s a professional. He works under camouflage. The tactic is to tell a HALF-TRUTH. The gulllible imagine they recognise the true part, it rings a bell, and then they imagine that the rest, the lie part, is additional information, and then Screwtape has succeeded in his purpose of getting his victims to believe a lie – so much more successful than merely telling overt lies which can too easily be discovered. And that, my friends, is today’s lesson in Diabolism 101.
I suppose if you cannot trust anything in a blog, you might want to consider closing down and doing something different.
What interests me most about this is to know the background of the one(s) who wrote it. But let me think about what is written and what it might indicate.
Claiming it is a 33 year-old man gives away the traditional belief that Jesus was about 33 when crucified. If that is the writer’s belief, then most likely this is a Christian or one who accepts this idea.
Since the Vatican has never made the claim, obviously this is not written by a Catholic, or at least not a Catholic who knows anything about the Catholic Church. It could be a misunderstanding what what the Church has said.
I am unsure the weave of the cloth proves or indicates anything of the sort. Unless I am mistaken, herringbone weave was not used exclusively in the first century AD.
The signs of blood does offer proof that this man was crucified. This is a certainty of which Yannick has shown to be irrefutable.
I really like the final question. If this isn’t the burial cloth of Christ, what happened to it? I think there is much wisdom in this question for if Jesus was the Messiah, then wouldn’t the burial cloth be kept with reverence and not just discarded?
Due to this little evaluation of the questions and what could be behind them, with all due respect for him as a person, I would have to disagree with daveb’s assessment of the snippet.
I agree with Daveb’s assessment…the father of lies is a “master” of his craft… the art of deception.
I had first become aware of the shroud about 40 years ago when I read about a doctor who had done partcular experiments and tests,and explained the nail hole markings on the wrist and the absense of the thumb marks.So much more information is available now which would have been impossible to gather back then.
But I must admit that I was not seeking to strengthen or confirm my faith or convictions because they were already pretty deep at the time.It has been sorely tested since,but like a spike,the harder it was hit,the deeper it went.
The shroud of Turin,I am totally convinced,is real.It has survived all of these years by the will and providence of God for future generations…it is the next best thing for those who would not be present when he said”Blessed are those who have not seen…yet still believe”.
I wrote several months ago on this site explaining how I came to believe so strongly in Christ.I was on what I considered at the time my deathbed…I literally thought I ws going to die and was so sapped of strength that it should not have been surprising if I did.But instead,as I lay there crying out for a second chance or go at it (life)my heart first instantly vibrated and I was immediately drawn into a half sitting up position as a light not unlike that of St. Paul’s experience radiated and blasted upon me.It lasted for the time it took me to say “My God it’s true…your really there…you really care…it’s really true”It went out and I fell back onto my bed and pillow as the door opened.
Therefore I have absolutely no difficulty visualizing what happened in the tomb 3 days after his death…what I experienced was a spark…but for the image of Christ to have been left on both sides of the shroud as it had been,I can see a light brighter than the sun and whiter than lightening bursting and radiating from within His body and outwards.Unlike Paul on his way to Damascus or myself on my deathbed…when the light flahed upon and around us.(I had not known of St. Paul or his experience prior to my own)
To date I feel I have not done enough to “witness” to my faith over the years…I’ve lived it yes,and suffered to keep it in tact yes,but I’ve never been in a position where I could actually share on a regular basis that awesome miracle ,on that awesome day.I do believe though,that up to this time I have been made even more ready to do so.Therefore I would ask my brothers and sisters in the Christ to keep me in their prayers,so that His purpose be more fully realized in my life …before that great day of accountability when He will ask me “Where are the others” ? GOD BLESS.