Kenneth Stevenson | 11-Oct-2014 | 8:30-9:00 am
NAZAH: THE UNVEILING OF A HIDDEN PURPOSE FOR THE SHROUD
From the time that I had the awesome privilege to edit the Proceedings of the 1977 U.S. Conference of Research on the Shroud of Turin, I have argued as often as I can for the inclusion of fields of research other than hard core sciences alone. Since the Shroud does not exist in a technical “vacuum” so to speak, it is my contention that history, art, Jewish tradition and customs and most importantly the Scriptures have a vital role to play in arriving at the “whole truth” about this most enigmatic relic.
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The most significant area that remains untapped is the Scriptures themselves. At the Ohio Conference, where I presented, "White Linen White Paper" I continued to stress the need to expand research into these important areas. Since that time, I have been using Biblical Hermeneutics to study any and all references that have a connection with the Shroud. Taken in conjunction with Jewish customs and traditions a hidden purpose for the Shroud clearly emerges which could give the Shroud a proper place not only in terms of Christianity, but also in terms of Judaism: specifically the fulfillment of Messianic prophecy. Finally a pattern emerges in the New Testament which points strongly to a first hand knowledge of the Shroud and some of it’s characteristics that correlates to these same Biblical passages.
Click on the title to read the full abstract. Click here for the conference home page.
While I do not doubt Kenneth Stevenson’s good intentions, the need arises to question what hermeneutics he is referring to. We have Thomas de Wesselow saying the Shroud is the Resurrection, someone else saying that it was shown to the disciples at the Cenacle, yet another one proposing that Paul took it around with him during his missionary work. Was it this way that the Resurrection was preached?
Why does no one ask: How come doubting Thomas insisted on probing Jesus’ resurrected body if the burial cloth was used to preach the Resurrection?
Biblical hermeneutics is extremely complicated, there are dozens of interpretations, and these can be so difficult to swallow that more and more translations and versions of the Bible are published as time passes by.
For those interested in knowing how complicated this field can be a world-renowned New Testament scholar gave his point of view: https://www.academia.edu/4700001/What_do_we_know_about_the_Bible_An_interview_with_Joseph_A._Fitzmyer_SJ
I think it’s fair and human to search, find, probe and speculate. But too seldom can any conclusions be definitive. Nevertheless it teases the brain, and is therefore attractive.
It is a problem to distinguish between culture and religion and there are problems that affect both culture and religion:
https://www.academia.edu/5559678/C._G._Jung_Father_Victor_White_and_privatio_boni